Why the Six Generators of the Restrict Lorentz Group

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SUMMARY

The six generators of the restricted Lorentz group consist of three rotation generators (angular momentum) and three boost generators. This configuration arises because the Lorentz group preserves the origin and is characterized by linear transformations. The independent parameters of the group can be derived from the condition \(\Lambda^T\eta\Lambda=\eta\), where three parameters correspond to rotations and three to velocity changes. For a deeper understanding of the topology and commutation relations of these generators, refer to Weinberg's "Quantum Field Theory" (Volume 1, Appendix to Chapter 2).

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of linear transformations and their properties
  • Familiarity with the Lorentz group and its significance in physics
  • Knowledge of angular momentum in the context of physics
  • Basic concepts of group theory and topology
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the properties of the Poincaré group and its relation to the Lorentz group
  • Explore the derivation of the commutation relations for Lorentz generators
  • Read Weinberg's "Quantum Field Theory" for insights on topology and transformations
  • Investigate the physical interpretations of boosts and rotations in relativistic contexts
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Physicists, particularly those specializing in theoretical physics, students of quantum field theory, and anyone interested in the mathematical foundations of relativity and group theory.

martyf
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Why the six generator of the restrict lorentz group are the three rotation's generator(angular momentum) and the three boost's generator?
 
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The Lorentz group is a group of linear transforms, so it preserves the origin. If you want a more general transform that includes translations as well as rotations and boosts, then you want the Poincare group. That is a group of affine transforms, so it doesn't preserve the origin.
 
martyf said:
Why the six generator of the restrict lorentz group are the three rotation's generator(angular momentum) and the three boost's generator?

What exactly is it that you would like to know? There are at least four different things that could be your main concern: The number of independent parameters, the interpretation of the parameters as boosts and rotations, the topology of the group (i.e. what well-known set it can be continuously and bijectively mapped onto), and the commutation relations satisfied by the generators.

The number of independent parameters follows immediately from the condition \Lambda^T\eta\Lambda=\eta. The fact that 3 parameters correspond to rotation parameters follow from the fact that restricted Lorentz transformations that leave x^0 unchanged are rotations (the components of such a \Lambda that aren't on the 0th row or 0th column form a 3x3 orthogonal matrix). The fact that 3 parameters correspond to a velocity change follow from the fact that \Lambda takes the time axis to some other straight line to the origin. (The slope of that line can be interpreted as a speed, and its projection onto the x-y-z hyperplane defines a direction). The topology stuff and the commutation relations involve too much typing for me to include those details here. You can find them in lots of books, e.g. Weinberg's QFT book (vol.1, the appendix to chapter 2).
 
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Thank's!
I wanted to know the imterpretation of the parameters as boosts and rotations!
 

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