Used and New from Other Sellers
Used and New from Other Sellers
from $20.98
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
(Save 78%)
Other sellers (Hardcover)
-
All (11)
from
$20.98
-
New (5)
from
$63.34
-
Used (6)
from
$20.98
Note: Marketplace items are not eligible for any BN.com coupons and promotions
2007 Hardcover First Edition New in New jacket A new copy in a new dustjacket: firm, clean, square and tight with no underlining or splits. *****PLEASE NOTE: This item is
...
shipping from an authorized seller in Europe. In the event that a return is necessary, you will be able to return your item within the US. To learn more about our European sellers and policies see the BookQuest FAQ section*****
Read more
Show Less
Ships from: Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- •Canadian
- •International
- •Standard, 48 States
- •Standard (AK, HI)
Brand New Book.
Ships from: Dover, NJ
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- •Canadian
- •International
- •Standard, 48 States
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Ships from: Richmond, TX
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- •Canadian
- •International
- •Standard, 48 States
- •Standard (AK, HI)
$102.40
Seller since 2009
0199287961 ***BRAND-NEW*** FAST Fedex shipping, so you'll receive your order FAST! (r'cd within 1-4 business days after shipping in most cases). We've been in business for over 17
...
years. We provide EXCEPTIONAL customer service. We're open 24/7 to serve you best. PLEASE NOTE: Fedex does not deliver to PO Boxes or APO addresses, so please be sure to give us a physical street address for delivery. Also, unfortunately, we cannot ship this item to Alaska or Hawaii. Thanks!
Read more
Show Less
Ships from: Dundee, MI
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- •Standard, 48 States
- •Standard (AK, HI)
- •Express, 48 States
- •Express (AK, HI)
$130.98
Seller since 2010
Hardcover New 0199287961 New Condition ~~~ Right off the Shelf-BUY NOW & INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE...
Ships from: Geneva, IL
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- •Canadian
- •International
- •Standard, 48 States
- •Standard (AK, HI)
- •Express, 48 States
- •Express (AK, HI)
More About This Textbook
Overview
Gauge theories have provided our most successful representations of the fundamental forces of nature. How, though, do such representations work? Interpretations of gauge theory aim to answer this question. Through understanding how a gauge theory's representations work, we are able to say what kind of world our gauge theories reveal to us.
A gauge theory's representations are mathematical structures. These may be transformed among themselves while certain features remain the same. Do the representations related by such a gauge transformation merely offer alternative ways of representing the very same situation? If so, then gauge symmetry is a purely formal property since it reflects no corresponding symmetry in nature.
Gauging What's Real describes the representations provided by gauge theories in both classical and quantum physics. Richard Healey defends the thesis that gauge transformations are purely formal symmetries of almost all the classes of representations provided by each of our theories of fundamental forces. He argues that evidence for classical gauge theories of forces (other than gravity) gives us reason to believe that loops rather than points are the locations of fundamental properties. In addition to exploring the prospects of extending this conclusion to the quantum gauge theories of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics, Healey assesses the difficulties faced by attempts to base such ontological conclusions on the success of these theories.
Product Details
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction xv
What is a gauge theory? 1
Classical electromagnetism: a paradigm gauge theory 3
A fiber bundle formulation 7
Electromagnetic interactions of quantum particles 14
Electromagnetic interactions of matter fields 18
The Aharonov-Bohm effect 21
Fiber bundles 26
A gauge-invariant, local explanation? 31
Geometry and topology in the Aharonov-Bohm effect 40
Locality in the Aharonov-Bohm effect 44
Lessons for classical electromagnetism 54
Classical gauge theories 58
Non-Abelian Yang-Mills theories 58
The fiber bundle formulation 64
Loops, groups, and hoops 70
Topological issues 74
A fiber bundle formulation of general relativity 77
A gravitational analog to the Aharonov-Bohm effect 78
Interpreting classical gauge theories 82
The no gauge potential properties view 83
The localized gauge potential properties view 85
Problems defining theoretical terms 91
Leeds'sview 99
Maudlin's interpretation 102
The non-localized gauge potential properties view 104
A holonomy interpretation 111
Epistemological considerations 112
Objections considered 119
Semantic considerations 122
Metaphysical implications: non-separability and holism 123
Quantized Yang-Mills gauge theories 129
How to quantize a classical field 131
Coulomb gauge quantization 133
Lorenz gauge quantization 135
Classical electromagnetism as a constrained Hamiltonian system 136
The free Maxwell field as a Hamiltonian system 139
Path-integral quantization 141
Canonical quantization of non-Abelian fields 143
Path-integral quantization of non-Abelian fields 145
Interacting fields in the Lagrangian formulation 146
The empirical import of gauge symmetry 149
Two kinds of symmetry 150
Observing gauge symmetry? 155
The gauge argument 159
Ghost fields 167
Spontaneous symmetry-breaking 169
The [theta]-vacuum 175
Anomalies 182
Loop representations 184
The significance of loop representations 185
Loop representations of the free Maxwell field 186
Loop representations of other free Yang-Mills fields 192
Interacting fields in loop representations 195
The [theta]-vacuum in a loop representation 197
Conclusion 198
Interpreting quantized Yang-Mills gauge theories 200
Auyang's event ontology 200
Problems of interpreting a quantum field theory 203
Particle interpretations 205
Bohmian interpretations 209
Copenhagen interpretations 212
Everettian interpretations 215
Modal interpretations 218
Conclusions 220
Electromagnetism and its generalizations 229
Fiber bundles 233
The constrained Hamiltonian formalism 248
Alternative quantum representations 257
Algebraic quantum field theory 265
Interpretations of quantum mechanics 272
The Copenhagen interpretation 272
Bohmian mechanics 274
Everettian interpretations 276
Modal interpretations 278
Bibliography 280
Index 287