507 (Fall 2018)
PHYS 507: Physical Applications of Group Theory (Fall quarter, 2018)
TTH 1:00-2:20pm PAA A114
Instructor: Silas Beane B457 OH: Tuesday 2:30-4:00pm
TA: John Spencer spencj95 at uw.edu
Subject matter
The first part of the course will be on finite groups and the second part will be on continuous groups.
I cannot give the exact split with any certainty until we are several weeks into the course. Programmatically,
the plan is to cover the material in the first twenty chapters of Georgi. However, I hope to vary the examples
somewhat beyond the standard particle physics applications. Georgi's book is great and I recommend that
you acquire a copy. However, I have placed it on reserve in the library.
Prerequisites
One year of undergraduate quantum mechanics is probably necessary.
Readings, Homework and grades
Your grade for this course will be based on the homework, which will be assigned approximately once a week. I believe that
most of what you’ll get out of this class will be from the homework. I encourage you to work on the homework in groups (presumably
finite). However, the work that you hand in must be your own, and you must list your collaborators on your manuscript as well as
any references you have used (e.g. if you find a solution to a problem on the web, you must cite the url). The homework assignments
are due on Friday afternoons in graduate student John Spencer's mailbox in the physics department office. They will be picked up at 4pm
on the dot.
Useful References
On reserve:
Lie Algebras in Particle Physics, by H. Georgi (2nd edition) --MAIN TEXT
Group Theory in Physics: An Introduction, by J.F. Cornwell
Finite Groups and Quantum Theory, by D.B. Chesnut
Non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics, by L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifschitz
Other:
Semi-Simple Lie Algebras and their Representations, by Robert Cahn
Group Theory and its application to physical problems, by M. Hamermesh
Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics, by M. Tinkham
Groups, Representations and Physics, by H.F. Jones
Group Theory: applications to the physics of condensed matter, by M. Dresselhaus, G. Dresselhaus and A. Jorio
Calendar