Particle physics and representation theory

Lie groups
Classical groups General linear group GL(n) Special linear group SL(n) Orthogonal group O(n) Special orthogonal group SO(n) Unitary group U(n) Special unitary group SU(n) Symplectic group Sp(n)
Simple Lie groups List of simple Lie groups Infinite simple Lie groups: An, Bn, Cn, Dn, Exceptional simple Lie groups: G2 F4 E6 E7 E8
Other Lie groups Circle group Lorentz group Poincaré group Conformal group Diffeomorphism group Loop group
Lie algebras Exponential map Adjoint representation of a Lie group Adjoint representation of a Lie algebra Killing form Lie point symmetry
Structure of semi-simple Lie groups Dynkin diagrams Cartan subalgebra Root system Real form Complexification Split Lie algebra Compact Lie algebra
Representation theory Representation of a Lie group Representation of a Lie algebra
Lie groups in Physics Particle physics and representation theory Representation theory of the Lorentz group Representation theory of the Poincaré group Representation theory of the Galilean group

In physics, the connection between particle physics and representation theory is a natural connection, first noted by Eugene Wigner, between the properties of elementary particles and the representation theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras. According to this connection, the different quantum states of an elementary particle give rise to an irreducible representation of the Poincaré group. Moreover, the properties of the various particles, including their spectra, can be related to representations of Lie algebras, algebras corresponding to "approximate symmetries" of the universe.

General picture

In quantum mechanics, any particular particle (with a given momentum distribution, location distribution, spin state, etc.) is written as a vector (or "ket") in a Hilbert space H. To help understand what types of particles can exist, it is important to classify the possibilities for H, and their properties. The particle is more precisely characterized by the associated projective Hilbert space PH, since two vectors that differ by a scalar factor (or in physics terminology, two "kets" that differ by a "phase factor") correspond to the same physical quantum state.

Let G be the symmetry group of the universe – that is, the set of symmetries under which the laws of physics are invariant. (For example, one element of G is the simultaneous translation of all particles and fields forward in time by five seconds.) Starting with a particular particle in the state ket $|p_0\rangle$, and a symmetry transformation g in G, it is possible to apply the symmetry transformation to the particle to get a new state ket $|p_g\rangle=g|p_0\rangle$. For this picture to be consistent, it is necessary that PH is a projective group representation of G. (For example, this condition guarantees that applying a symmetry transformation, then applying its inverse transformation, will restore the original quantum state.)

Therefore, any given particle is associated with a unique representation of G on a projective vector space PH. (We say the particle "lies in", or "transforms as" the representation.) In many important cases, it can be shown that the particle is also (more specifically) associated with a group representation of G on the underlying (non-projective) space H. Wigner's Theorem proves that it is a unitary representation, or possibly anti-unitary.

So we conclude that each type of particle corresponds to a representation of G, and if we can classify the group representations of G, we will have much more information about the possibilities and properties of H, and hence what types of particles can exist.

Poincaré group

The group of translations and Lorentz transformations form the Poincaré group, and this group is certainly a subgroup of G (neglecting general relativity effects, or in other words, in flat space). Hence, any representation of G will in particular be a representation of the Poincaré group. Representations of the Poincaré group are in many cases characterized by a nonnegative mass and a half-integer spin (see Wigner's classification); this can be thought of as the reason that particles have quantized spin. (Note that there are in fact other possible representations, such as tachyons, infraparticles, etc., which in some cases do not have quantized spin or fixed mass.)

Other symmetries

While the spacetime symmetries in the Poincaré group are particularly easy to visualize and believe, there are also other types of symmetries, called internal symmetries. One example is color SU(3), an exact symmetry corresponding to the continuous interchange of the three quark colors.

Approximate symmetries

Although the above symmetries are believed to be exact, other symmetries are only approximate.

Hypothetical example

As an example of what an approximate symmetry means, suppose we lived inside an infinite ferromagnet, with magnetization in some particular direction. An experimentalist in this situation would find not one but two distinct types of electrons: one with spin along the direction of the magnetization, with a slightly lower energy (and consequently, a lower mass), and one with spin anti-aligned, with a higher mass. Our usual SO(3) rotational symmetry, which ordinarily connects the spin-up electron with the spin-down electron, has in this hypothetical case become only an approximate symmetry, relating different types of particles to each other.

Lie algebras versus Lie groups

Many (but not all) symmetries or approximate symmetries, for example the ones above, form Lie groups. Rather than study the representation theory of these Lie groups, it is often preferable to study the closely related representation theory of the corresponding Lie algebras, which are usually simpler to compute.

General definition

In general, an approximate symmetry arises when there are very strong interactions that obey that symmetry, along with weaker interactions that do not. In the electron example above, the two "types" of electrons behave identically under the strong and weak forces, but differently under the electromagnetic force.

Example: flavour symmetry

An example from the real world is flavour symmetry, an SU(3) group corresponding to varying quark flavour. This is an approximate symmetry, violated by quark mass differences and electroweak interactions. Indeed, we see experimentally that particles can be neatly divided into groups that form irreducible representations of the Lie algebra SU(3), as first noted by Murray Gell-Mann and independently by Yuval Ne'eman (see the eightfold way).

See also

• Lie algebra
• Lie group
• Poincaré group
• Representation theory:
  • Of Lie algebras
  • Of Lie groups
  • Of the Poincaré group
• Special unitary group
• Symmetry

References

• Coleman, Sidney (1985) Aspects of Symmetry: Selected Erice Lectures of Sidney Coleman. Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-26706-4.
• Georgi, Howard (1999) Lie Algebras in Particle Physics. Reading, MA: Perseus Books. ISBN 0-7382-0233-9.
• Hall, Brian C., (2006) Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations: An Elementary Introduction. Springer. ISBN 0-387-40122-9.
• Sternberg, Shlomo (1994) Group Theory and Physics. Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24870-1. Especially pp. 148–150.
• Steven Weinberg (1995). The Quantum Theory of Fields, Volume 1: Foundations. Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-55001-7.  Especially appendices A and B to Chapter 2.

External links

• John C. Baez & John Huerta, The Algebra of Grand Unified Theories, arXiv:0904.1556