Symmetry Groups and Their Applications

Symmetry: An Introduction to Group Theory and its Application is an eight-chapter text that covers the fundamental bases, the development of the theoretical and experimental aspects of the group theory. Chapter 1 deals with the elementary concepts and definitions, while Chapter 2 provides the necessary theory of vector spaces. Chapters 3 and 4 are devoted to an opportunity of actually working with groups and representations until the ideas already introduced are fully assimilated. Chapter 5 looks into the more formal theory of irreducible representations, while Chapter 6 is concerned largely with quadratic forms, illustrated by applications to crystal properties and to molecular vibrations. Chapter 7 surveys the symmetry properties of functions, with special emphasis on the eigenvalue equation in quantum mechanics. Chapter 8 covers more advanced applications, including the detailed analysis of tensor properties and tensor operators. This book is of great value to mathematicians, and math teachers and students.

This book brings together many of the important results in this field. From the reviews: ""A classic gets even better....The edition has new material including the Novelli-Pak-Stoyanovskii bijective proof of the hook formula, Stanley’s proof of the sum of squares formula using differential posets, Fomin’s bijective proof of the sum of squares formula, group acting on posets and their use in proving unimodality, and chromatic symmetric functions." --ZENTRALBLATT MATH

The mathematical apparatus of group theory is a means of exploring and exploiting physical and algebraic structure in physical and chemical prob lems. The existence of structure in the physical processes leads to structure in the solutions. For group theory to be useful this structure need not be an exact symmetry, although as examples of exact symmetries we have that the identity of electrons leads to permutation symmetries in many-electron wave functions, the spatial structure of crystals leads to the Bloch theory of crystal eigenfunctions, and the rotational invariance of the hydrogenic Hamiltonian leads to its factorization into angular and radial parts. In the 1930's Wigner extended what is known to mathematicians as the theory of group representations and the theory of group algebras to study the coupling coefficients of angular momentum, relating various properties of the coefficients to the properties of the abstract group of rotations in 3-space. In 1949 Racah, in a paper on rare earth spectra, showed that similar coefficients occur in other situations. Immediately a number of studies of the coefficients were begun, notably by Jahn, with his applications in nuclear physics. In the years since then a large number of physicists and chemists have added to the development of a general theory of the coefficients, or have produced specialized tables for a specific application. Applications now range from high-energy physics to biology.

This is a gentle introduction to the vocabulary and many of the highlights of elementary group theory. Written in an informal style, the material is divided into short sections, each of which deals with an important result or a new idea. Includes more than 300 exercises and approximately 60 illustrations.

This textbook provides a readable account of the examples and fundamental results of groups from a theoretical and geometrical point of view. This is the second book of the set of two books on groups theory. Topics on linear transformation and linear groups, group actions on sets, Sylow’s theorem, simple groups, products of groups, normal series, free groups, platonic solids, Frieze and wallpaper symmetry groups and characters of groups have been discussed in depth. Covering all major topics, this book is targeted to advanced undergraduate students of mathematics with no prerequisite knowledge of the discussed topics. Each section ends with a set of worked-out problems and supplementary exercises to challenge the knowledge and ability of the reader.

This concise, class-tested book was refined over the authors’ 30 years as instructors at MIT and the University Federal of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. The approach centers on the conviction that teaching group theory along with applications helps students to learn, understand and use it for their own needs. Thus, the theoretical background is confined to introductory chapters. Subsequent chapters develop new theory alongside applications so that students can retain new concepts, build on concepts already learned, and see interrelations between topics. Essential problem sets between chapters aid retention of new material and consolidate material learned in previous chapters.