Download or read book Knots and Quantum Gravity written by John C. Baez and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent work by mathematicians and physicists has uncovered revelatory connections between knot theory and the problem of developing a quantum theory of gravity. This book, the proceedings of a workshop held to bring together researchers in knot theory and quantum gravity, features a number of expository and research papers that will aid significantly in closing the gap between the two disciplines. It will serve as a guide for mathematicians and physicists seeking to understand this rapidly developing area of research. The book represents a state-of-the-art study of current research and progress. The editor is the author of Gauge Fields, Knots, and Gravity (World Scientific), a graduate level text on the topic.
Download or read book Loops Knots Gauge Theories and Quantum Gravity written by Rodolfo Gambini and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-07-03 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, this text provides a self-contained introduction to applications of loop representations and knot theory in particle physics and quantum gravity. Loop representations (and the related topic of knot theory) are of considerable current interest because they provide a unified arena for the study of the gauge invariant quantization of Yang-Mills theories and gravity, and suggest a promising approach to the eventual unification of the four fundamental forces. This text begins with a detailed review of loop representation theory. It then goes on to describe loop representations in Maxwell theory, Yang-Mills theories as well as lattice techniques. Applications in quantum gravity are then discussed in detail. Following chapters move on to consider knot theories, braid theories and extended loop representations in quantum gravity. A final chapter assesses the current status of the theory and points out possible directions for future research.
Download or read book Gauge Fields Knots and Gravity written by John Baez and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 1994-10-24 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an introduction to the basic tools of mathematics needed to understand the relation between knot theory and quantum gravity. The book begins with a rapid course on manifolds and differential forms, emphasizing how these provide a proper language for formulating Maxwell's equations on arbitrary spacetimes. The authors then introduce vector bundles, connections and curvature in order to generalize Maxwell theory to the Yang-Mills equations. The relation of gauge theory to the newly discovered knot invariants such as the Jones polynomial is sketched. Riemannian geometry is then introduced in order to describe Einstein's equations of general relativity and show how an attempt to quantize gravity leads to interesting applications of knot theory.
Download or read book The Interface of Knots and Physics written by Louis H. Kauffman and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 1996 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is the result of an AMS Short Course on Knots and Physics that was held in San Francisco in January 1994. The authors use ideas and methods of mathematical physics to extract topological information about knots and manifolds. The book features a basic introduction to knot polynomials in relation to statistical link invariants as well as concise introductions to topological quantum field theories and to the role of knot theory in quantum gravity.
Download or read book The Geometry and Physics of Knots written by Michael Francis Atiyah and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1990-08-23 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These notes deal with an area that lies at the crossroads of mathematics and physics and rest primarily on the pioneering work of Vaughan Jones and Edward Witten, who related polynomial invariants of knots to a topological quantum field theory in 2+1 dimensions.
Download or read book Knots And Physics Second Edition written by Louis H Kauffman and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1994-01-15 with total page 739 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this second edition, the following recent papers have been added: “Gauss Codes, Quantum Groups and Ribbon Hopf Algebras”, “Spin Networks, Topology and Discrete Physics”, “Link Polynomials and a Graphical Calculus” and “Knots Tangles and Electrical Networks”. An appendix with a discussion on invariants of embedded graphs and Vassiliev invariants has also been included.This book is an introduction to knot and link invariants as generalized amplitudes (vacuum-vacuum amplitudes) for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes an extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics. The author takes a primarily combinatorial stance toward knot theory and its relations with these subjects. This has the advantage of providing very direct access to the algebra and to the combinatorial topology, as well as the physical ideas. This book is divided into 2 parts: Part I of the book is a systematic course in knots and physics starting from the ground up. Part II is a set of lectures on various topics related to and sometimes based on Part I. Part II also explores some side-topics such as frictional properties of knots, relations with combinatorics and knots in dynamical systems.
Download or read book Knots And Applications written by Thaddeus M Cowan and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1995-03-06 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a collection of research papers devoted to the study of relationships between knot theory and the foundations of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and psychology. Included are reprints of the work of Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thomson) on the 19th century theory of vortex atoms, reprints of modern papers on knotted flux in physics and in fluid dynamics and knotted wormholes in general relativity. It also includes papers on Witten's approach to knots via quantum field theory and applications of this approach to quantum gravity and the Ising model in three dimensions. Other papers discuss the topology of RNA folding in relation to invariants of graphs and Vassiliev invariants, the entanglement structures of polymers, the synthesis of molecular Mobius strips and knotted molecules. The book begins with an article on the applications of knot theory to the foundations of mathematics and ends with an article on topology and visual perception. This volume will be of immense interest to all workers interested in new possibilities in the uses of knots and knot theory.
Download or read book Quantum Topology written by Louis H. Kauffman and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1993 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes a review volume on the relatively new subject of Quantum Topology. Quantum Topology has its inception in the 1984/1985 discoveries of new invariants of knots and links (Jones, Homfly and Kauffman polynomials). These invariants were rapidly connected with quantum groups and methods in statistical mechanics. This was followed by Edward Witten's introduction of methods of quantum field theory into the subject and the formulation by Witten and Michael Atiyah of the concept of topological quantum field theories.This book is a review volume of on-going research activity. The papers derive from talks given at the Special Session on Knot and Topological Quantum Field Theory of the American Mathematical Society held at Dayton, Ohio in the fall of 1992. The book consists of a self-contained article by Kauffman, entitled Introduction to Quantum Topology and eighteen research articles by participants in the special session.This book should provide a useful source of ideas and results for anyone interested in the interface between topology and quantum field theory.
Download or read book Knots and Physics written by Louis H. Kauffman and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2001 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This invaluable book is an introduction to knot and link invariants as generalised amplitudes for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum-statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes a extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics. The author takes a primarily combinatorial stance toward knot theory and its relations with these subjects. This stance has the advantage of providing direct access to the algebra and to the combinatorial topology, as well as physical ideas. The book is divided into two parts: Part I is a systematic course on knots and physics starting from the ground up, and Part II is a set of lectures on various topics related to Part I. Part II includes topics such as frictional properties of knots, relations with combinatorics, and knots in dynamical systems. In this third edition, a paper by the author entitled "Functional Integration and Vassiliev invariants" has been added. This paper shows how the Kontsevich integral approach to the Vassiliev invariants is directly related to the perturbative expansion of Witten's functional integral. While the book supplies the background, this paper can be read independently as an introduction to quantum field theory and knot invariants and their relation to quantum gravity. As in the second edition, there is a selection of papers by the author at the end of the book. Numerous clarifying remarks have been added to the text.
Download or read book Quantum Gravity in 2 1 Dimensions written by Steven Carlip and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-12-04 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity - for graduate students and researchers.
Download or read book Gauge Fields Knots and Gravity written by John C. Baez and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Quantum Invariants written by Tomotada Ohtsuki and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2002 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an extensive and self-contained presentation of quantum and related invariants of knots and 3-manifolds. Polynomial invariants of knots, such as the Jones and Alexander polynomials, are constructed as quantum invariants, i.e. invariants derived from representations of quantum groups and from the monodromy of solutions to the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation. With the introduction of the Kontsevich invariant and the theory of Vassiliev invariants, the quantum invariants become well-organized. Quantum and perturbative invariants, the LMO invariant, and finite type invariants of 3-manifolds are discussed. The ChernOCoSimons field theory and the WessOCoZuminoOCoWitten model are described as the physical background of the invariants. Contents: Knots and Polynomial Invariants; Braids and Representations of the Braid Groups; Operator Invariants of Tangles via Sliced Diagrams; Ribbon Hopf Algebras and Invariants of Links; Monodromy Representations of the Braid Groups Derived from the KnizhnikOCoZamolodchikov Equation; The Kontsevich Invariant; Vassiliev Invariants; Quantum Invariants of 3-Manifolds; Perturbative Invariants of Knots and 3-Manifolds; The LMO Invariant; Finite Type Invariants of Integral Homology 3-Spheres. Readership: Researchers, lecturers and graduate students in geometry, topology and mathematical physics."
Download or read book Three Roads To Quantum Gravity written by Lee Smolin and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-03-18 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It would be hard to imagine a better guide to this difficult subject." -- Scientific American In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides an accessible overview of the attempts to build a final "theory of everything." He explains in simple terms what scientists are talking about when they say the world is made from exotic entities such as loops, strings, and black holes and tells the fascinating stories behind these discoveries: the rivalries, epiphanies, and intrigues he witnessed firsthand. "Provocative, original, and unsettling." -- The New York Review of Books "An excellent writer, a creative thinker." -- Nature
Download or read book An Introduction to Knot Theory written by W.B.Raymond Lickorish and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A selection of topics which graduate students have found to be a successful introduction to the field, employing three distinct techniques: geometric topology manoeuvres, combinatorics, and algebraic topology. Each topic is developed until significant results are achieved and each chapter ends with exercises and brief accounts of the latest research. What may reasonably be referred to as knot theory has expanded enormously over the last decade and, while the author describes important discoveries throughout the twentieth century, the latest discoveries such as quantum invariants of 3-manifolds as well as generalisations and applications of the Jones polynomial are also included, presented in an easily intelligible style. Readers are assumed to have knowledge of the basic ideas of the fundamental group and simple homology theory, although explanations throughout the text are numerous and well-done. Written by an internationally known expert in the field, this will appeal to graduate students, mathematicians and physicists with a mathematical background wishing to gain new insights in this area.
Download or read book The Trouble with Physics written by Lee Smolin and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2006 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sample Text
Download or read book Knot Theory and Its Applications written by Kunio Murasugi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-12-29 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the study of knots, providing insights into recent applications in DNA research and graph theory. It sets forth fundamental facts such as knot diagrams, braid representations, Seifert surfaces, tangles, and Alexander polynomials. It also covers more recent developments and special topics, such as chord diagrams and covering spaces. The author avoids advanced mathematical terminology and intricate techniques in algebraic topology and group theory. Numerous diagrams and exercises help readers understand and apply the theory. Each chapter includes a supplement with interesting historical and mathematical comments.
Download or read book Quantum Gravity written by Carlo Rovelli and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-11-29 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum gravity is perhaps the most important open problem in fundamental physics. It is the problem of merging quantum mechanics and general relativity, the two great conceptual revolutions in the physics of the twentieth century. The loop and spinfoam approach, presented in this 2004 book, is one of the leading research programs in the field. The first part of the book discusses the reformulation of the basis of classical and quantum Hamiltonian physics required by general relativity. The second part covers the basic technical research directions. Appendices include a detailed history of the subject of quantum gravity, hard-to-find mathematical material, and a discussion of some philosophical issues raised by the subject. This fascinating text is ideal for graduate students entering the field, as well as researchers already working in quantum gravity. It will also appeal to philosophers and other scholars interested in the nature of space and time.
