The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants PDF Author: Spyros Alexakis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691153477
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
To mark the continued success of the series, all hook s are again available in paperback. For a complete list of titles, please visit the Princeton University Press Web site: www.press.princeton.edu. The most recently published volumes include: Book jacket.

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants PDF Author: Spyros Alexakis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691153477
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Get Book Here

Book Description
To mark the continued success of the series, all hook s are again available in paperback. For a complete list of titles, please visit the Princeton University Press Web site: www.press.princeton.edu. The most recently published volumes include: Book jacket.

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants (AM-182)

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants (AM-182) PDF Author: Spyros Alexakis
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400842727
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
This book addresses a basic question in differential geometry that was first considered by physicists Stanley Deser and Adam Schwimmer in 1993 in their study of conformal anomalies. The question concerns conformally invariant functionals on the space of Riemannian metrics over a given manifold. These functionals act on a metric by first constructing a Riemannian scalar out of it, and then integrating this scalar over the manifold. Suppose this integral remains invariant under conformal re-scalings of the underlying metric. What information can one then deduce about the Riemannian scalar? Deser and Schwimmer asserted that the Riemannian scalar must be a linear combination of three obvious candidates, each of which clearly satisfies the required property: a local conformal invariant, a divergence of a Riemannian vector field, and the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet integrand. This book provides a proof of this conjecture. The result itself sheds light on the algebraic structure of conformal anomalies, which appear in many settings in theoretical physics. It also clarifies the geometric significance of the renormalized volume of asymptotically hyperbolic Einstein manifolds. The methods introduced here make an interesting connection between algebraic properties of local invariants--such as the classical Riemannian invariants and the more recently studied conformal invariants--and the study of global invariants, in this case conformally invariant integrals. Key tools used to establish this connection include the Fefferman-Graham ambient metric and the author's super divergence formula.

Conformal Differential Geometry

Conformal Differential Geometry PDF Author: Helga Baum
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3764399090
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Conformal invariants (conformally invariant tensors, conformally covariant differential operators, conformal holonomy groups etc.) are of central significance in differential geometry and physics. Well-known examples of such operators are the Yamabe-, the Paneitz-, the Dirac- and the twistor operator. The aim of the seminar was to present the basic ideas and some of the recent developments around Q-curvature and conformal holonomy. The part on Q-curvature discusses its origin, its relevance in geometry, spectral theory and physics. Here the influence of ideas which have their origin in the AdS/CFT-correspondence becomes visible. The part on conformal holonomy describes recent classification results, its relation to Einstein metrics and to conformal Killing spinors, and related special geometries.

Families of Conformally Covariant Differential Operators, Q-Curvature and Holography

Families of Conformally Covariant Differential Operators, Q-Curvature and Holography PDF Author: Andreas Juhl
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3764399007
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 499

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Book Description
This book studies structural properties of Q-curvature from an extrinsic point of view by regarding it as a derived quantity of certain conformally covariant families of differential operators which are associated to hypersurfaces.

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants

The Decomposition of Global Conformal Invariants PDF Author: Spyros Alexakis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conformal invariants
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description


Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe

Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe PDF Author: Roger Penrose
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691264317
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose questions some of the most fashionable ideas in physics today, including string theory What can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy? In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are just as susceptible to these forces as anyone else. In this provocative book, he argues that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes productive and even essential in physics, may be leading today's researchers astray in three of the field's most important areas—string theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. Arguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgment of its plausibility. In the case of quantum mechanics, its stunning success in explaining the atomic universe has led to an uncritical faith that it must also apply to reasonably massive objects, and Penrose responds by suggesting possible changes in quantum theory. Turning to cosmology, he argues that most of the current fantastical ideas about the origins of the universe cannot be true, but that an even wilder reality may lie behind them. Finally, Penrose describes how fashion, faith, and fantasy have ironically also shaped his own work, from twistor theory, a possible alternative to string theory that is beginning to acquire a fashionable status, to "conformal cyclic cosmology," an idea so fantastic that it could be called "conformal crazy cosmology." The result is an important critique of some of the most significant developments in physics today from one of its most eminent figures.

The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory

The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory PDF Author: Bryce Seligman DeWitt
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198527909
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 588

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Book Description
This new volume takes a complete look at how classical field theory, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory are interrelated. It takes a global approach and discusses the importance of quantization by relating it to different theories such as tree amplitude and conservation laws. There arespecial chapters devoted to Euclideanization and renormalization, space and time inversion and the closed-time-path formalism.

Spaces of PL Manifolds and Categories of Simple Maps

Spaces of PL Manifolds and Categories of Simple Maps PDF Author: Friedhelm Waldhausen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mappings (Mathematics)
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description


Degenerate Diffusion Operators Arising in Population Biology

Degenerate Diffusion Operators Arising in Population Biology PDF Author: Charles L. Epstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Elliptic operators
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description


Encyclopaedia of Mathematics

Encyclopaedia of Mathematics PDF Author: Michiel Hazewinkel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401512795
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 639

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Book Description
This is the second supplementary volume to Kluwer's highly acclaimed eleven-volume Encyclopaedia of Mathematics. This additional volume contains nearly 500 new entries written by experts and covers developments and topics not included in the previous volumes. These entries are arranged alphabetically throughout and a detailed index is included. This supplementary volume enhances the existing eleven volumes, and together these twelve volumes represent the most authoritative, comprehensive and up-to-date Encyclopaedia of Mathematics available.