Gauging What’s Real: The Conceptual Foundations of Contemporary Gauge Theories 1st Edition by Richard Healey (PDF)

Description

Gauge theories have provided our most successful representations of the fundamental forces of nature. How, though, do such representations work? Interpretations of gauge theory aim to answer this question. Through understanding how a gauge theory’s representations work, we are able to say what kind of world our gauge theories reveal to us.A gauge theory’s representations are mathematical structures. These may be transformed among themselves while certain features remain the same. Do the representations related by such a gauge transformation merely offer alternative ways of representing the very same situation? If so, then gauge symmetry is a purely formal property since it reflects no corresponding symmetry in nature.Gauging What’s Real describes the representations provided by gauge theories in both classical and quantum physics. Richard Healey defends the thesis that gauge transformations are purely formal symmetries of almost all the classes of representations provided by each of our theories of fundamental forces. He argues that evidence for classical gauge theories of forces (other than gravity) gives us reason to believe that loops rather than points are the locations of fundamentalproperties. In addition to exploring the prospects of extending this conclusion to the quantum gauge theories of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics, Healey assesses the difficulties faced by attempts to base such ontological conclusions on the success of these theories.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐It explain a complex theory at a high level . This provides a basis on which to build serous studies of the “field”

⭐I agree with a previous reviewer. The book fails to present a rigorous conceptual analysis of gauge field theories. There is little for the philosopher here. For the physicist, the book is superficial. For the student, incomprehensible. For the mathematically trained,presumptuous. I wasted my money with this book. Save yours.

⭐There is a real need for an approachable introduction togauge theories. Unfortunately, this book does not meetthat need. The mathematical formalism will quickly overwhelmthe nonexpert making it unclear for whom the book was written -not mathematicians or physicists certainly.

⭐With the advent of quantum mechanics almost 90 years ago, theoretical physics became overrun by its abstract mathematics, & the (ultimately futile) debate over Copenhagen interpretation versus local realism has trundled on ever since. After progress through quantum field theory, quantum electrodynamics (QED), & latterly gauge theories of the quantised interactions (electroweak & strong) as centrepiece of particle physics’ Standard Model (now strongly validated by Higgs boson discovery at the LHC), it’s high time someone explored the meaning of the gauge models for our perceptions of reality. This is a thorough & satisfying exposition, surprisingly readable on its own terms, & I would recommend it to anyone, professional, student or amateur, with a keen interest in understanding modern physics.

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