Wigner's classificationIn mathematics and theoretical physics, Wigner's classification is a classification of the nonnegative energy irreducible unitary representations of the Poincaré group which have either finite or zero mass eigenvalues. (Since this group is noncompact, these unitary representations are infinite-dimensional.) It was introduced by Eugene Wigner, to classify particles and fields in physics—see the article particle physics and representation theory. It relies on the stabilizer subgroups of that group, dubbed the Wigner little groups of various mass states.
Projective linear groupIn mathematics, especially in the group theoretic area of algebra, the projective linear group (also known as the projective general linear group or PGL) is the induced action of the general linear group of a vector space V on the associated projective space P(V). Explicitly, the projective linear group is the quotient group PGL(V) = GL(V)/Z(V) where GL(V) is the general linear group of V and Z(V) is the subgroup of all nonzero scalar transformations of V; these are quotiented out because they act trivially on the projective space and they form the kernel of the action, and the notation "Z" reflects that the scalar transformations form the center of the general linear group.
Schur multiplierIn mathematical group theory, the Schur multiplier or Schur multiplicator is the second homology group of a group G. It was introduced by in his work on projective representations. The Schur multiplier of a finite group G is a finite abelian group whose exponent divides the order of G. If a Sylow p-subgroup of G is cyclic for some p, then the order of is not divisible by p. In particular, if all Sylow p-subgroups of G are cyclic, then is trivial.
Representation theoryRepresentation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by representing their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essence, a representation makes an abstract algebraic object more concrete by describing its elements by matrices and their algebraic operations (for example, matrix addition, matrix multiplication).
Spin (physics)Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin should not be understood as in the "rotating internal mass" sense: spin is a quantized wave property. The existence of electron spin angular momentum is inferred from experiments, such as the Stern–Gerlach experiment, in which silver atoms were observed to possess two possible discrete angular momenta despite having no orbital angular momentum.
Group extensionIn mathematics, a group extension is a general means of describing a group in terms of a particular normal subgroup and quotient group. If and are two groups, then is an extension of by if there is a short exact sequence If is an extension of by , then is a group, is a normal subgroup of and the quotient group is isomorphic to the group . Group extensions arise in the context of the extension problem, where the groups and are known and the properties of are to be determined.
Covering groupIn mathematics, a covering group of a topological group H is a covering space G of H such that G is a topological group and the covering map p : G → H is a continuous group homomorphism. The map p is called the covering homomorphism. A frequently occurring case is a double covering group, a topological double cover in which H has index 2 in G; examples include the spin groups, pin groups, and metaplectic groups.
Poincaré groupThe Poincaré group, named after Henri Poincaré (1906), was first defined by Hermann Minkowski (1908) as the group of Minkowski spacetime isometries. It is a ten-dimensional non-abelian Lie group that is of importance as a model in our understanding of the most basic fundamentals of physics. A Minkowski spacetime isometry has the property that the interval between events is left invariant. For example, if everything were postponed by two hours, including the two events and the path you took to go from one to the other, then the time interval between the events recorded by a stop-watch you carried with you would be the same.
Lie algebra extensionIn the theory of Lie groups, Lie algebras and their representation theory, a Lie algebra extension e is an enlargement of a given Lie algebra g by another Lie algebra h. Extensions arise in several ways. There is the trivial extension obtained by taking a direct sum of two Lie algebras. Other types are the split extension and the central extension. Extensions may arise naturally, for instance, when forming a Lie algebra from projective group representations. Such a Lie algebra will contain central charges.
Projective orthogonal groupIn projective geometry and linear algebra, the projective orthogonal group PO is the induced action of the orthogonal group of a quadratic space V = (V,Q) on the associated projective space P(V). Explicitly, the projective orthogonal group is the quotient group PO(V) = O(V)/ZO(V) = O(V)/{±I} where O(V) is the orthogonal group of (V) and ZO(V)={±I} is the subgroup of all orthogonal scalar transformations of V – these consist of the identity and reflection through the origin.
