A Course In Modern Mathematical Physics

This textbook, first published in 2004, provides an introduction to the major mathematical structures used in physics today.

This book provides an introduction to the major mathematical structures used in physics today. It covers the concepts and techniques needed for topics such as group theory, Lie algebras, topology, Hilbert space and differential geometry. Important theories of physics such as classical and quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and special and general relativity are also developed in detail, and presented in the appropriate mathematical language. The book is suitable for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematical and theoretical physics, as well as applied mathematics. It includes numerous exercises and worked examples, to test the reader's understanding of the various concepts, as well as extending the themes covered in the main text. The only prerequisites are elementary calculus and linear algebra. No prior knowledge of group theory, abstract vector spaces or topology is required.

For physics students interested in the mathematics they use, and for math students interested in seeing how some of the ideas of their discipline find realization in an applied setting. The presentation strikes a balance between formalism and application, between abstract and concrete. The interconnections among the various topics are clarified both by the use of vector spaces as a central unifying theme, recurring throughout the book, and by putting ideas into their historical context. Enough of the essential formalism is included to make the presentation self-contained.

An engagingly-written account of mathematical tools and ideas, this book provides a graduate-level introduction to the mathematics used in research in physics. The first half of the book focuses on the traditional mathematical methods of physics – differential and integral equations, Fourier series and the calculus of variations. The second half contains an introduction to more advanced subjects, including differential geometry, topology and complex variables. The authors' exposition avoids excess rigor whilst explaining subtle but important points often glossed over in more elementary texts. The topics are illustrated at every stage by carefully chosen examples, exercises and problems drawn from realistic physics settings. These make it useful both as a textbook in advanced courses and for self-study. Password-protected solutions to the exercises are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521854030.

"This book is the first of a multivolume series devoted to an exposition of functional analysis methods in modern mathematical physics. It describes the fundamental principles of functional analysis and is essentially self-contained, although there are occasional references to later volumes. We have included a few applications when we thought that they would provide motivation for the reader. Later volumes describe various advanced topics in functional analysis and give numerous applications in classical physics, modern physics, and partial differential equations." --Publisher description.

Graduate-level text offers unified treatment of mathematics applicable to many branches of physics. Theory of vector spaces, analytic function theory, theory of integral equations, group theory, and more. Many problems. Bibliography.

This classic text is known to and used by thousands of mathematicians and students of mathematics thorughout the world. It gives an introduction to the general theory of infinite processes and of analytic functions together with an account of the principle transcendental functions.