Brief Introduction To Topology And Differential Geometry In Condensed Matter Physics

In the last years there have been great advances in the applications of topology and differential geometry to problems in condensed matter physics. Concepts drawn from topology and geometry have become essential to the understanding of several phenomena in the area. Physicists have been creative in producing models for actual physical phenomena which realize mathematically exotic concepts and new phases have been discovered in condensed matter in which topology plays a leading role. An important classification paradigm is the concept of topological order, where the state characterizing a system does not break any symmetry, but it defines a topological phase in the sense that certain fundamental properties change only when the system passes through a quantum phase transition. The main purpose of this book is to provide a brief, self-contained introduction to some mathematical ideas and methods from differential geometry and topology, and to show a few applications in condensed matter. It conveys to physicists the basis for many mathematical concepts, avoiding the detailed formality of most textbooks.

The book explains concepts and ideas of mathematics and physics that are relevant for advanced students and researchers of condensed matter physics. With this aim, a brief intuitive introduction to many-body theory is given as a powerful qualitative tool for understanding complex systems. The important emergent concept of a quasiparticle is then introduced as a way to reduce a many-body problem to a single particle quantum problem. Examples of quasiparticles in graphene, superconductors, superfluids and in a topological insulator on a superconductor are discussed. The mathematical idea of self-adjoint extension, which allows short distance information to be included in an effective long distance theory through boundary conditions, is introduced through simple examples and then applied extensively to analyse and predict new physical consequences for graphene. The mathematical discipline of topology is introduced in an intuitive way and is then combined with the methods of differential geometry to show how the emergence of gapless states can be understood. Practical ways of carrying out topological calculations are described. Contents:OverviewMany-Body TheoryTopology and GeometryBoundary Conditions and Self-Adjoint ExtensionsElectronic Properties of Graphene Readership: Graduate students and researchers in condensed matter physics and mathematical physics. Key Features:Topics are of current interest, e.g. graphene, topological insulators, Majorana fermionsIs self-contained and provides all the background material necessary to understand the physical or mathematical concepts discussedPractical ways of using topology, self-adjoint extensions as well as ways of making qualitative estimates in physics are explained and then illustrated by examplesKeywords:Condensed Matter Physics;Topology;Differential Geometry;Many-Body Problem;Graphene;Self-Adjoint Extensions;K-Theory;Quasiparticles;Superconductivity;Superfluidity;Topological Insulator;Mathematical Physics

Differential geometry and topology have become essential tools for many theoretical physicists. In particular, they are indispensable in theoretical studies of condensed matter physics, gravity, and particle physics. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition introduces the ideas and techniques of differential geometry and topology at a level suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in these fields. The second edition of this popular and established text incorporates a number of changes designed to meet the needs of the reader and reflect the development of the subject. The book features a considerably expanded first chapter, reviewing aspects of path integral quantization and gauge theories. Chapter 2 introduces the mathematical concepts of maps, vector spaces, and topology. The following chapters focus on more elaborate concepts in geometry and topology and discuss the application of these concepts to liquid crystals, superfluid helium, general relativity, and bosonic string theory. Later chapters unify geometry and topology, exploring fiber bundles, characteristic classes, and index theorems. New to this second edition is the proof of the index theorem in terms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The final two chapters are devoted to the most fascinating applications of geometry and topology in contemporary physics, namely the study of anomalies in gauge field theories and the analysis of Polakov's bosonic string theory from the geometrical point of view. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition is an ideal introduction to differential geometry and topology for postgraduate students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics.

Written by physicists for physics students, this text assumes no detailed background in topology or geometry. Topics include differential forms, homotopy, homology, cohomology, fiber bundles, connection and covariant derivatives, and Morse theory. 1983 edition.

This book gives an outline of the developments of differential geometry and topology in the twentieth century, especially those which will be closely related to new discoveries in theoretical physics.

Application of the concepts and methods of topology and geometry have led to a deeper understanding of many crucial aspects in condensed matter physics, cosmology, gravity and particle physics. This book can be considered an advanced textbook on modern applications and recent developments in these fields of physical research. Written as a set of largely self-contained extensive lectures, the book gives an introduction to topological concepts in gauge theories, BRST quantization, chiral anomalies, supersymmetric solitons and noncommutative geometry. It will be of benefit to postgraduate students, educating newcomers to the field and lecturers looking for advanced material.

This edition of the invaluable text Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists contains an additional chapter that introduces some of the basic ideas of general topology needed in differential geometry. A number of small corrections and additions have also been made. These lecture notes are the content of an introductory course on modern, coordinate-free differential geometry which is taken by first-year theoretical physics PhD students, or by students attending the one-year MSc course “Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces” at Imperial College. The book is concerned entirely with mathematics proper, although the emphasis and detailed topics have been chosen bearing in mind the way in which differential geometry is applied these days to modern theoretical physics. This includes not only the traditional area of general relativity but also the theory of Yang-Mills fields, nonlinear sigma models and other types of nonlinear field systems that feature in modern quantum field theory. The volume is divided into four parts: (i) introduction to general topology; (ii) introductory coordinate-free differential geometry; (iii) geometrical aspects of the theory of Lie groups and Lie group actions on manifolds; (iv) introduction to the theory of fibre bundles. In the introduction to differential geometry the author lays considerable stress on the basic ideas of “tangent space structure”, which he develops from several different points of view — some geometrical, others more algebraic. This is done with awareness of the difficulty which physics graduate students often experience when being exposed for the first time to the rather abstract ideas of differential geometry.