Group Theory In Solid State Physics

This concise, class-tested book was refined over the authors’ 30 years as instructors at MIT and the University Federal of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. The approach centers on the conviction that teaching group theory along with applications helps students to learn, understand and use it for their own needs. Thus, the theoretical background is confined to introductory chapters. Subsequent chapters develop new theory alongside applications so that students can retain new concepts, build on concepts already learned, and see interrelations between topics. Essential problem sets between chapters aid retention of new material and consolidate material learned in previous chapters.

This book has been written to introduce readers to group theory and its ap plications in atomic physics, molecular physics, and solid-state physics. The first Japanese edition was published in 1976. The present English edi tion has been translated by the authors from the revised and enlarged edition of 1980. In translation, slight modifications have been made in. Chaps. 8 and 14 to update and condense the contents, together with some minor additions and improvements throughout the volume. The authors cordially thank Professor J. L. Birman and Professor M. Car dona, who encouraged them to prepare the English translation. Tokyo, January 1990 T. Inui . Y. Tanabe Y. Onodera Preface to the Japanese Edition As the title shows, this book has been prepared as a textbook to introduce readers to the applications of group theory in several fields of physics. Group theory is, in a nutshell, the mathematics of symmetry. It has three main areas of application in modern physics. The first originates from early studies of crystal morphology and constitutes a framework for classical crystal physics. The analysis of the symmetry of tensors representing macroscopic physical properties (such as elastic constants) belongs to this category. The sec ond area was enunciated by E. Wigner (1926) as a powerful means of handling quantum-mechanical problems and was first applied in this sense to the analysis of atomic spectra. Soon, H.

While group theory and its application to solid state physics is well established, this textbook raises two completely new aspects. First, it provides a better understanding by focusing on problem solving and making extensive use of Mathematica tools to visualize the concepts. Second, it offers a new tool for the photonics community by transferring the concepts of group theory and its application to photonic crystals. Clearly divided into three parts, the first provides the basics of group theory. Even at this stage, the authors go beyond the widely used standard examples to show the broad field of applications. Part II is devoted to applications in condensed matter physics, i.e. the electronic structure of materials. Combining the application of the computer algebra system Mathematica with pen and paper derivations leads to a better and faster understanding. The exhaustive discussion shows that the basics of group theory can also be applied to a totally different field, as seen in Part III. Here, photonic applications are discussed in parallel to the electronic case, with the focus on photonic crystals in two and three dimensions, as well as being partially expanded to other problems in the field of photonics. The authors have developed Mathematica package GTPack which is available for download from the book's homepage. Analytic considerations, numerical calculations and visualization are carried out using the same software. While the use of the Mathematica tools are demonstrated on elementary examples, they can equally be applied to more complicated tasks resulting from the reader's own research.

The Mathematical Study Of Group Theory Was Initiated In The Early Nineteenth Century By Such Mathematicians As Gauss, Cauchy, Abel, Hamilton, Galois, Cayley, And Many Others. However, The Advantages Of Group Theory In Physics Were Not Recognized Till 1925 When It Was Applied For Formal Study Of Theoretical Foundations Of Quantum Mechanics, Atomic Structures And Spectra By, To Name A Few, H A Bethe, E P Wigner, Etc. It Has Now Become Indispensable In Several Branches Of Physics And Physical Chemistry.Dr. Joshi Develops The Mathematics Of Group Theory And Then Goes On To Present Its Applications To Quantum Mechanics, Crystallography, And Solid State Physics. For Proper Comprehension Of Representation Theory, He Has Covered Thoroughly Such Diverse But Relevant Topics As Hilbert Spaces, Function Spaces, Operators, And Direct Sum And Product Of Matrices. He Often Proceeds From The Particular To The General So That The Beginning Student Does Not Have An Impression That Group Theory Is Merely A Branch Of Abstract Mathematics. Various Concepts Have Been Explained Consistently By The Use Of The C4V. Besides, It Contains An Improved And More General Proof Of The Schurs First Lemma And An Interpretation Of The Orthogonality Theorem In The Language Of Vector Spaces (Chapter 3).Throughout The Text The Author Gives Attention To Details And Avoids Complicated Notation. This Is A Valuable Book For Senior Students And Researchers In Physics And Physical Chemistry. A Thorough Understanding Of The Methodology And Results Contained In This Book Will Provide The Reader Sound Theoretical Foundations For Advanced Study Of Quantum Mechanics, Solid State Physics And Atomic And Particle Physics To Help Students A Flow-Chart Explaining Step By Step The Method Of Determining A Parallel-Running Example Illustrating The Procedure In Full Details Have Been Included. An Appendix On Mappings And Functions Has Also Been Added.

High-level text applies group theory to physics problems, develops methods for solving molecular vibration problems and for determining the form of crystal tensors, develops translational properties of crystals, more. 1974 edition.

Complete with reference tables and sample problems, this volume serves as a textbook or reference for solid-state physics and chemistry, materials science, and engineering. Chapters illustrate symmetry, and its role in determining solid properties, as well as a demonstration of group theory.