Structure And Geometry Of Lie Groups

This self-contained text is an excellent introduction to Lie groups and their actions on manifolds. The authors start with an elementary discussion of matrix groups, followed by chapters devoted to the basic structure and representation theory of finite dimensinal Lie algebras. They then turn to global issues, demonstrating the key issue of the interplay between differential geometry and Lie theory. Special emphasis is placed on homogeneous spaces and invariant geometric structures. The last section of the book is dedicated to the structure theory of Lie groups. Particularly, they focus on maximal compact subgroups, dense subgroups, complex structures, and linearity. This text is accessible to a broad range of mathematicians and graduate students; it will be useful both as a graduate textbook and as a research reference.

This book is the result of many years of research in Non-Euclidean Geometries and Geometry of Lie groups, as well as teaching at Moscow State University (1947- 1949), Azerbaijan State University (Baku) (1950-1955), Kolomna Pedagogical Col lege (1955-1970), Moscow Pedagogical University (1971-1990), and Pennsylvania State University (1990-1995). My first books on Non-Euclidean Geometries and Geometry of Lie groups were written in Russian and published in Moscow: Non-Euclidean Geometries (1955) [Ro1] , Multidimensional Spaces (1966) [Ro2] , and Non-Euclidean Spaces (1969) [Ro3]. In [Ro1] I considered non-Euclidean geometries in the broad sense, as geometry of simple Lie groups, since classical non-Euclidean geometries, hyperbolic and elliptic, are geometries of simple Lie groups of classes Bn and D , and geometries of complex n and quaternionic Hermitian elliptic and hyperbolic spaces are geometries of simple Lie groups of classes An and en. [Ro1] contains an exposition of the geometry of classical real non-Euclidean spaces and their interpretations as hyperspheres with identified antipodal points in Euclidean or pseudo-Euclidean spaces, and in projective and conformal spaces. Numerous interpretations of various spaces different from our usual space allow us, like stereoscopic vision, to see many traits of these spaces absent in the usual space.

Describing many of the most important aspects of Lie group theory, this book presents the subject in a 'hands on' way. Rather than concentrating on theorems and proofs, the book shows the applications of the material to physical sciences and applied mathematics. Many examples of Lie groups and Lie algebras are given throughout the text. The relation between Lie group theory and algorithms for solving ordinary differential equations is presented and shown to be analogous to the relation between Galois groups and algorithms for solving polynomial equations. Other chapters are devoted to differential geometry, relativity, electrodynamics, and the hydrogen atom. Problems are given at the end of each chapter so readers can monitor their understanding of the materials. This is a fascinating introduction to Lie groups for graduate and undergraduate students in physics, mathematics and electrical engineering, as well as researchers in these fields.

Complex Lie groups have often been used as auxiliaries in the study of real Lie groups in areas such as differential geometry and representation theory. To date, however, no book has fully explored and developed their structural aspects. The Structure of Complex Lie Groups addresses this need. Self-contained, it begins with general concepts introduced via an almost complex structure on a real Lie group. It then moves to the theory of representative functions of Lie groups- used as a primary tool in subsequent chapters-and discusses the extension problem of representations that is essential for studying the structure of complex Lie groups. This is followed by a discourse on complex analytic groups that carry the structure of affine algebraic groups compatible with their analytic group structure. The author then uses the results of his earlier discussions to determine the observability of subgroups of complex Lie groups. The differences between complex algebraic groups and complex Lie groups are sometimes subtle and it can be difficult to know which aspects of algebraic group theory apply and which must be modified. The Structure of Complex Lie Groups helps clarify those distinctions. Clearly written and well organized, this unique work presents material not found in other books on Lie groups and serves as an outstanding complement to them.

Contemporary introduction to semisimple Lie algebras; concise and informal, with numerous exercises and examples

Blending algebra, analysis, and topology, the study of compact Lie groups is one of the most beautiful areas of mathematics and a key stepping stone to the theory of general Lie groups. Assuming no prior knowledge of Lie groups, this book covers the structure and representation theory of compact Lie groups. Coverage includes the construction of the Spin groups, Schur Orthogonality, the Peter-Weyl Theorem, the Plancherel Theorem, the Maximal Torus Theorem, the Commutator Theorem, the Weyl Integration and Character Formulas, the Highest Weight Classification, and the Borel-Weil Theorem. The book develops the necessary Lie algebra theory with a streamlined approach focusing on linear Lie groups.

This book is intended as an introductory text on the subject of Lie groups and algebras and their role in various fields of mathematics and physics. It is written by and for researchers who are primarily analysts or physicists, not algebraists or geometers. Not that we have eschewed the algebraic and geo metric developments. But we wanted to present them in a concrete way and to show how the subject interacted with physics, geometry, and mechanics. These interactions are, of course, manifold; we have discussed many of them here-in particular, Riemannian geometry, elementary particle physics, sym metries of differential equations, completely integrable Hamiltonian systems, and spontaneous symmetry breaking. Much ofthe material we have treated is standard and widely available; but we have tried to steer a course between the descriptive approach such as found in Gilmore and Wybourne, and the abstract mathematical approach of Helgason or Jacobson. Gilmore and Wybourne address themselves to the physics community whereas Helgason and Jacobson address themselves to the mathematical community. This book is an attempt to synthesize the two points of view and address both audiences simultaneously. We wanted to present the subject in a way which is at once intuitive, geometric, applications oriented, mathematically rigorous, and accessible to students and researchers without an extensive background in physics, algebra, or geometry.