The Universe in a Helium Droplet: 117 - Brossura

Volovik, Grigory E.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0199564841 ISBN 13: 9780199564842

Casa editrice: OUP Oxford, 2009

Riassunto

There are fundamental relations between three vast areas of physics: particle physics, cosmology and condensed matter physics. The fundamental links between the first two areas, in other words, between micro- and macro- worlds, have been well established. There is a unified system of laws governing the scales from subatomic particles to the Cosmos and this principle is widely exploited in the description of the physics of the early Universe. The main goal of this book is to establish and define the connection of these two fields with condensed matter physics.

According to the modern view, elementary particles (electrons, neutrinos, quarks, etc.) are excitations of a more fundamental medium called the quantum vacuum. This is the new 'aether' of the 21st Century. Electromagnetism, gravity, and the fields transferring weak and strong interactions all represent different types of the collective motion of the quantum vacuum. Among the existing condensed matter systems, a quantum liquid called superfluid 3He-A most closely represents the quantum vacuum. Its quasiparticles are very similar to the elementary particles, while the collective modes of the liquid are very similar to electromagnetic and gravitational fields, and the quanta of these collective modes are analogues of photons and gravitons. The fundamental laws of physics, such as the laws of relativity (Lorentz invariance) and gauge invariance, arise when the temperature of the quantum liquid decreases.

This book is written for graduate students and researchers in all areas of physics.

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Recensione:

The book extends the traditionally fruitful transfer of ideas from condensed matter to fundamental theories. Do not be put off by the title: this is a serious contribution. (Mathematical Reviews)

Physicists will find a wealth of powerful and entertaining ideas in this highly original work. (F. Wilczek, MIT)

Provides a splendid guide into this mostly unexplored wilderness of emergent particle physics and cosmology. (James D. Bjorken, SLAC)

Contenuti:

• 1: Introduction: GUT and anti-GUT
• 2: Gravity
• 3: Microscopic physics of quantum liquids
• 4: Effective theory of superfluidity
• 5: Two-fluid hydrodynamics
• 6: Advantages and drawbacks of effective theory
• 7: Microscopic physics
• 8: Universality classes of fermionic vacua
• 9: Effective quantum electrodynamics in 3He-A
• 10: Phenomenology of superfluid helium-3
• 11: Momentum-space topology of 2+1 systems
• 12: p-space topology protected by symmetry
• 13: Topology of defects
• 14: Vortices in 3He-B
• 15: Symmetry breaking in 3He-A and singular vortices
• 16: Continuous structures
• 17: Monopoles and boojums
• 18: Anomalous non-conservation of fermionic charge
• 19: Anomalous currents
• 20: Macroscopic parity violating effects
• 21: Quantization of physical parameters
• 22: Edge states and fermion zero modes on soliton
• 23: Fermion zero modes on vortices
• 24: Vortex mass
• 25: Spectral flow in the vortex core
• 26: Landau critical velocity
• 27: Vortex formation by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
• 28: Vortex formation in ionizing radiation
• 29: Casimir effect and vacuum energy
• 30: Topological defects as source of nontrivial metric
• 31: Vacuum under rotation and spinning strings
• 32: Analogs of event horizon
• 33: Conclusion
• References

Su questa edizione

• Editore: OUP Oxford
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0199564841
• ISBN 13: 9780199564842
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 534