Use this tag for questions seeking a single specific paper or a short, non-open-ended list of references, like "What paper first discovered X?", "Where can I find the original derivation of X?", or "What is the canonical source for X?" etc.
51
votes
6answers
844 views
What are the justifying foundations of statistical mechanics without appealing to the ergodic hypothesis?
This question was listed as one of the questions in the proposal (see here), and I didn't know the answer. I don't know the ethics on blatantly stealing such a question, so if it should be deleted or ...
16
votes
8answers
2k views
Comprehensive book on group theory for physicists?
I am looking for a good source on group theory aimed at physicists. I'd prefer one with a good general introduction to group theory, not just focusing on Lie groups or crystal groups but one that ...
16
votes
3answers
93 views
Paper listing known Seiberg-dual pairs of N=1 gauge theories
Is there a nice list of known Seiberg-dual pairs somewhere? There are so many papers from the middle 1990s but I do not find comprehensive review. Could you suggest a reference?
Seiberg's original ...
15
votes
1answer
368 views
Minimum viscosity of liquids
In a lecture by Purcell he mentions that he notices that there aren't any liquids with viscosities much less than that of water, even though they go up seemingly unbounded. In an endnote (endnote 1 in ...
14
votes
6answers
306 views
Classic Literature in Quantum Gravity?
I've seen it said in various places that a major reason people like string theory as a theory of quantum gravity is that it does a good job of matching our prejudices about how a quantum gravity ...
13
votes
3answers
1k views
Good reading on the Keldysh formalism
I'd like some suggestions for good reading materials on the Keldysh formalism in a condmat context. I'm familiar with the imaginary time, coherent state, path integral formalism, but lately I've been ...
12
votes
2answers
174 views
Possible research implications of proof of John Cardy's a-theorem in QFT
According to this recent article in Nature magazine, John Cardy's a-theorem may have found a proof.
Question:
What would the possible implications be in relation to further research in QFT?
...
12
votes
6answers
1k views
Where should a physicist go to learn chemistry?
I took an introductory chemistry course long ago, but the rules seemed arbitrary, and I've forgotten most of what I learned. Now that I have an undergraduate education in physics, I should be able to ...
12
votes
2answers
50 views
Numerical Analysis of Elliptic PDEs
I am looking for an elementary reference regarding issues of stability in numerical analysis of non-linear elliptic PDEs, particularly using the finite difference method (but something more ...
12
votes
1answer
92 views
6d Massive Gravity
Massive gravity (with a Fierz-Pauli mass) in 4 dimensions is very well-studied, involving exotic phenomena like the vDVZ discontinuity and the Vainshtein effect that all have an elegant and physically ...
12
votes
1answer
383 views
A reading list to build up to the spin statistics theorem
Wikipedia's article on the spin-statistics theorem sums it up thusly:
In quantum mechanics, the spin-statistics theorem relates the spin of a particle to the particle statistics it obeys. The spin ...
11
votes
2answers
128 views
Literature on fractal properties of quasicrystals
At the seminar where the talk was about quasicrystals, I mentioned that some results on their properties remind the fractals. The person who gave the talk was not too fluent in a rigor mathematics ...
11
votes
2answers
234 views
Searching books and papers with equations
Sometimes I may come up with an equation in mind, so I want to search for the related material. It may be the case that I learn it before but forget the name, or, there is no name for the equation ...
11
votes
2answers
141 views
Gauge invariance for electromagnetic potential observables in test function form
This is a reference request for a relationship in quantum field theory between the electromagnetic potential and the electromagnetic field when they are presented in test function form. $U(1)$ gauge ...
11
votes
2answers
70 views
Discussions of the axioms of AQFT
The most recent discussion of what axioms one might drop from the Wightman axioms to allow the construction of realistic models that I'm aware of is Streater, Rep. Prog. Phys. 1975 38 771-846, ...
10
votes
2answers
607 views
Treatment of boundary terms when applying the variational principle
One of the main sources of subtlety in the AdS/CFT correspondence is the role played by boundary terms in the action. For example, for a scalar field in AdS there is range of masses just above the ...
10
votes
1answer
452 views
Entanglement in time
Quantum entanglement links particles through time, according to this study that received some publicity last year:
New Type Of Entanglement Allows 'Teleportation in Time,' Say Physicists at The ...
9
votes
4answers
292 views
Applications of Geometric Topology to Theoretical Physics
Geometric topology is the study of manifolds, maps between manifolds, and embeddings of manifolds in one another. Included in this sub-branch of Pure Mathematics; knot theory, homotopy, manifold ...
9
votes
2answers
304 views
What is the current state of research in quantum gravity?
I was browsing through this and was wondering what progress in quantum gravity research has taken place since the (preprint) publication.
If anyone can provide some helpful feedback I would be ...
9
votes
1answer
57 views
Introduction to neutron star physics
I enjoy thinking about theoretical astrophysics because I want to understand black holes. Given that no one understands black holes, I like to ponder the nearest thing to a black hole: a neutron star! ...
9
votes
4answers
317 views
The Schwinger model
The Schwinger model is the 2d QED with massless fermions. An important result about it (which I would like to understand) is that this is a gauge invariant theory which contains a free massive vector ...
9
votes
1answer
28 views
“Blue Bumper” Stars
I was recently overviewing various massive compact halo object studies (the Anglo-Australian MACHO collaboration and the French I/II EROS collaboration), and they frequently reference "blue bumper ...
9
votes
3answers
134 views
Hilbert-Schmidt basis for many qubits - reference
Every density matrix of $n$ qubits can be written in the following way
$$\hat{\rho}=\frac{1}{2^n}\sum_{i_1,i_2,\ldots,i_n=0}^3 t_{i_1i_2\ldots i_n} ...
9
votes
1answer
40 views
Functional relations for Kochen-Specker proofs
Many proofs of the Kochen-Specker theorem use some form of the following argument (from Mermin's "Simple Unified Form for the major No-Hidden-Variables Theorems" )
[I]f some functional relation
...
8
votes
2answers
336 views
What Hermitian operators can be observables?
We can construct a Hermitian operator $O$ in the following general way:
find a complete set of projectors $P_\lambda$ which commute,
assign to each projector a unique real number $\lambda\in\mathbb ...
8
votes
3answers
184 views
References on the physics of anyons
Anyone know some good introductory references on the physics of anyons?
8
votes
6answers
71 views
Papers and preprints worth reading, Jan-midFeb 2012 [closed]
Which recent (i.e. Jan-midFeb 2012) papers and preprint do you consider really worth reading?
References should be followed by a summary saying what is the result and (implicitly or explicitly) why ...
8
votes
1answer
73 views
Many body quantum states analyzed as probabilistic sequences
Measurements of consecutive sites in a many body qudit system (e.q. a spin chain) can be interpreted as generating a probabilistic sequence of numbers $X_1 X_2 X_3 \ldots$, where $X_i\in ...
8
votes
0answers
120 views
Intuitive sketch of the correspondence of a string theory to its limiting quantum field theory
I'm looking for an intuitive sketch of how one shows the correspondence of string theory to a certain QFT. My best guess is that one calculates the scattering amplitudes in the string theory as a ...
8
votes
0answers
36 views
Minimal strings and topological strings
In http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0206255 Dijkgraaf and Vafa showed that the closed string partition function of the topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau of the form $uv-H(x,y)=0$ coincides with the free ...
7
votes
6answers
847 views
What is a tensor?
I have a pretty good knowledge of physics but couldn't understand what a tensor is. I just couldn't understand it, and the wiki page is very hard to understand as well. Can someone refer me to a good ...
7
votes
3answers
405 views
Noether theorem with semigroup of symmetry instead of group
Suppose You have semigroup instead of typical group construction in Noether theorem. Is this interesting? In fact there is no time-reversal symmetry in the nature, right? At least not in the same ...
7
votes
2answers
658 views
Modern and complete references for the $k\cdot p$ method?
I've recently started studying the $k\cdot p$ method for describing electronic bandstructures near the centre of the Brillouin zone and I've been finding it hard to find any pedagogical references on ...
7
votes
2answers
51 views
“tmf(n) is the space of supersymmetric conformal field theories of central charge -n”
I read this intriguing statement in John Baez' week 197 the other day, and I've been giving it some thought. The post in question is from 2003, so I was wondering if there has been any progress in ...
7
votes
2answers
116 views
Simulation of QED
Can anyone point me to a paper dealing with simulation of QED or the Standard Model in general? I will particularly appreciate a review paper.
7
votes
2answers
445 views
Majorana zero mode in quantum field theory
Recently, Majorana zero mode becomes very hot in condensed matter physics.
I remember there was a lot of study of fermion zero mode
in quantum field theory, where advanced math, such as index ...
7
votes
4answers
347 views
Hamiltonian and the space-time structure
I'm reading Arnold's "Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics" but I failed to find rigorous development for the allowed forms of Hamiltonian.
Space-time structure dictates the form of ...
7
votes
1answer
87 views
Fourier Methods in General Relativity
I am looking for some references which discuss Fourier transform methods in GR. Specifically supposing you have a metric $g_{\mu \nu}(x)$ and its Fourier transform $\tilde{g}_{\mu \nu}(k)$, what does ...
7
votes
1answer
49 views
Canonical averages in a Fermi gas aka generalized Fermi-Dirac distribution
I am in the process of applying Beenakker's tunneling master equation theory of quantum dots (with some generalizations) to some problems of non-adiabatic charge pumping. As a part of this work I ...
7
votes
3answers
451 views
Boundary layer theory in fluids learning resources
I'm trying to understand boundary layer theory in fluids. All I've found are dimensional arguments, order of magnitude arguments, etc... What I'm looking for is more mathematically sound arguments. ...
7
votes
1answer
164 views
Are Born-Oppenheimer energies analytic functions of nuclear positions?
I am looking for references to bibliography that explores the smoothness and analyticity of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions (and matrix elements in general) of a hamiltonian that depends on some ...
7
votes
1answer
78 views
Characters of $\widehat{\mathfrak{su}}(2)_k$ and WZW coset construction
I am currently studying affine Lie algebras and the WZW coset construction. I have a minor technical problem in calculating the (specialized) character of $\widehat{\mathfrak{su}}(2)_k$ for an affine ...
7
votes
0answers
205 views
Lower bounds on spectral gaps of ferromagnetic spin-1/2 XXX Hamiltonians?
Question. Are there any references or techniques which can be applied to obtain energy gaps for ferromagnetic XXX spin-1/2 Hamitlonians, on general interaction graphs, or tree-graphs?
I'm interested ...
6
votes
10answers
2k views
Physics for mathematicians
How and from where does a mathematician learn physics from a mathematical stand point? I am reading the book by Spivak Elementary Mechanics from a mathematicians view point. The first couple of pages ...
6
votes
8answers
4k views
Which Mechanics book is the best for beginner in math major?
I'm a bachelor student majoring in math, and pretty interested in physics. I would like a book to study for classical mechanics, that will prepare me to work through Goldstein's Classical Mechanics. ...
6
votes
2answers
277 views
Wilson/Polyakov loops in Weinberg's QFT books
I wanted to know if the discussion on Wilson loops and Polyakov loops (and their relationship to confinement and asymptotic freedom) is present in the three volumes of Weinberg's QFT books but in some ...
6
votes
1answer
69 views
Quantum mechanics as a Markov process
I am currently involved in some understanding on this matter with a colleague of mine. I know all the literature about but I do not know the state of art. Please, could you provide some relevant ...
6
votes
1answer
105 views
Request for Reference: BRST formalism/transformations
Could anyone please suggest a very basic paper/reference/literature on BRST symmetry/formalism that requires rudimentary knowledge of Dirac's method for dealing with constrained systems and generation ...
6
votes
2answers
352 views
What's a good reference for the electrodynamics of moving media?
The answer to a previous question suggests that a moving, permanently magnetized material has an effective electric polarization $\vec{v}\times\vec{M}$. This is easy to check in the case of ...
6
votes
2answers
282 views
Is there a published upper limit on the electron's electric quadrupole moment?
I understand an electric quadrupole moment is forbidden in the standard electron theory. In this paper considering general relativistic corrections (Kerr-Newman metric around the electron), however, ...
