What is Lorentz group: Definition and 69 Discussions

In physics and mathematics, the Lorentz group is the group of all Lorentz transformations of Minkowski spacetime, the classical and quantum setting for all (non-gravitational) physical phenomena. The Lorentz group is named for the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz.
For example, the following laws, equations, and theories respect Lorentz symmetry:

The kinematical laws of special relativity
Maxwell's field equations in the theory of electromagnetism
The Dirac equation in the theory of the electron
The Standard Model of particle physicsThe Lorentz group expresses the fundamental symmetry of space and time of all known fundamental laws of nature. In general relativity physics, in cases involving small enough regions of spacetime where gravitational variances are negligible, physical laws are Lorentz invariant in the same manner as that of special relativity physics.

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  1. E

    Field transformation under Lorentz group

    Hi! In Weinberg's book "The quantum theory of fields", chapter2, it states that the transformation of a massive particle is U(\Lambda)\Psi_{p,\sigma}= N\sum\mathcal{D}^{(j)}_{\sigma',\sigma}(W)\Psi_{\Lambda p,\sigma'} where W is an element in the little-group SO(3). But than it states that...
  2. W

    Poincare vs Lorentz Group

    The words Poincare and Lorentz sound pretty elegant. I think they are French words like Loreal Or Laurent. I know Poincare has to do with spacetime translation and Lorentz with rotations symmetry. But how come one commonly heard about Lorentz symmetry in Special Relativity and General...
  3. O

    Representations of lorentz group and transformations IN DETAIL

    From Peskin and Schroeder: The finite-dimentional representations of the rotation group correspond precisely to the allowed values for the angular momentum: integers or half integers. From the Lorentz commutation relations: \left[J^{\mu \nu},J^{\rho \sigma}\right]=i \left(g^{\nu \rho}J^{\mu...
  4. J

    Non-compactness of Lorentz Group ?

    Hello, I'm studying the Lorentz group and their properties... and I have some question for them.. Peskin's text(p496) said that "we are primarily interested in Lie algebras that have finite-dimensional Hermitian representations, leading to finite-dimensional unitary representations of the...
  5. Y

    Representations of the Lorentz Group

    This is something I feel I should know by now, but I've always been very confused about. Specifically, how does one determine what each representation of the Lorentz group corresponds to? I mean, I know that the (1/2,0) and the (0,1/2) representations correspond to right and left handed spinors...
  6. W

    Can the lorentz group be covered by single-parameter subgroups?

    we all know the lorentz group is of four disconnected components about the component connected to the unit element, is it coverable with single-parameter subgroups? put it in another way are all the elements in this component of the form exp(A)? i am studying relativistic quantum...
  7. R

    Representations of Lorentz group

    I'm reading the wiki article on Representation theory of the Lorentz group and they seem to make a distinction between these two reps: (1/2,1/2) and (1/2,0) + (0,1/2) I did some checks and it seems that these two are the same. Am I wrong or is the wiki article wrong (won't be the...
  8. B

    Reps of lorentz group and pauli and gamma matrices

    I'm very confused By performing a lorentz transformation on a spinor \psi\rightarrow S(\Lambda)\psi(\Lambda x) and imposing covariance on the Dirac equation i\gamma^{\mu}\partial_{\mu}\psi=0 we deduce that the gamma matrices transform as S(\Lambda)\gamma^{\mu}...
  9. M

    Orthochronal subgroup of the Lorentz group

    This is probably very trivial, but I can't find an argument, why the orthochronal transformations (i.e. those for which \Lambda^0{}_0 \geq 1) form a subgroup of the Lorentz group, i.e. why the product of two orthochronal transformations is again orthochronal? Since when you multiply two...
  10. W

    [qft] Srednicki 2.3 Lorentz group generator commutator

    Homework Statement Verify that (2.16) follows from (2.14). Here \Lambda is a Lorentz transformation matrix, U is a unitary operator, M is a generator of the Lorentz group. Homework Equations 2.8: \delta\omega_{\rho\sigma}=-\delta\omega_{\sigma\rho} M^{\mu\nu}=-M^{\nu\mu} 2.14...
  11. T

    Representation of lorentz group

    Homework Statement i) Show that the Lorentz group has representations on any space \mathbb{R}^d for any d = 4n with n = 0, 1, 2, . . .. Show that those with n > 1 are not irreducible. (Hint: here it might be useful to work with tensors in index notation and to think of symmetry...
  12. M

    Why the Six Generators of the Restrict Lorentz Group

    Why the six generator of the restrict lorentz group are the three rotation's generator(angular momentum) and the three boost's generator?
  13. B

    Representations of the lorentz group

    I'm very very very confused and extremely thick. If \Lambda_i is some element of the Lorentz group and \Lambda_j is another, different element of the group then under multiplication... \Lambda_i \Lambda_j is also an element of the Lorentz group, say \Lambda_i \Lambda_j...
  14. P

    The Lorentz Group in General Relativity

    What role does the Lorentz Group play in the General Relativity ?
  15. G

    Angular Momentum, Spin and SO(3), SU(2), and Lorentz Group

    I read that the generator of the O(3) group is the angular momentum L and that the generator of the SU(2) group is spin S. Nevertheless I have some questions. 1. In some books they say that the generator of the SO(3) group is angular momentum L. SO(3) is the group of proper rotations...
  16. P

    I'm sorry, I am not able to generate webpage titles for user's content.

    What is the rotation transformation generator? What is the Lorentz group generator?
  17. L

    Lorentz group, Poincaré group and conformal group

    Dear all, I just received by mail the https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471925675/?tag=pfamazon01-20. I am very very happy. At each page I can see something new to learn. But I would like to learn a bit more about his remark on page 28. (you can read it with the amazon reader) He talks about...
  18. S

    Understanding Lorentz Representations and Their Corresponding Identities

    Hello everyone, In wikipedia when searching Lorentz representations, there is given that (1/2,0)*(0,1/2) corresponds to Dirac spinor representation and (1/2,1/2) is vector representation, but in P.Ramond's book "Field Theory - A Modern Primer" I read (1/2,0)*(0,1/2)=(1/2,1/2), obviously I...
  19. K

    Is There a Universal Group Contraction for Lorentz and Galilean Groups?

    Is Lorentz group correct?, my question is let's be a group A so the Lorentz Groups is a subgroups of it so A>L (L=Lorentz group , G= Galilean group) of course if we had an element tending to 0 so: A(\hbar)\rightarrow L (Group contraction) so for small h the groups A and L are the same and...
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