Lorentz Group

In physics (and mathematics), the Lorentz group is the group of all Lorentz transformations of Minkowski spacetime, the classical setting for all (nongravitational) physical phenomena. The Lorentz group is named for the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz.

The mathematical form of

  • the kinematical laws of special relativity,
  • Maxwell's field equations in the theory of electromagnetism,
  • Dirac's equation in the theory of the electron,

are each invariant under the Lorentz transformations. Therefore the Lorentz group is said to express the fundamental symmetry of many of the known fundamental Laws of Nature.

Read more about Lorentz Group:  Basic Properties, Connected Components, The Restricted Lorentz Group, Relation To The Möbius Group, Appearance of The Night Sky, Conjugacy Classes, The Lie Algebra of The Lorentz Group, Subgroups of The Lorentz Group, Covering Groups, Topology, General Dimensions

Famous quotes containing the word group:

    Even in harmonious families there is this double life: the group life, which is the one we can observe in our neighbour’s household, and, underneath, another—secret and passionate and intense—which is the real life that stamps the faces and gives character to the voices of our friends. Always in his mind each member of these social units is escaping, running away, trying to break the net which circumstances and his own affections have woven about him.
    Willa Cather (1873–1947)