The Philosophy and Physics of Noether's Theorems
The Philosophy and Physics of Noether's Theorems
In 1918, Emmy Noether, in her paper Invariante Variationsprobleme, proved two theorems (and their converses) on variational problems that went on to revolutionise theoretical physics. 100 years later, the mathematics of Noether's theorems continues to be generalised, and the physical applications of her results continue to diversify. This centenary volume brings together world-leading historians, philosophers, physicists, and mathematicians in order to clarify the historical context of this work, its foundational and philosophical consequences, and its myriad physical applications. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professional researchers, this is a go-to resource for those wishing to understand Noether's work on variational problems and the profound applications which it finds in contemporary physics.
- Combines insightful contributions on Noether from world experts in philosophy, physics, history and mathematics
- Yields a broad understanding of the historical context of Noether's work and its significance in physics
- Builds on a 2018 international conference to celebrate and extend Noether's work 100 years on
Reviews & endorsements
'… simultaneously serves as a comprehensive demonstration of the past 20 years of progress in philosophy of physics, an invaluable reference for physicists and philosophers alike, and a superb springboard for future research.' Katherine Brading, Physics Today
Product details
No date availableHardback
9781108486231
430 pages
250 × 175 × 27 mm
0.84kg
Table of Contents
- Introduction James Read and Nicholas Teh
- 1. The Noether theorems in context Yvette Kosmann-Schwarzbach
- 2. Felix Klein and Emmy Noether on invariant theory and variational principles David Rowe
- 3. Moscow, Oxford, or Princeton: The move from Göttingen Tomoko Kitagawa
- 4. Getting to the bottom of Noether's theorem John Baez
- 5. BV quantization in perturbative algebraic QFT: Fundamental concepts and perspectives Kasia Rejzner
- 6. Divergence invariant variational problems Peter Olver
- 7. Do symmetries 'explain' conservation laws? The modern converse Noether theorem versus pragmatism Harvey Brown
- 8. Converse of Noether's first theorem and the energy-momentum tensor ambiguity problem Mark Baker, Niels Linnemann and Christopher Smeenk
- 9. Noether's theorems and energy in general relativity Sebastian de Haro
- 10. Geometric objects and perspectivalism James Read
- 11. Substantive general covariance and the Einstein–Klein dispute: A Noetherian approach Laurent Freidel and Nicholas Teh
- 12. Noether charges, gauge-invariance, and non-separability Henrique Gomes
- 13. Observability, redundancy and modality for dynamical symmetry transformations David Wallace
- 14. The gauge argument: A Noether reason Henrique Gomes, Bryan Roberts and Jeremy Butterfield.
