Do You SU(2)?
Noah Graham
Middlebury College
In physics, one commonly encounters scalar quantities (e.g. temperature and mass) and vector quantities, (e.g. velocity or electric field). Scalars are unchanged by every rotation, while rotation of a vector can be implemented by a 3x3 matrix drawn from the group SO(3). Not every quantity in Nature is a scalar or vector, however. After introducing the linear algebra of scalar and vector rotations, I will describe another possibility, governed by the group SU(2). It describes spin, a quantum-mechanical property of all matter particles and that makes possible technologies including nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic storage (disk drives). Among its strange properties -- predicted by SU(2) and observed in Nature -- is that a 360 degree rotation of a spin does not return it to its original configuration.
The talk will not assume any physics background, but it will be helpful to have taken (or be taking) MA200.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 3:15 p.m.
Warner 202
Refreshments at 3:00 p.m.