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Re: "gauge invariance"



The following excerpt from "Gauge theory of elementary particle physics" by
Ta-Pei Cheng and Ling-Fong Li (Oxford University Press, 1984) and the cited
references may be helpful.

"Einstein's successful formulation of general relativity in 1916 unveiled a
profound connection between gravitation and geometry. This discovery
inspired Weyl (1919, 1921) to incorporate electromagnetism into geometry
through the concept of a space-time dependent (local) scale
transformation.... Weyl tried to derive electromagnetism by requiring
invariance under this local scale transformation and by identifying the
scale factor with the vector potential.... His initial attempt was not
successful.... By 1925 modern quantum mechanics has emerged.... It was
then realized [what] the correct identification of Weyl's scale factor
should be..., and that what would be required would be invariance of the
theory under space-time dependent phase transformation.... However when
Weyl (1929) finally worked out this approach he retained his original
terminology of 'gauge invariance', the invariance under a change of scale,
a change of the gauge. For a concise history of the gauge field concept,
the reader is referred to the lectures by Yang (1975)."

References cited above are:

Weyl, H. (1919). Ann. Physik. 59.2, 101.
Weyl, H. (1921). "Space-time-matter" (translated by H.L. Brose). Dover,
New York (1951).
Weyl, H. (1929). Z. f. Physik. 56, 330.
Yang, C.N. (1975). In "Proc. 6th Hawaii Topical Conf. Part. Phys." (ed.
P.N. Dobson). University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu.

Glenn A. Carlson, P.E.
Xannah ASE
St. Peters, MO
gcarlson@xannah.com


At 08:58 PM 3/1/01 -0700, you wrote:
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 17:01:31 -0500
From: Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>
Subject: Re: A funny capacitor.
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Can somebody explain the "gauge invariance"? What it means
and why is it called that way? It probably has somethinbg
to do with symmetry and energy but I am not sure. Is it a
new concept or a new term for something that used to have
a different name?
Ludwik Kowalski