Abstract
The title of my address, so kindly provided by the leadership of this conference, clearly indicates that I should be principally concerned with the role which the symmetry and invariance principles play in quantum mechanics, with their applications and effectiveness — it was precisely 50 years ago that these were recognized. Nevertheless, I like to say a few words about the role of symmetry principles in prequantum theory because the comparison of this role with the role played by the same principles at present seems to me very interesting.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
J.F.C. Hessel, Ostwald’s Klassiker der exakten Naturwissenschaften, No. 89 (Leipzig, 1897 ), p. 91.
A. Schönflies, Kristallsysteme and Kristallstruktur (Leipzig, 1891 ).
E.S. Fedorov, Zap. Min. Obsk. 38, 1 (1891) ( Trans.: Min. Soc.).
N. Steno, De solido intra solidem naturaliter contento dissertationis prodromus (Florence, 1669 ).
G. Hamel, Z. Math. Phys. 50, 1 (1904). F. Engel, Nach. Ges..Wiss.—Göttingen, 1918, p. 375; E. Nöther, ibid. p. 235.
A. Kretschman, Ann. der Physik 53, 575 (1917).
The rôle of invariance principles in natural philosophy, Rendiconti della Scuola Internazionale di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Corso XXIX ( Academic Press, New York, 1964 ).
V. Fock, The theory of space, time, and gravitation ( Pergamon Press, London, 1957 ).
M. Gell-Mann, Phys. Rev. 125, 1067 (1962). Y. Ne’eman, Nuclear Phys. 26, 222 (1961).
E.P. Wigner, Ann. of Math. 40, 149 (1939).
E.P. Wigner, Gruppentheorie und ihre Anwendung auf die Quantenmechanik der Atomspectren (Vieweg, Braunschweig, 1931). Somewhat updated English translation: Academic Press, New York, 1959. M. Hamermesh, Group theory and its application to physical problems (Addison Wesley Publ. Co., Reading, Mass., 1962 ).
M. Born and J.R. Oppenheimer, Ann. der Physik 84, 457 (1927).
T.D. Lee and C.N. Yang, Phys. Rev. 104, 254 (1956).
C.S. Wu, E. Ambler, R.W. Hayward, D.D. Hoppes and R.P. Hudson, Phys. Rev. 105 1413 (1957).
G. Herzberg’s books, in particular his Spectra of Diatomic Molecules (Van Nostrand, New York, 1939 and 1950) describe very vividly both the applicability of the classical picture and the deviations from it in the case of identical atoms. I. Kovacs’ Rotational Structure in the Spectra of Diatomic Molecules (Hilger, London, 1969) gives even further details.
K.F. Bonhöffer and P. Harteck, Z. für Physikalische Chemie B4, 113 (1929).
J. Callaway, Electron band theory ( Academic Press, New York, 1964 ).
M.J.O. Strutt, Ann. der Physik 85, 129 (1928). F. Bloch, Z. für Physik 52, 555 (1928). R. Peierls, Ann. der Physik 4, 121 (1930). L.P. Bouckaert, R. Smoluchowski and E. Wigner, Phys. Rev. 50, 58 (1936).
A very interesting discussion on this subject was presented at the 14th Solvay Conference: Symmetry properties of nuclei (Gordon and Breach, 1974).
M. Gell-Man and Y. Ne’eman, The eightfold way (W.A. Benjamin, New York, 1964). Highlights in particle physics (ed. A. Zichichi) (Editrice Compositori, Bologna, 1973 ).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1978 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wigner, E.P. (1978). Fifty Years of Symmetry Operators. In: Zichichi, A. (eds) Understanding the Fundamental Constituents of Matter. The Subnuclear Series, vol 14. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0931-4_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0931-4_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0933-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-0931-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive