Vector Spaces And Matrices

This textbook is aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning the fundamental mathematical concepts and tools widely used in different areas of physics. The author draws on a vast teaching experience, and presents a comprehensive and self-contained text which explains how mathematics intertwines with and forms an integral part of physics in numerous instances.

This unique text provides a geometric approach to group theory and linear algebra, bringing to light the interesting ways in which these subjects interact. Requiring few prerequisites beyond understanding the notion of a proof, the text aims to give students a strong foundation in both geometry and algebra. Starting with preliminaries (relations, elementary combinatorics, and induction), the book then proceeds to the core topics: the elements of the theory of groups and fields (Lagrange's Theorem, cosets, the complex numbers and the prime fields), matrix theory and matrix groups, determinants, vector spaces, linear mappings, eigentheory and diagonalization, Jordan decomposition and normal form, normal matrices, and quadratic forms. The final two chapters consist of a more intensive look at group theory, emphasizing orbit stabilizer methods, and an introduction to linear algebraic groups, which enriches the notion of a matrix group.

Inner product spaces, quadratic forms, and more advanced problem solvingWhat you'll learn: