Geometry And Analysis on Manifolds

Dirac operators play an important role in several domains of mathematics and physics, for example: index theory, elliptic pseudodifferential operators, electromagnetism, particle physics, and the representation theory of Lie groups. In this essentially self-contained work, the basic ideas underlying the concept of Dirac operators are explored. Starting with Clifford algebras and the fundamentals of differential geometry, the text focuses on two main properties, namely, conformal invariance, which determines the local behavior of the operator, and the unique continuation property dominating its global behavior. Spin groups and spinor bundles are covered, as well as the relations with their classical counterparts, orthogonal groups and Clifford bundles. The chapters on Clifford algebras and the fundamentals of differential geometry can be used as an introduction to the above topics, and are suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students. The other chapters are also accessible at this level so that this text requires very little previous knowledge of the domains covered. The reader will benefit, however, from some knowledge of complex analysis, which gives the simplest example of a Dirac operator. More advanced readers–-mathematical physicists, physicists and mathematicians from diverse areas–-will appreciate the fresh approach to the theory as well as the new results on boundary value theory.

This book provides an accessible introduction to the variational formulation of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, with a novel emphasis on global descriptions of the dynamics, which is a significant conceptual departure from more traditional approaches based on the use of local coordinates on the configuration manifold. In particular, we introduce a general methodology for obtaining globally valid equations of motion on configuration manifolds that are Lie groups, homogeneous spaces, and embedded manifolds, thereby avoiding the difficulties associated with coordinate singularities.