Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:21:30.057Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gauge Matters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

John Earman
John Earman*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
*
Send requests for reprints to the author, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, 1017 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260–6299; email: jearman@pitt.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The constrained Hamiltonian formalism is recommended as a means for getting a grip on the concepts of gauge and gauge transformation. This formalism makes it clear how the gauge concept is relevant to understanding Newtonian and classical relativistic theories as well as the theories of elementary particle physics; it provides an explication of the vague notions of “local” and “global” gauge transformations; it explains how and why a fibre bundle structure emerges for theories which do not wear their bundle structure on their sleeves; it illuminates the connections of the gauge concept to issues of determinism and what counts as a genuine “observable”; and it calls attention to problems which arise in attempting to quantize gauge theories. Some of the limitations and problematic aspects of the formalism are also discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 69 , Issue S3 , September 2002 , pp. S209 - S220
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bergmann, P. G. (1961), “Observables in General Relativity”, Observables in General Relativity 33:510–514.Google Scholar
Earman, J. (1989), World Enough and Spacetime: Absolute vs. Relational Theories of Space and Time. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Earman, J. (2002a), “Thoroughly Modern McTaggart: Or What if McTaggart Had Learned Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity”, pre-print.Google Scholar
Earman, J. (2002b), “Getting a Fix on Gauge: An Ode to the Constrained Hamiltonian Formalism”, in Brading, K. and Castellani, E. (eds.), Symmetries in Physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Henneaux, M., and Teitelboim, C. (1992), Quantization of Gauge Systems. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, D. (1999), “Point Coincidences and Pointer Coincidences: Einstein and the Invariant Content of Space-Time Theories”, in Goenner, H., Renn, J., Ritter, J., and Sauer, T. (eds.), The Expanding Worlds of General Relativity, (Einstein Studies, Vol. 7). Boston: Birkhäuser, 463–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, D. A. (2000). Philosophy of Science 67 (Supplement):CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janis, A. I. (1969), “Energy and Observables in Electromagnetic Theory”, Energy and Observables in Electromagnetic Theory 38:202–206.Google Scholar
Kuchař, K. (1993), “Canonical Quantum Gravity”, in Gleiser, R. J., Kozameh, C. N., and Moreschi, O. M. (eds.), General Relativity and Gravitation (1992). Philadelphia, PA: IOP Publishing, 119–150.Google Scholar
Lee, J., and Wald, R. M. (1990), “Local Symmetries and Constraints”, Local Symmetries and Constraints 31:725–743.Google Scholar
Maxwell, J. C. ([1877] 1951), Matter and Motion. Reprint. New York: Dover Books.Google Scholar
Morrison, M. (2000), Unifying Scientific Theories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noether, E. (1918), “Invariante Variationsprobleme”, Nachrichten von der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse. Heft 2:235–257.Google Scholar
Norton, J. D. (1987), “Einstein, the Hole Argument and the Reality of Space”, in Forge, J. (ed.), Measurement, Realism and Objectivity. Boston: D. Reidel, 153–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norton, J. D. (1995), “The Force of Newtonian Cosmology: Acceleration is Relative”, The Force of Newtonian Cosmology: Acceleration is Relative 62:511–522.Google Scholar
Rovelli, C. (1991), “Time in Quantum Gravity: An Hypothesis”, Time in Quantum Gravity: An Hypothesis 43:442–456.Google Scholar