Faculty Mentor
Dr. James T. Wheeler
Abstract
Modern physics is the study of symmetry. Everything from electromagnetism to the famed Higgs mechanism stems from fundamental symmetries. These have fancy mathematical names and even fancier math behind them, but the basic idea is the same. These are mathematical generalizations of normal transformations such as rotating. These symmetries describe fields (electric, magnetic, etc.).
Most models of unification, i.e. string theory, use "Poincare symmetry." This symmetry includes both translations and rotations. This means physics only cares about relative position, angle, velocity, etc. If I were to wake up in a windowless room that had been moved a mile north and rotated 90 degrees since going to sleep, I wouldn't notice a difference.
When this symmetry is broken into its mathematical essence, and certain assumptions are made, it turns into General Relativity. If there is another fundamental symmetry of the universe, perhaps it leads to new physics as well.
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Research On Capitol Hill 2016
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
1-26-2016
Recommended Citation
Lovelady, Benjamin C., "Conformal Symmetry: Finding New Physics in Scale Invariance" (2016). Research on Capitol Hill. Paper 43.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/roch/43