A Geometrical Approach to Physics

This book provides an accessible introduction to using the tools of differential geometry to tackle a wide range of topics in physics, with the concepts developed through numerous examples to help the reader become familiar with the techniques.

Physical applications are used to develop the techniques and demonstrate their wide-ranging applicability. Formalism is introduced sparingly and step-by-step, where it is needed, and chapters contain exercises for readers to test their understanding. Worked solutions to the exercises are included.

It is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate or postgraduate courses on mathematical methods for physicists, for students whose background is in physics rather than mathematics. It is assumed that the reader has no prior knowledge of mathematical methods beyond the content of a standard undergraduate physics degree.

The purpose of the book is to act as a 'gateway' to more advanced books on the applications of differential geometry in physics. It will also help the reader to better appreciate modern physics research that makes use of differential geometry, and the common features that permeate the discipline as a whole.

Key Features:

• Presents a light and accessible treatment.
• Can be used as a textbook for a short course on mathematical methods for physicists.
• Accessible to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates whose background is in physics, not mathematics.

David A. Burton received his PhD from Lancaster University, UK, in 2000 and was appointed Lecturer in Physics there in 2005. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Physics at Lancaster. He began his research career in relativistic continuum mechanics and gravitational physics before turning to fluid-structure interactions (in particular, vortex-induced vibration) and, in later years, to relativistic laser-plasma interactions.

Adam Noble received his PhD in 2006, also from Lancaster University, and has since held postdoctoral positions at Lancaster and the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, where he is currently a Research Fellow. His interests lie at the interface of physics with geometry, in particular electrodynamics of intense fields, plasma physics and particle physics.

The authors maintain a long-standing collaboration and, over the years, have worked on a number of topics connecting electromagnetics, gravitation and plasma physics, including gravitational Sagnac interferometry, relativistic wave-breaking in plasmas, radiation reaction in relativistic plasmas and charged particle beams, and the use of laser-wakefield accelerators in searches for light, weakly-interacting, candidates for dark matter.