Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Untitled

In course

PHYS-338: Statistical physics

Ce cours introduit les principes fondamentaux de la physique statistique, l'une des théories les plus fondamentales de la physique moderne. ...

Instructor

Florent Gérard Krzakala

Official source

https://mediaspace.epfl.ch/media/0_lleqnyoq

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (13)

Spinor

In geometry and physics, spinors spɪnɚ are elements of a complex number-based vector space that can be associated with Euclidean space. A spinor transforms linearly when the Euclidean space is subjected to a slight (infinitesimal) rotation, but unlike geometric vectors and tensors, a spinor transforms to its negative when the space rotates through 360° (see picture). It takes a rotation of 720° for a spinor to go back to its original state.

Pure spinor

In the domain of mathematics known as representation theory, pure spinors (or simple spinors) are spinors that are annihilated under the Clifford action by a maximal isotropic subspace of the space of vectors with respect to the scalar product determining the Clifford algebra. They were introduced by Élie Cartan in the 1930s to classify complex structures. Pure spinors were a key ingredient in the study of spin geometry and twistor theory, introduced by Roger Penrose in the 1960s.

Dirac spinor

In quantum field theory, the Dirac spinor is the spinor that describes all known fundamental particles that are fermions, with the possible exception of neutrinos. It appears in the plane-wave solution to the Dirac equation, and is a certain combination of two Weyl spinors, specifically, a bispinor that transforms "spinorially" under the action of the Lorentz group. Dirac spinors are important and interesting in numerous ways. Foremost, they are important as they do describe all of the known fundamental particle fermions in nature; this includes the electron and the quarks.

Spin (physics)

Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin should not be understood as in the "rotating internal mass" sense: spin is a quantized wave property. The existence of electron spin angular momentum is inferred from experiments, such as the Stern–Gerlach experiment, in which silver atoms were observed to possess two possible discrete angular momenta despite having no orbital angular momentum.

Elementary particle

In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model presently recognizes seventeen distinct particles, twelve fermions and five bosons. As a consequence of flavor and color combinations and antimatter, the fermions and bosons are known to have 48 and 13 variations, respectively. Among the 61 elementary particles embraced by the Standard Model number electrons and other leptons, quarks, and the fundamental bosons.

Related lectures (10)

Spinorial Fields: Lorentz Group Representation

Covers the most general representation of Lorentz group on spinorial fields.

The Dirac Equation

Explores the development and implications of the Dirac equation, including its solutions, the Dirac sea concept, and the discovery of the anti-electron.

Chirality & Helicity: Understanding QFT

Explores chirality, helicity, and spinors in Quantum Field Theory, focusing on normalization and completeness relations.

Spinor Theory

Covers the fundamentals of spinor theory and its applications in quantum mechanics and particle physics.