Normal orderIn quantum field theory a product of quantum fields, or equivalently their creation and annihilation operators, is usually said to be normal ordered (also called Wick order) when all creation operators are to the left of all annihilation operators in the product. The process of putting a product into normal order is called normal ordering (also called Wick ordering). The terms antinormal order and antinormal ordering are analogously defined, where the annihilation operators are placed to the left of the creation operators.
CorrelationIn statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics it usually refers to the degree to which a pair of variables are linearly related. Familiar examples of dependent phenomena include the correlation between the height of parents and their offspring, and the correlation between the price of a good and the quantity the consumers are willing to purchase, as it is depicted in the so-called demand curve.
Möbius transformationIn geometry and complex analysis, a Möbius transformation of the complex plane is a rational function of the form of one complex variable z; here the coefficients a, b, c, d are complex numbers satisfying ad − bc ≠ 0. Geometrically, a Möbius transformation can be obtained by first performing stereographic projection from the plane to the unit two-sphere, rotating and moving the sphere to a new location and orientation in space, and then performing stereographic projection (from the new position of the sphere) to the plane.
Pearson correlation coefficientIn statistics, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is a correlation coefficient that measures linear correlation between two sets of data. It is the ratio between the covariance of two variables and the product of their standard deviations; thus, it is essentially a normalized measurement of the covariance, such that the result always has a value between −1 and 1. As with covariance itself, the measure can only reflect a linear correlation of variables, and ignores many other types of relationships or correlations.
SupersymmetryIn a supersymmetric theory the equations for force and the equations for matter are identical. In theoretical and mathematical physics, any theory with this property has the principle of supersymmetry (SUSY). Dozens of supersymmetric theories exist. Supersymmetry is a spacetime symmetry between two basic classes of particles: bosons, which have an integer-valued spin and follow Bose–Einstein statistics, and fermions, which have a half-integer-valued spin and follow Fermi–Dirac statistics.
Isometry groupIn mathematics, the isometry group of a metric space is the set of all bijective isometries (that is, bijective, distance-preserving maps) from the metric space onto itself, with the function composition as group operation. Its identity element is the identity function. The elements of the isometry group are sometimes called motions of the space. Every isometry group of a metric space is a subgroup of isometries. It represents in most cases a possible set of symmetries of objects/figures in the space, or functions defined on the space.
Linear fractional transformationIn mathematics, a linear fractional transformation is, roughly speaking, an invertible transformation of the form The precise definition depends on the nature of a, b, c, d, and z. In other words, a linear fractional transformation is a transformation that is represented by a fraction whose numerator and denominator are linear. In the most basic setting, a, b, c, d, and z are complex numbers (in which case the transformation is also called a Möbius transformation), or more generally elements of a field.
Liouville's theorem (conformal mappings)In mathematics, Liouville's theorem, proved by Joseph Liouville in 1850, is a rigidity theorem about conformal mappings in Euclidean space. It states that any smooth conformal mapping on a domain of Rn, where n > 2, can be expressed as a composition of translations, similarities, orthogonal transformations and inversions: they are Möbius transformations (in n dimensions). This theorem severely limits the variety of possible conformal mappings in R3 and higher-dimensional spaces.
Euclidean groupIn mathematics, a Euclidean group is the group of (Euclidean) isometries of a Euclidean space ; that is, the transformations of that space that preserve the Euclidean distance between any two points (also called Euclidean transformations). The group depends only on the dimension n of the space, and is commonly denoted E(n) or ISO(n). The Euclidean group E(n) comprises all translations, rotations, and reflections of ; and arbitrary finite combinations of them.
Euclidean plane isometryIn geometry, a Euclidean plane isometry is an isometry of the Euclidean plane, or more informally, a way of transforming the plane that preserves geometrical properties such as length. There are four types: translations, rotations, reflections, and glide reflections (see below under ). The set of Euclidean plane isometries forms a group under composition: the Euclidean group in two dimensions. It is generated by reflections in lines, and every element of the Euclidean group is the composite of at most three distinct reflections.
Von Neumann algebraIn mathematics, a von Neumann algebra or W*-algebra is a -algebra of bounded operators on a Hilbert space that is closed in the weak operator topology and contains the identity operator. It is a special type of C-algebra. Von Neumann algebras were originally introduced by John von Neumann, motivated by his study of single operators, group representations, ergodic theory and quantum mechanics. His double commutant theorem shows that the analytic definition is equivalent to a purely algebraic definition as an algebra of symmetries.
Flatness problemThe flatness problem (also known as the oldness problem) is a cosmological fine-tuning problem within the Big Bang model of the universe. Such problems arise from the observation that some of the initial conditions of the universe appear to be fine-tuned to very 'special' values, and that small deviations from these values would have extreme effects on the appearance of the universe at the current time. In the case of the flatness problem, the parameter which appears fine-tuned is the density of matter and energy in the universe.
