This text concerns continuum mechanics, electrodynamics and the mechanics of electrically polarized media, and gravity. Geared toward advanced undergraduates and graduate students, it offers an accessible approach that formulates theories according to the principle of least action. The chief advantage of this formulation is its simplicity and ease, making the physical content of classical subjects available to students of physics in a concise form. Author Davison E. Soper, a Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon, intended this treatment as a primary text for courses in classical field theory as well as a supplement for courses in classical mechanics or classical electrodynamics. Topics include fields and transformation laws, the principle of stationary action, general features of classical field theory, the mechanics of fluids and elastic solids, special types of solids, nonrelativistic approximations, and the electromagnetic field. Additional subjects include electromagnetically polarized materials, gravity, momentum conservation in general relativity, and dissipative processes.

This book is a short introduction to classical field theory, most suitable for undergraduate students who have had at least intermediate-level courses in electromagnetism and classical mechanics. The main theme of the book is showcasing role of fields in mediating action-at-a-distance interactions. Suitable technical machinery is developed to explore at least some aspect of each of the four known fundamental forces in nature. Beginning with the physically-motivated introduction to field theory, the text covers the relativistic formulation of electromagnetism in great detail so that aspects of gravity and the nuclear interaction not usually encountered at the undergraduate level can be covered by using analogies with familiar electromagentism. Special topics such as the behavior of gravity in extra, compactified dimensions, magnetic monopoles and electromagnetic duality, and the Higgs mechanism are also briefly considered.

Special relativity -- Point particle fields -- Field Lagrangians -- Gravity

The book describes Maxwell's equations first in their integral, directly testable form, then moves on to their local formulation. The first two chapters cover all essential properties of Maxwell's equations, including their symmetries and their covariance in a modern notation. Chapter 3 is devoted to Maxwell theory as a classical field theory and to solutions of the wave equation. Chapter 4 deals with important applications of Maxwell theory. It includes topical subjects such as metamaterials with negative refraction index and solutions of Helmholtz' equation in paraxial approximation relevant for the description of laser beams. Chapter 5 describes non-Abelian gauge theories from a classical, geometric point of view, in analogy to Maxwell theory as a prototype, and culminates in an application to the U(2) theory relevant for electroweak interactions. The last chapter 6 gives a concise summary of semi-Riemannian geometry as the framework for the classical field theory of gravitation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the Schwarzschild solution of Einstein's equations and the classical tests of general relativity (perihelion precession of Mercury, and light deflection by the sun). ------ Textbook features: detailed figures, worked examples, problems and solutions, boxed inserts, highlighted special topics, highlighted important math etc., helpful summaries, appendix, index.

Contemporary quantum field theory is mainly developed as quantization of classical fields. Therefore, classical field theory and its BRST extension is the necessary step towards quantum field theory. This book aims to provide a complete mathematical foundation of Lagrangian classical field theory and its BRST extension for the purpose of quantization. Based on the standard geometric formulation of theory of nonlinear differential operators, Lagrangian field theory is treated in a very general setting. Reducible degenerate Lagrangian theories of even and odd fields on an arbitrary smooth manifold are considered. The second Noether theorems generalized to these theories and formulated in the homology terms provide the strict mathematical formulation of BRST extended classical field theory. The most physically relevant field theories OCo gauge theory on principal bundles, gravitation theory on natural bundles, theory of spinor fields and topological field theory OCo are presented in a complete way. This book is designed for theoreticians and mathematical physicists specializing in field theory. The authors have tried throughout to provide the necessary mathematical background, thus making the exposition self-contained.

Annotation Classical field theory is employed by physicists to describe a wide variety of physical phenomena. These include electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, gravitation and quantum mechanics. The central entity of field theory is the field which is usually a multi component function of space and time. Those multi component functions are usually grouped together as vector fields as in the case in electromagnetic theory and fluid dynamics, in other cases they are grouped as tensors as in theories of gravitation and yet in other cases they are grouped as complex functions as in the case of quantum mechanics. In order to know the value of the field one needs to solve a set of coupled partial differential equations with given boundary and initial conditions. The book covers a selection of recent advances in classical field theory involving electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, gravitation and quantum mechanics. Advances in Classical Field Theory will benefit readers by saving them the effort to read through numerous journal articles which would be needed to obtain a coherent picture of classical field theory otherwise. The book is unique in its aim and scope and is not similar to any existing publication.

In the first two books in his wildly popular The Theoretical Minimum series, world-class physicist Leonard Susskind provided a brilliant first course in classical and quantum mechanics, offering readers not an oversimplified introduction, but the real thing - everything you need to start doing physics, and nothing more. Now, thankfully, Susskind and his former student Art Friedman are back, this time to introduce readers to special relativity and classical field theory. At last, waves, forces and particles will be demystified. Using their typical brand of relatively simple maths, enlightening sketches and the same fictional counterparts, Art and Lenny, Special Relativity and Classical Field Theory takes us on an enlightening journey through a world now governed by the laws of special relativity. Starting in their new watering hole, Hermann's Hideaway, with a lesson on relativity, Art and Lenny walk us through the complexities of Einstein's famous theory. Combining rigor with humour, Susskind and Friedman guarantee that Special Relativity and Classical Field Theory will become part of the reader's physics toolbox.

This book develops a novel approach to perturbative quantum field theory: starting with a perturbative formulation of classical field theory, quantization is achieved by means of deformation quantization of the underlying free theory and by applying the principle that as much of the classical structure as possible should be maintained. The resulting formulation of perturbative quantum field theory is a version of the Epstein-Glaser renormalization that is conceptually clear, mathematically rigorous and pragmatically useful for physicists. The connection to traditional formulations of perturbative quantum field theory is also elaborated on, and the formalism is illustrated in a wealth of examples and exercises.

Classical field theory has undergone a renaissance in recent years. Symplectic techniques have yielded deep insights into its foundations, as has an improved understanding of the variational calculus. Further impetus for the study of classical fields has come from other areas, such as integrable systems, Poisson geometry, global analysis, and quantum theory. This book contains the proceedings of the AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Summer Research Conference on Mathematical Aspects of Classical Field Theory, held in July 1991 at the University of Washington at Seattle. The conference brought together researchers in many of the main areas of classical field theory to present the latest ideas and results. The volume contains thirty refereed papers, both survey and research articles, and is designed to reflect the state of the art as well as chart the future course of the subject. The topics fall into four major categories: global analysis and relativity (cosmic censorship, initial value problem, quantum gravity), geometric methods (symplectic and Poisson structures, momentum mappings, Dirac constraint theory), BRST theory, and the calculus of variations (the variational bicomplex, higher order theories). Also included are related topics with a ``classical basis'', such as geometric quantization, integrable systems, symmetries, deformation theory, and geometric mechanics.

The complex processes of state changes can be interpreted by resorting to Statistical Quantum Mechanics. However, it is well known that a phenomenological description of state changes can be obtained by using the classical continuum theory. This book supplies a panoramic picture of known and new mathematical models which are suitable to describe phase changes from a macroscopic view point. All these models are derived from the theory of continuous systems with a nonmaterial interface and allow to describe processes of solidification, melting, and vaporization. The nonlocal continuum theory of systems with a non material interface provides a more complex mathematical model in dealing with crystal growth either in a pure melt or in a mixture. A chapter is devoted to the analysis of phase changes in ferroelectric and ferromagnetic crystals.