- Combines material from many areas of mathematics, including algebra, geometry, and analysis, so students see connections between these areas - Applies material to physics so students appreciate the applications of abstract mathematics - Assumes only linear algebra and calculus, making an advanced subject accessible to undergraduates - Includes 142 exercises, many with hints or complete solutions, so text may be used in the classroom or for self study

This volume focuses on developments in the field of group theory in its broadest sense and is of interest to theoretical and experimental physicists, mathematicians, and scientists in related disciplines who are interested in the latest methods and applications. In an increasingly ultra-specialized world, this volume will demonstrate the interchange of ideas and methods in theoretical and mathematical physics.

This book is the result of a graduate-level "special topics" course I gave at the University of Rochester in 1970. The purpose of the course was to discuss as far as possible all known symmetries in nuclei, with special emphasis on dynamical symmetries. Since there was no comprehensive account of this subject in the literature, I was encouraged to write a review based on my lecture notes. The end result is the present volume. Like the course, the book is intended mainly for graduate students and research workers in nuclear physics. The only prior knowledge required to follow the book is graduate-level quantum mechanics and nuclear physics and hence I believe that it can be useful to both experimental and theoretical nuclear physicists. In addition, the book should prepare a student to read the latest literature on the subject and also train him to do group theoretic work in nuclear physics. The organization of the material in the book is described in Chapter 1.

Organized in honor of K T Hecht, Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, for his frontier research in group theory and nuclear physics, this symposium features papers by principal researchers who have contributed to the development and use of algebraic methods in nuclear physics. The symposium aims to make a critical assessment of what has been accomplished since the seminal work of J P Elliott on the SU(3) model, and to identify significant challenges and opportunities that lie in the future. Topics include the SU(3) model and its noncompact Sp(3, R) extension, boson and fermion dynamical symmetry schemes, pseudo-spin and superdeformation, cluster model configurations and calculations, recent advances in vector coherent state theories, quark models for subnucleon degrees of freedom in nuclei, and more.

Highly illustrated, self-contained textbook covering the fundamentals of crystallography, symmetry and diffraction, providing a full appreciation of material structure for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses within materials science and engineering. Includes over 430 illustrations and 400 homework problems. Solutions, data files for crystal structures, and appendices, available from www.cambridge.org/9780521651516.

Proceedings of a NATO ASI held in Cargèse, France, July 22-August 3, 1996