Intrinsic Symmetries in Quantum Mechanics

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Relativity theory (both special and general) and quantum theory represent the two great scientific revolutions of the 20th century which not only have changed physics itself but also our general world view. The repercussions of these theories are still being worked out in physics, history, and philosophy of science. In order to understand fully the meanings and impacts of quantum theory, an enormous range of studies remain to be carried out. Dr. Miller, under this research grant, is examining one of the most important areas of this range of projects. He is investigating the introduction, interpretation, and development of intrinsic (or internal) symmetries into quantum mechanics, starting with Werner Heisenberg's formulation of the concept in 1926 through Wolfgang Pauli's classic paper of 1940 on the connection among spin, statistics and Lorentz invariance. Other key figures in this area of research are Niels Bohr, P. A. M. Dirac, Lev Landau, Rudolf Peierls, Victor Weisskopf, and Eugene Wigner. The development of the concept of intrinsic symmetries in quantum mechanics brought about wide-ranging transformations in the notions of space, time, causality, and substance -- central concepts for our view of the world. An understanding of these developments thus promises to contribute to both the history and the philosophy of science as well as to cultural history as society has come to understand the radical shifts that this theory has forced on the meaning of causality and certainty in the world.