Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists

"Another excellent entry in the 'Nutshell' series, Zee's latest has it all: broad scope, depth, thorough explanations, history, and an appealing sense of humor. The author's knowledge of mathematics and physics is encyclopedic, and he leavens the text generously with episodes and asides drawn from the life and work of the major figures in the development of group theory and its applications in physics."--Choice
 

"Zee's lovely book on the theory of group representations is comprehensive and complete, both from the mathematical and physical point of view."
—Barry Simon,  California Institute of Technology 

My textbook on group theory for physicists, published by Princeton University Press, starts with a self-contained review of linear algebra. The book is based on an undergraduate course I gave twice at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The book starts with a quote about group theory being "too damned hard" and ends with a remark on Nature's kindness.

The spirit of the book, as in my other textbooks, is to make the subject matter "as much fun as possible."

"In Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists, Anthony Zee . . . combines clarity of presentation with mathematical detail at a level of rigor acceptable to physicists. The result is a tour de force that guides readers through the universe of group theory and leads them to recent particle physics, cosmology, and condensed matter. The book is unique in its laid-back presentation."--Physics Today

 

 

Group Theory


You can read sample chapters and reader's reviews on Amazon

I gave a 5-lecture course on Cartan classification in Paris in 2016. The lectures are available here.