Gauge Groups
Fl. Stancu · 1996
Abstract The continuous symmetries we have discussed until now are calledglobal symmetries. The parameters a ρ, Equation (5.51), of a Lie group are space-time independent. In a field theory, this implies that fields at different space-time points transform by the same amount There are theories where the symmetry transformation contains space-time-dependent parameters aρ (x). These transformations are called local or gauge (Weyl 1929) and form gauge groups. They generate the gauge interactions; electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions are all gauge interactions. Therefore, the present theory of elementary particle physics is based on the principle of gauge symmetries.