Global symmetry
Encyclopedia
A global symmetry is a symmetry that holds at all points in the spacetime
under consideration, as opposed to a local symmetry
which varies from point to point.
Global symmetries require conservation law
s, but not forces, in physics.
Spacetime
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space as being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort from the spatial dimensions...
under consideration, as opposed to a local symmetry
Local symmetry
In physics, a local symmetry is symmetry of some physical quantity, which smoothly depends on the point of the base manifold. Such quantities can be for example an observable, a tensor or the Lagrangian of a theory....
which varies from point to point.
Global symmetries require conservation law
Conservation law
In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves....
s, but not forces, in physics.
See also
- Field (physics)Field (physics)In physics, a field is a physical quantity associated with each point of spacetime. A field can be classified as a scalar field, a vector field, a spinor field, or a tensor field according to whether the value of the field at each point is a scalar, a vector, a spinor or, more generally, a tensor,...
- Global spacetime structure
- Local spacetime structureLocal spacetime structureLocal spacetime structure refers to the structure of spacetime on a local level, i.e. only considering those points in an open region of a point. This notion is useful in many areas of physics, most notably in Einstein's theory of general relativity....