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Symmetry is at the heart of our understanding of matter. This book
tells the fascinating story of the constituents of matter from a
common symmetry perspective. The standard model of elementary
particles and the periodic table of chemical elements have the
common goal to bring order in the bewildering chaos of the
constituents of matter. Their success relies on the presence of
fundamental symmetries in their core. The purpose of Shattered
Symmetry is to share the admiration for the power and the beauty of
these symmetries. The reader is taken on a journey from the basic
geometric symmetry group of a circle to the sublime dynamic
symmetries that govern the motions of the particles. Along the way
the theory of symmetry groups is gradually introduced with special
emphasis on its use as a classification tool and its graphical
representations. This is applied to the unitary symmetry of the
eightfold way of quarks, and to the four-dimensional symmetry of
the hydrogen atom. The final challenge is to open up the structure
of Mendeleev's table which goes beyond the symmetry of the hydrogen
atom. Breaking this symmetry to accommodate the multi-electron
atoms requires us to leave the common ground of linear algebras and
explore the potential of non-linearity.
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