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float: left;" onfocus="this.value == 'Search' ? this.value = '' : true" onblur="this.value == '' ? this.value = 'Search' : true" /></fieldset> </form> <span id='navEnd'></span> </div> <div id="revision"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head><meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="application/xhtml+xml;charset=utf-8" /><title>Contents</title></head> <body> <div class="rightHandSide"> <div class="toc clickDown" tabindex="0"> <h3 id="context">Context</h3> <h4 id="physics">Physics</h4> <div class="hide"><div> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/physics">physics</a></strong>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/mathematical+physics">mathematical physics</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/philosophy+of+physics">philosophy of physics</a></p> <h2 id="surveys_textbooks_and_lecture_notes">Surveys, textbooks and lecture notes</h2> <ul> <li> <p><em><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/higher+category+theory+and+physics">(higher) category theory and physics</a></em></p> </li> <li> <p><em><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/geometry+of+physics">geometry of physics</a></em></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/books+and+reviews+in+mathematical+physics">books and reviews</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/physics+resources">physics resources</a></p> </li> </ul> <hr /> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/theory+%28physics%29">theory (physics)</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/model+%28physics%29">model (physics)</a></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/experiment">experiment</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/measurement">measurement</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/computable+physics">computable physics</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/mechanics">mechanics</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/mass">mass</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/charge">charge</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/momentum">momentum</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/angular+momentum">angular momentum</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/moment+of+inertia">moment of inertia</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/dynamics+on+Lie+groups">dynamics on Lie groups</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/rigid+body+dynamics">rigid body dynamics</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/field+%28physics%29">field (physics)</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Lagrangian+mechanics">Lagrangian mechanics</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/configuration+space">configuration space</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/state">state</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/action+functional">action functional</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Lagrangian">Lagrangian</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/covariant+phase+space">covariant phase space</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Euler-Lagrange+equations">Euler-Lagrange equations</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Hamiltonian+mechanics">Hamiltonian mechanics</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/phase+space">phase space</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/symplectic+geometry">symplectic geometry</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Poisson+manifold">Poisson manifold</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/symplectic+manifold">symplectic manifold</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/symplectic+groupoid">symplectic groupoid</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/multisymplectic+geometry">multisymplectic geometry</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/n-symplectic+manifold">n-symplectic manifold</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spacetime">spacetime</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/smooth+Lorentzian+manifold">smooth Lorentzian manifold</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/special+relativity">special relativity</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/general+relativity">general relativity</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gravity">gravity</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/supergravity">supergravity</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/dilaton+gravity">dilaton gravity</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/black+hole">black hole</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/classical+field+theory">Classical field theory</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/classical+physics">classical physics</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/classical+mechanics">classical mechanics</a></li> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/waves">waves</a> and <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/optics">optics</a></li> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/thermodynamics">thermodynamics</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+mechanics">Quantum Mechanics</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+mechanics+in+terms+of+dagger-compact+categories">in terms of ∞-compact categories</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+information">quantum information</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Hamiltonian+operator">Hamiltonian operator</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/density+matrix">density matrix</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Kochen-Specker+theorem">Kochen-Specker theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Bell%27s+theorem">Bell's theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Gleason%27s+theorem">Gleason's theorem</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantization">Quantization</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/geometric+quantization">geometric quantization</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/deformation+quantization">deformation quantization</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/path+integral">path integral quantization</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/semiclassical+approximation">semiclassical approximation</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+field+theory">Quantum Field Theory</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Axiomatizations</p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/AQFT">algebraic QFT</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Wightman+axioms">Wightman axioms</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Haag-Kastler+axioms">Haag-Kastler axioms</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/operator+algebra">operator algebra</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/local+net">local net</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/conformal+net">conformal net</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Reeh-Schlieder+theorem">Reeh-Schlieder theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Osterwalder-Schrader+theorem">Osterwalder-Schrader theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/PCT+theorem">PCT theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Bisognano-Wichmann+theorem">Bisognano-Wichmann theorem</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/modular+theory">modular theory</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spin-statistics+theorem">spin-statistics theorem</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/boson">boson</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/fermion">fermion</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/FQFT">functorial QFT</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cobordism">cobordism</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/%28%E2%88%9E%2Cn%29-category+of+cobordisms">(∞,n)-category of cobordisms</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/cobordism+hypothesis">cobordism hypothesis</a>-theorem</p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/extended+topological+quantum+field+theory">extended topological quantum field theory</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p>Tools</p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/perturbative+quantum+field+theory">perturbative quantum field theory</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/vacuum">vacuum</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/effective+quantum+field+theory">effective quantum field theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/renormalization">renormalization</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/BV-BRST+formalism">BV-BRST formalism</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/geometric+%E2%88%9E-function+theory">geometric ∞-function theory</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/particle+physics">particle physics</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/phenomenology">phenomenology</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/model+%28in+particle+phyiscs%29">models</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/standard+model+of+particle+physics">standard model of particle physics</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/fields+and+quanta+-+table">fields and quanta</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/GUT">Grand Unified Theories</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/MSSM">MSSM</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/scattering+amplitude">scattering amplitude</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/on-shell+recursion">on-shell recursion</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/KLT+relations">KLT relations</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p>Structural phenomena</p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/universality+class">universality class</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+anomaly">quantum anomaly</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Green-Schwarz+mechanism">Green-Schwarz mechanism</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/instanton">instanton</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spontaneously+broken+symmetry">spontaneously broken symmetry</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Kaluza-Klein+mechanism">Kaluza-Klein mechanism</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/integrable+systems">integrable systems</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/holonomic+quantum+fields">holonomic quantum fields</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p>Types of quantum field thories</p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/TQFT">TQFT</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/2d+TQFT">2d TQFT</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Dijkgraaf-Witten+theory">Dijkgraaf-Witten theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Chern-Simons+theory">Chern-Simons theory</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/TCFT">TCFT</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/A-model">A-model</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/B-model">B-model</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/homological+mirror+symmetry">homological mirror symmetry</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/QFT+with+defects">QFT with defects</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/conformal+field+theory">conformal field theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/%281%2C1%29-dimensional+Euclidean+field+theories+and+K-theory">(1,1)-dimensional Euclidean field theories and K-theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/%282%2C1%29-dimensional+Euclidean+field+theory">(2,1)-dimensional Euclidean field theory and elliptic cohomology</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/CFT">CFT</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/WZW+model">WZW model</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/6d+%282%2C0%29-supersymmetric+QFT">6d (2,0)-supersymmetric QFT</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gauge+theory">gauge theory</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/field+strength">field strength</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gauge+group">gauge group</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gauge+transformation">gauge transformation</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gauge+fixing">gauge fixing</a></p> </li> <li> <p>examples</p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/electromagnetic+field">electromagnetic field</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/QED">QED</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/electric+charge">electric charge</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/magnetic+charge">magnetic charge</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Yang-Mills+field">Yang-Mills field</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/QCD">QCD</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Yang-Mills+theory">Yang-Mills theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spinors+in+Yang-Mills+theory">spinors in Yang-Mills theory</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/topological+Yang-Mills+theory">topological Yang-Mills theory</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Kalb-Ramond+field">Kalb-Ramond field</a></li> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/supergravity+C-field">supergravity C-field</a></li> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/RR+field">RR field</a></li> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/first-order+formulation+of+gravity">first-order formulation of gravity</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/general+covariance">general covariance</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/supergravity">supergravity</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/D%27Auria-Fre+formulation+of+supergravity">D'Auria-Fre formulation of supergravity</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/gravity+as+a+BF-theory">gravity as a BF-theory</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/sigma-model">sigma-model</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/particle">particle</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/relativistic+particle">relativistic particle</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/fundamental+particle">fundamental particle</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spinning+particle">spinning particle</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/superparticle">superparticle</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/string">string</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/spinning+string">spinning string</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/superstring">superstring</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/membrane">membrane</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/AKSZ+theory">AKSZ theory</a></p> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/string+theory">String Theory</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/string+theory+results+applied+elsewhere">string theory results applied elsewhere</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/number+theory+and+physics">number theory and physics</a></p> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Riemann+hypothesis+and+physics">Riemann hypothesis and physics</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div> <p> <a href="/nlab/edit/physicscontents">Edit this sidebar</a> </p> </div></div></div> <h4 id="harmonic_analysis">Harmonic analysis</h4> <div class="hide"><div> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/harmonic+analysis">harmonic analysis</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/waves">waves</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/plane+wave">plane wave</a></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/wave+vector">wave vector</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/wavelength">wavelength</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/wave+number">wave number</a></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/frequency">frequency</a></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/amplitude">amplitude</a></p> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/dispersion+relation">dispersion relation</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+analysis">Fourier analysis</a></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Schwartz+space">Schwartz space</a> of <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/functions+with+rapidly+decreasing+partial+derivatives">functions with rapidly decreasing partial derivatives</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+transform">Fourier transform</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier-Laplace+transform">Fourier-Laplace transform</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+transform+of+a+distribution">Fourier transform of a distribution</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Theorems</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+inversion+theorem">Fourier inversion theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Parseval%27s+theorem">Parseval's theorem</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Paley-Wiener-Schwartz+theorem">Paley-Wiener-Schwartz theorem</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/sampling+theory">sampling theory</a></strong></p> <ul> <li> <p><span class="newWikiWord">wavelet<a href="/nlab/new/wavelet">?</a></span>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/curvelet">curvelet</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/coherent+state">coherent state</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/signal+processing">signal processing</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/time+series">time series</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/information+geometry">information geometry</a></p> </li> </ul> </div></div> </div> </div> <h1 id="contents">Contents</h1> <div class='maruku_toc'> <ul> <li><a href='#idea'>Idea</a></li> <li><a href='#related_concepts'>Related concepts</a></li> <li><a href='#references'>References</a></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="idea">Idea</h2> <p>An <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/oscillation">oscillation</a> is a <em>periodic motion of a physical system</em>, i.e. as a function of time, the position of the system of particles expressed as a coordinate in a configuration space depends as <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>t</mi><mo>↦</mo><mi>x</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">t\mapsto x(t)</annotation></semantics></math> where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>x</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>=</mo><mi>x</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>t</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>I</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">x(t) = x(t+I)</annotation></semantics></math> where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>I</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">I</annotation></semantics></math> is a constant called the period of the motion. The motion can pertain to a system of particles, to the coordinates determining the position of a rigid body or can express the magnitude of some physical quantity like pressure which evolves in time. In a mechanical system, the point in which the potential energy is minimal is called the equlibrium position; the relative position with respect to the equilibrium position is called the <strong>elongation</strong>. The maximal elongation is usually called the <strong>amplitude of oscillation</strong>.</p> <p>A <strong>wave</strong> is the (result of) <em>propagation of oscillations through an extended medium</em>. Examples of extended media are a liquid, the vacuum (where physical fields can propagate, for example the electromagnetic field) or a discrete grid of interacting particles. Many partial differential equations for the mechanics of extended objects have wave solutions. Waves are typically viewed via quantity called <strong>amplitude</strong> which describes the relative position of each particle in a continuum system from its equilibrium position (this conflicts a bit with the terminology on oscillations, where the amplitude would be the maximnal one). The amplitude depends both on the time and the position in space. Most typical wave propagation is of the form <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>A</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>=</mo><mi>f</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>vt</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">A(x,t) = f(x-vt)</annotation></semantics></math> where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>x</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">x</annotation></semantics></math> is the position, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>v</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">v</annotation></semantics></math> is the speed of propagation (which may depend on the direction of propagation, and for inhomogeneous systems on the coordinate) and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>t</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">t</annotation></semantics></math> is the time. Partial differential equations (PDE) which have <strong>wave solutions</strong> are typically parabolic or hyperbolic PDEs. Here wave solutions are recognized by their form (variations of the formula <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mi>f</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>vt</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">f(x-vt)</annotation></semantics></math> from above). Wave solutions can add up together linearly or not; in both cases the phenomenon is called <strong>superposition</strong>. Finite superpositions have many typical features (e.g. Lissajous figures). The superposition can stretch over infinite families of waves, then the sum passes into the integral and many periodic modes add up to something what is not periodic whatsoever, and may be even localized. One then talks about a <strong>wave packet</strong>. A wave packet can from far away look like a point particle. Wave packets can decay (damp) quickly as they propagate and in nonlinear situations can be unstable under collisions with other waves. In simple linear cases, the individual cases in the wave packet correspond to elements of a basis in a Hilbert space of functions, then the expression of a wave packet in terms of basic waves (say plane waves) amount to a case of <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+transform">Fourier mode expansion</a>.</p> <p>In some special circumstances, the waves can preserve their features in nonlinear situations even asymptotically after collisions, in that case we talk about <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/soliton">soliton</a>s. Solitons and multisolitons are especially well-known in gauge theories (including the 4d case localized in time, so called instantons) and in many <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/integrable+systems">integrable systems</a> like the <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/sine-Gordon+equation">sine-Gordon equation</a>, KdV and the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The inverse scattering method in those cases can be interpreted as the existence of a certain nonlinear analogue of the Fourier transform (the spectral transform) for the nonlinear wave solutions.</p> <p>The <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/quantum+mechanics">quantum mechanics</a>, when described mathematically via the solutions of a time-dependent Schroedinger equation, is a wave mechanics where the modulus square of the amplitude is interpreted as the density of probability to find the particle in the corresponding position. Linear superposition is thus one of the basic features of quantum mechanics.</p> <h2 id="related_concepts">Related concepts</h2> <ul> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/plane+wave">plane wave</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/wave+vector">wave vector</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/harmonic+analysis">harmonic analysis</a>, <a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Fourier+analysis">Fourier analysis</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/oscillation">oscillation</a>,</p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/semiclassical+approximation">semiclassical approximation</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/geometrical+optics">geometrical optics</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/soliton">soliton</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Stokes+phenomenon">Stokes phenomenon</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Berry%27s+phase">Berry's phase</a>.</p> </li> <li> <p><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/wave+function">wave function</a></p> </li> </ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ul> <li><a class="existingWikiWord" href="/nlab/show/Howard+Georgi">Howard Georgi</a>, <em>The Physics of Waves</em>, Prentice Hall (1993) <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mo stretchy="false">[</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">[</annotation></semantics></math><a href="https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~hgeorgi/new.htm">web</a>, <a href="https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~hgeorgi/onenew.pdf">pdf</a><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" class="maruku-mathml"><semantics><mrow><mo stretchy="false">]</mo></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">]</annotation></semantics></math></li> </ul> </body></html> </div> <div class="revisedby"> <p> Last revised on November 3, 2022 at 05:02:23. See the <a href="/nlab/history/wave" style="color: #005c19">history</a> of this page for a list of all contributions to it. </p> </div> <div class="navigation navfoot"> <a href="/nlab/edit/wave" accesskey="E" class="navlink" id="edit" rel="nofollow">Edit</a><a href="https://nforum.ncatlab.org/discussion/14315/#Item_1">Discuss</a><span class="backintime"><a href="/nlab/revision/wave/6" accesskey="B" class="navlinkbackintime" id="to_previous_revision" rel="nofollow">Previous revision</a></span><a href="/nlab/show/diff/wave" accesskey="C" class="navlink" id="see_changes" rel="nofollow">Changes from previous revision</a><a href="/nlab/history/wave" accesskey="S" class="navlink" id="history" rel="nofollow">History (6 revisions)</a> <a href="/nlab/show/wave/cite" style="color: black">Cite</a> <a href="/nlab/print/wave" accesskey="p" id="view_print" rel="nofollow">Print</a> <a href="/nlab/source/wave" id="view_source" rel="nofollow">Source</a> </div> </div>  </div>  </body> </html>