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The most general proper Lorentz transformation Λ(v, θ) includes a boost and rotation together, and is a nonsymmetric matrix. As special cases, Λ(0, θ) = R(θ) and Λ(v, 0) = B(v). An explicit form of the general Lorentz transformation is cumbersome to write down and will not be given here.
(The improper Lorentz transformations have determinant −1.) The subgroup of proper Lorentz transformations is denoted SO(1, 3). The subgroup of all Lorentz transformations preserving both orientation and direction of time is called the proper, orthochronous Lorentz group or restricted Lorentz group, and is denoted by SO + (1, 3). [a]
In the fundamental branches of modern physics, namely general relativity and its widely applicable subset special relativity, as well as relativistic quantum mechanics and relativistic quantum field theory, the Lorentz transformation is the transformation rule under which all four-vectors and tensors containing physical quantities transform from one frame of reference to another.
In order to find out the transformation of three-acceleration, one has to differentiate the spatial coordinates and ′ of the Lorentz transformation with respect to and ′, from which the transformation of three-velocity (also called velocity-addition formula) between and ′ follows, and eventually by another differentiation with respect to and ′ the transformation of three-acceleration ...
The transformations of field operators illustrate the complementary role played by the finite-dimensional representations of the Lorentz group and the infinite-dimensional unitary representations of the Poincare group, witnessing the deep unity between mathematics and physics. [19]
Given two inertial or rotated frames of reference, a four-vector is defined as a quantity which transforms according to the Lorentz transformation matrix Λ: ′ =. In index notation, the contravariant and covariant components transform according to, respectively: ′ =, ′ = in which the matrix Λ has components Λ μ ν in row μ and column ν, and the matrix (Λ −1) T has components Λ ...
The Lorentz factor or Lorentz term (also known as the gamma factor [1]) is a dimensionless quantity expressing how much the measurements of time, length, and other physical properties change for an object while it moves. The expression appears in several equations in special relativity, and it arises in derivations of the Lorentz transformations.
The proper time interval between two events on a world line is the change in proper time, which is independent of coordinates, and is a Lorentz scalar. [1] The interval is the quantity of interest, since proper time itself is fixed only up to an arbitrary additive constant, namely the setting of the clock at some event along the world line.