Global Symmetries, Local Symmetries and Groupoids

Local symmetries are primarily defined in the case of spacetime, but several authors have defined them outside this context, sometimes with the help of groupoids. We show that, in many cases, local symmetries can be defined as global symmetries. We also show that groups can be used, rather than grou...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Michel Petitjean
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Symmetry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/13/10/1905
Description
Summary:Local symmetries are primarily defined in the case of spacetime, but several authors have defined them outside this context, sometimes with the help of groupoids. We show that, in many cases, local symmetries can be defined as global symmetries. We also show that groups can be used, rather than groupoids, to handle local symmetries. Examples are given for graphs and networks, color symmetry and tilings. The definition of local symmetry in physics is also discussed.
ISSN:2073-8994