Gomes, Henrique (2024) Representational schemes for theories with symmetry. [Preprint]
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Abstract
In the philosophical literature, symmetries of physical theories are most often interpreted according to the general doctrine called \lq{}traditional sophistication\rq{}. But even this doctrine leaves two important gaps in our understanding of such theories: (A) it allows the individuation of isomorphism-classes to remain intractable and thus of limited use, which is why practising physicists frequently invoke \lq{}relational, symmetry-invariant observables\rq{}; and (B) it leaves us with no formal framework for expressing interesting counterfactual statements about different physical possibilities. I will call these \emph{Limitations} of TS. Here I will show that a new Desideratum to be satisfied by theories with symmetries allows us to overcome these Limitations. The new Desideratum is that the theory admits what I will call \emph{representational schemes} for its isomorphism-classes. Each such scheme gives an equally valid reduced formalism for a theory.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Symmetry, invariance, hole argument, gauge symmetry, gauge-fixing, observables. | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Henrique Gomes | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jun 2025 13:15 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 02 Jun 2025 13:15 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 25529 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Date: | 8 October 2024 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25529 |
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Representational schemes for theories with symmetry. (deposited 16 Oct 2024 12:04)
- Representational schemes for theories with symmetry. (deposited 02 Jun 2025 13:15) [Currently Displayed]
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