Weatherall, James Owen (2015) Understanding Gauge. [Preprint]

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Abstract

I consider two usages of the expression "gauge theory". On one, a gauge theory is a theory with excess structure; on the other, a gauge theory is any theory appropriately related to classical electromagnetism. I make precise one sense in which one formulation of electromagnetism, the paradigmatic gauge theory on both usages, may be understood to have excess structure, and then argue that gauge theories on the second usage, including Yang-Mills theory and general relativity, do not generally have excess structure in this sense.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Weatherall, James Owen weatherj@uci.edu
Keywords:	Gauge theory; Yang-Mills theory; electromagnetism; general relativity; category theory; structure
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory General Issues > Structure of Theories Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	James Owen Weatherall
Date Deposited:	09 May 2015 15:44
Last Modified:	09 May 2015 15:44
Item ID:	11449
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory General Issues > Structure of Theories Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	2015
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11449

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• Understanding Gauge. (deposited 09 May 2015 15:44) [Currently Displayed]
  • Understanding Gauge. (deposited 14 Dec 2017 03:33)

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