Customer Reviews

Group Theory: An Intuitive Approach

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When I first read Tinkham's book Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics thirty years ago, I found his treatment easy to follow. Mirman's book, however, is not as easy for me to digest. For me, the introduction of group character makes group theory appealing, understandable, and obviously powerful. Mirman, however, does not introduce the concept of group character until the middle of the book, while Tinkham introduces group character at the very beginning. Tinkham also uses the group of an equilateral triangle at the very beginning of his book and uses it to illustrate group character. Tinkham's book, in turn, is modeled on Wigner's Group Theory and Its Application to the Quantum Mechanics of Atomic Spectra. Although Mirman deserves credit for formulating a more original textbook (i.e. one substantially different from Wigner's), the result is a book that most beginners would find too detailed or abstract.

I should also say that I find the author's somewhat Socratic style of exposition rather distracting. Too many sections are punctuated with questions and problems that interfere with the flow of the narrative.

So here is the bottom line: if you are a physicist or physics student who is unfamiliar with group theory, read Tinkham. If you have already read Tinkham, Heine's Group Theory in Quantum Mechanics: An Introduction to Its Present Usage (Dover Books on Physics), or other books modeled on Wigner, you might benefit from taking a look at Mirman.

The first thing to say: you need time to read this book. It is written in a "prosa"-style but nevertheless it covers a lot of topics. If you have never heard anything about group theory than that is your choise. It's not written in the pure algebraic-style but illustrates the subject with a lot of (common) examples.

I have read some bad books. But this one is the most ambiguous one I have ever seen. Totally unclear, drives you crazy.