Symplectic geometry is very useful for formulating clearly and concisely problems in classical physics and also for understanding the link between classical problems and their quantum counterparts. It is thus a subject of interest to both mathematicians and physicists, though they have approached the subject from different viewpoints. This is the first book that attempts to reconcile these approaches. The authors use the uncluttered, coordinate-free approach to symplectic geometry and classical mechanics that has been developed by mathematicians over the course of the past thirty years, but at the same time apply the apparatus to a great number of concrete problems. Some of the themes emphasized in the book include the pivotal role of completely integrable systems, the importance of symmetries, analogies between classical dynamics and optics, the importance of symplectic tools in classical variational theory, symplectic features of classical field theories, and the principle of general covariance.

The aim of this book is to give a rigorous and complete treatment of various topics from harmonic analysis with a strong emphasis on symplectic invariance properties, which are often ignored or underestimated in the time-frequency literature. The topics that are addressed include (but are not limited to) the theory of the Wigner transform, the uncertainty principle (from the point of view of symplectic topology), Weyl calculus and its symplectic covariance, Shubin’s global theory of pseudo-differential operators, and Feichtinger’s theory of modulation spaces. Several applications to time-frequency analysis and quantum mechanics are given, many of them concurrent with ongoing research. For instance, a non-standard pseudo-differential calculus on phase space where the main role is played by “Bopp operators” (also called “Landau operators” in the literature) is introduced and studied. This calculus is closely related to both the Landau problem and to the deformation quantization theory of Flato and Sternheimer, of which it gives a simple pseudo-differential formulation where Feichtinger’s modulation spaces are key actors. This book is primarily directed towards students or researchers in harmonic analysis (in the broad sense) and towards mathematical physicists working in quantum mechanics. It can also be read with profit by researchers in time-frequency analysis, providing a valuable complement to the existing literature on the topic. A certain familiarity with Fourier analysis (in the broad sense) and introductory functional analysis (e.g. the elementary theory of distributions) is assumed. Otherwise, the book is largely self-contained and includes an extensive list of references.

Symplectic geometry is a central topic of current research in mathematics. Indeed, symplectic methods are key ingredients in the study of dynamical systems, differential equations, algebraic geometry, topology, mathematical physics and representations of Lie groups. This book is a true introduction to symplectic geometry, assuming only a general background in analysis and familiarity with linear algebra. It starts with the basics of the geometry of symplectic vector spaces. Then, symplectic manifolds are defined and explored. In addition to the essential classic results, such as Darboux's theorem, more recent results and ideas are also included here, such as symplectic capacity and pseudoholomorphic curves. These ideas have revolutionized the subject. The main examples of symplectic manifolds are given, including the cotangent bundle, Kähler manifolds, and coadjoint orbits. Further principal ideas are carefully examined, such as Hamiltonian vector fields, the Poisson bracket, and connections with contact manifolds. Berndt describes some of the close connections between symplectic geometry and mathematical physics in the last two chapters of the book. In particular, the moment map is defined and explored, both mathematically and in its relation to physics. He also introduces symplectic reduction, which is an important tool for reducing the number of variables in a physical system and for constructing new symplectic manifolds from old. The final chapter is on quantization, which uses symplectic methods to take classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. This section includes a discussion of the Heisenberg group and the Weil (or metaplectic) representation of the symplectic group. Several appendices provide background material on vector bundles, on cohomology, and on Lie groups and Lie algebras and their representations. Berndt's presentation of symplectic geometry is a clear and concise introduction to the major methods and applications of the subject, and requires only a minimum of prerequisites. This book would be an excellent text for a graduate course or as a source for anyone who wishes to learn about symplectic geometry.

This book offers a complete discussion of techniques and topics intervening in the mathematical treatment of quantum and semi-classical mechanics. It starts with a very readable introduction to symplectic geometry. Many topics are also of genuine interest for pure mathematicians working in geometry and topology.

The method of using the moduli space of pseudo-holomorphic curves on a symplectic manifold was introduced by Mikhail Gromov in 1985. From the appearance of Gromov's original paper until today this approach has been the most important tool in global symplectic geometry. To produce numerical invariants of these manifolds using this method requires constructing a fundamental cycle associated with moduli spaces. This volume brings together three approaches to constructing the “virtual” fundamental cycle for the moduli space of pseudo-holomorphic curves. All approaches are based on the idea of local Kuranishi charts for the moduli space. Workers in the field will get a comprehensive understanding of the details of these constructions and the assumptions under which they can be made. These techniques and results will be essential in further applications of this approach to producing invariants of symplectic manifolds.

This book constructs the mathematical apparatus of classical mechanics from the beginning, examining basic problems in dynamics like the theory of oscillations and the Hamiltonian formalism. The author emphasizes geometrical considerations and includes phase spaces and flows, vector fields, and Lie groups. Discussion includes qualitative methods of the theory of dynamical systems and of asymptotic methods like averaging and adiabatic invariance.

Applications of the techniques of symplectic geometry to describe 'symmetry breaking' in quantum physics.

This volume contains seven chapters based on lectures given by invited speakers at two May 2010 workshops held at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.

The goal of these notes is to provide a fast introduction to symplectic geometry for graduate students with some knowledge of differential geometry, de Rham theory and classical Lie groups. This text addresses symplectomorphisms, local forms, contact manifolds, compatible almost complex structures, Kaehler manifolds, hamiltonian mechanics, moment maps, symplectic reduction and symplectic toric manifolds. It contains guided problems, called homework, designed to complement the exposition or extend the reader's understanding. There are by now excellent references on symplectic geometry, a subset of which is in the bibliography of this book. However, the most efficient introduction to a subject is often a short elementary treatment, and these notes attempt to serve that purpose. This text provides a taste of areas of current research and will prepare the reader to explore recent papers and extensive books on symplectic geometry where the pace is much faster. For this reprint numerous corrections and clarifications have been made, and the layout has been improved.

"And what is the use," thought Alice, "of a book without pictures or conversations in it?" -Lewis Carroll This book is written for modem undergraduate students - not the ideal stu dents that mathematics professors wish for (and who occasionally grace our campuses), but the students like many the author has taught: talented but ap preciating review and reinforcement of past course work; willing to work hard, but demanding context and motivation for the mathematics they are learning. To suit this audience, the author eschews density of topics and efficiency of presentation in favor of a gentler tone, a coherent story, digressions on mathe maticians, physicists and their notations, simple examples worked out in detail, and reinforcement of the basics. Dense and efficient texts play a crucial role in the education of budding (and budded) mathematicians and physicists. This book does not presume to improve on the classics in that genre. Rather, it aims to provide those classics with a large new generation of appreciative readers. This text introduces some basic constructs of modern symplectic geometry in the context of an old celestial mechanics problem, the two-body problem. We present the derivation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion from Newton's laws of gravitation, first in the style of an undergraduate physics course, and x Preface then again in the language of symplectic geometry. No previous exposure to symplectic geometry is required: we introduce and illustrate all necessary con structs.