Symmetries in Physics

The purpose of this course is to study the evolution of the symmetry concept and establish its influence in the knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature. Physicist have been using the symmetry concept in two ways: to solve problems and to search for new understanding of the world around us. In quantum physics symmetry plays a key role in gaining an understanding of the physical laws governing the behavior of matter and field systems. It provides, generally, a shortcut based on geometry for discovering the secrets of the Universe. Because it is believed that the laws of physics are invariant under discrete and continuous transformation operations of the space and time, there are continuous symmetries, for example, energy and momentum together with discrete ones corresponding to charge, parity and time reversal operations.