Magnetic Monopoles

Yakov M. Shnir3540252770, 9783540252771, 9783540290827

This monograph addresses the field theoretical aspects of magnetic monopoles. Written for graduate students as well as researchers, the author demonstrates the interplay between mathematics and physics. He delves into details as necessary and develops many techniques that find applications in modern theoretical physics. This introduction to the basic ideas used for the description and construction of monopoles is also the first coherent presentation of the concept of magnetic monopoles. It arises in many different contexts in modern theoretical physics, from classical mechanics and electrodynamics to multidimensional branes. The book summarizes the present status of the theory and gives an extensive but carefully selected bibliography on the subject. The first part deals with the Dirac monopole, followed in part two by the monopole in non-abelian gauge theories. The third part is devoted to monopoles in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories.