Spinors and Space-Time Volume 1, Two-Spinor Calculus and Relativistic Fields [Paperback]

This volume introduces and systematically develops the calculus of 2-spinors.Volume 1 introduces and systematically develops the calculus in a first detailed exposition of this technique which provides shortcuts for some very tedious calculations.Volume 1 introduces and systematically develops the calculus in a first detailed exposition of this technique which provides shortcuts for some very tedious calculations.This volume introduces and systematically develops the calculus of 2-spinors. This is the first detailed exposition of this technique which leads not only to a deeper understanding of the structure of space-time, but also provides shortcuts to some very tedious calculations. Many results are given here for the first time.Preface; 1. The geometry of world-vectors and spin-vectors; 2. Abstract indices and spinor algebra; 3. Spinors and world-tensors; 4. Differentiation and curvature; 5. Fields in space-time; Appendix; References; Subject and author index; Index of symbols. ...careful and comprehensive discussion virtually assures that it will become a standard reference... Science ...the book has come out just in the wake of realization that spinors may play an even more profound role in theoretical physics than they do today...very likely to become a classic. Nature