On Lie groups and algebras

Abstract

The objectives of this work are fundamentally three: the first is to give the basic definitions of Lie groups, Lie algebras, the exponential map and the morphisms relating them. The second is to give an elementary introduction to Lie group representation theory as well as some criteria on how to classify certain Lie groups. The third and final goal is to study a couple of specific Lie groups, namely SU(2) and SO(3), in order to apply all the concerning theory and have an insight into the applications of Lie groups into Physics.