Sophus Lie and Felix Klein: The Erlangen Program and Its Impact in Mathematics and Physics

The Erlangen program expresses a fundamental point of view on the use of groups and transformation groups in mathematics and physics. The present volume is the first modern comprehensive book on that program and its impact in contemporary mathematics and physics. Klein spelled out the program, and Lie, who contributed to its formulation, is the first mathematician who made it effective in his work. The theories that these two authors developed are also linked to their personal history and to their relations with each other and with other mathematicians, incuding Hermann Weyl, Élie Cartan, Henri Poincaré, and many others. All these facets of the Erlangen program appear in the present volume.

The book is written by well-known experts in geometry, physics and history of mathematics and physics. It is addressed to mathematicians, to graduate students, and to all those interested in the development of mathematical ideas.