Schur is software that helps in calculating properties of Lie groups and symmetric functions interactively. It is a standalone program.
The software has been designed to answer questions of relevance to a wide range of problems of special interest to chemists, mathematicians, and physicists. The software is designed to be user-friendly, providing users with specific knowledge relating to some aspect of Lie groups or symmetric functions without the burden of complex algorithms.
Schur's main goal is to supply results with hidden algorithmic complexities, allowing users to use the software as a scratch pad, obtaining a result, and deriving new results in a fully interactive manner. The software can be used for a diverse range of calculations such as branching rules, Kronecker products, Casimir invariants, dimensions, plethysms, S-function operations, and Young diagrams and their hook lengths.
In addition to being a research tool for professionals, Schur also serves as an excellent tool for helping students to independently explore the properties of Lie groups and symmetric functions, creating simple examples and moving on to more complex examples. The software offers users over 160 commands, which may be nested to give a vast range of potential operations, each of which is described in a 200 page manual including examples.
Input/output issues have been taken into account to simplify input and provide well-organized output. The output may be obtained in TeX form or log files for subsequent editing. On-line help files may be brought to screen at any time.
The key features of Schur include the calculation of Kronecker products, branching rules, properties of irreducible representations, handling of direct products of several groups, computation of Schur and Q-functions, and standardization of non-standard representations of groups.
The latest release includes an APROPOS command, a clickable PDF manual, and fix for the branch command crash. User-defined functions (macros) are also now usable in all modes. The release also adds RIB_TO_S and prompt without CR command.
Overall, Schur is a powerful and user-friendly software tool that would be highly beneficial for professionals and students alike.
Version 6.02: N/A