Recent Progress In Statistical Mechanics And Quantum Field Theory

The following topics were covered: the study of renormalization group flows between field theories using the methods of quantum integrability, S-matrix theory and the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz; impurity problems approached both from the point of view of conformal field theory and quantum integrability. This includes the Kondo effect and quantum wires; solvable models with 1/r² interactions (Haldane-Shastri models). Yangian symmetries in 1/r² models and in conformal field theories; correlation functions in integrable 1+1 field theories; integrability in three dimensions; conformal invariance and the quantum hall effect; supersymmetry in statistical mechanics; and relations to two-dimensional Yang-Mills and QCD.

The 1976 Cargese Summer Institute was devoted to the study of certain exciting developments in quantum field theory and critical phenomena. Its genesis occurred in 1974 as an outgrowth of many scientific discussions amongst the undersigned, who decided to form a scientific committee for the organization of the school. On the one hand, various workers in quantum field theory were continuing to make startling progress in different directions. On the other hand, many new problems were arising from these various domains. Thus we feIt that 1976 might be an appropriate occasion both to review recent developments and to encourage interactions between researchers from different backgrounds working on a common set of unsolved problems. An important aspect of the school, as it took place, was the participation of and stimulating interaction between such a broad spectrum of theorists. The central topics of the school were chosen from the areas of solitons, phase transitions, critical behavior, the renormalization group, gauge fields and the analysis of nonrenormalizable field theories. A noteworthy feature of these topics is the interpene tration of ideas from quantum field theory and statistical mechanics whose inherent unity is seen in the functional integral formulation of quantum field theory. The actual lectures were partly in the form of tutorials designed to familiarize the participants with re cent progress on the main topics of the school. Others were in the form of more specialized seminars reporting on recent research.

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From August 21 through August 27, 1989 the Nato Advanced Research Workshop Probabilistic Methods in Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Gravity" was held at l'Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques, Cargese, France. This publication is the Proceedings of this workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together a group of scientists who have been at the forefront of the development of probabilistic methods in Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Gravity. The original thought was to put emphasis on the introduction of stochastic processes in the understanding of Euclidean Quantum Field Theory, with also some discussion of recent progress in the field of stochastic numerical methods. During the final preparation of the meeting we broadened the scope to include all those Euclidean Quantum Field Theory descriptions that make direct reference to concepts from probability theory and statistical mechanics. Several of the main contributions centered around a more rigorous discussion of stochastic processes for the formulation of Euclidean Quantum Field Theory. These rather stringent mathematical approaches were contrasted with the more heuristic stochastic quantization scheme developed in 1981 by Parisi and Wu: Stochastic quan tization, its intrinsic BRST -structure and stochastic regularization appeared in many disguises and in connection with several different problems throughout the workshop.

Fundamental concepts of phase transitions, such as order parameters, spontaneous symmetry breaking, scaling transformations, conformal symmetry and anomalous dimensions, have deeply changed the modern vision of many areas of physics, leading to remarkable developments in statistical mechanics, elementary particle theory, condensed matter physics and string theory. This self-contained book provides a thorough introduction to the fascinating world of phase transitions and frontier topics of exactly solved models in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory, such as renormalization groups, conformal models, quantum integrable systems, duality, elastic S-matrices, thermodynamic Bethe ansatz and form factor theory. The clear discussion of physical principles is accompanied by a detailed analysis of several branches of mathematics distinguished for their elegance and beauty, including infinite dimensional algebras, conformal mappings, integral equations and modular functions. Besides advanced research themes, the book also covers many basic topics in statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and theoretical physics. Each argument is discussed in great detail while providing overall coherent understanding of physical phenomena. Mathematical background is made available in supplements at the end of each chapter, when appropriate. The chapters include problems of different levels of difficulty. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students will find this book a rich and challenging source for improving their skills and for attaining a comprehensive understanding of the many facets of the subject.

Recent developments in theoretical physics include new instances of the unification of quite different phenomena. The theoretical community is challenged by the growing interactions between high-energy physics, statistical physics, and condensed matter physics. The common language, though, is exact solutions of two-dimensional and conformable field theories. This volume is a faithful representation of this interdisciplinary domain. Conformable and integrable field theories have been active research topics for several decades. The main recent developments concern the boundary effects and applications to disordered systems. The number of applications of the exact methods to condensed-matter problems has been growing over the years. Nowadays it is widely recognized that strongly interacting systems in low dimensions can be successfully described by integrable and conformable theories. This volume is an indispensable aid to those seeking to find their way in this domain.