Strings Fields And Critical Phenomena

Fields, Strings and Critical Phenomena

Hardbound. This session of the Summer School in Theoretical Physics concentrated on the recent advances in areas of physics ranging from (super)strings to field theory and statistical mechanics. The articles contained in this volume provide a stimulating and up-to-date account of a rapidly growing subject.Discussion focussed on the many points of convergence between field theory and statistical mechanics: conformal field theory, field theory on a lattice, the study of strongly correlated electron systems, as in the Hubbard model, leading to topological Lagrangians, which are perhaps the key of the understanding of high Tc superconductivity or the fractional quantum Hall effect. The critical phenomena in (1+1) dimensions, in the domain in which quantum fluctuations are strong, are described for antiferromagnetic couplings by relativistic theories in which the methods of abelian or non-abelian bosonization are particularly powerful.

Strings, Fields and Critical Phenomena

Theoretical Physics at the End of the Twentieth Century

The Centre de recherches matMmatiques (CRM) was created in 1968 by the Universite de Montreal to promote research in the mathematical sciences. It is now a national institute that hosts several groups and holds special theme years, summer schools, workshops, and a postdoctoral program. The focus of its scientific activities ranges from pure to applied mathematics and includes statistics, theoretical computer science, mathematical methods in biology and life sciences, and mathematical and theoretical physics. The CRM also promotes collaboration between mathematicians and industry. It is subsidized by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Fonds FCAR of the Province de Quebec, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and has private endowments. Current ac tivities, fellowships, and annual reports can be found on the CRM Web page at www.CRM.UMontreal.CA. The CRM Series in Mathematical Physics includes monographs, lecture notes, and proceedings based on research pursued and events held at the Centre de recherches matMmatiques.