Overview

This book provides a thorough introduction to the fascinating world of phase transitions as well as many related topics, including random walks, combinatorial problems, quantum field theory and S-matrix. 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 an excellent introduction to frontier topics of exactly solved models in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory, renormalization group, conformal models, quantum integrable systems, duality, elastic S-matrix, thermodynamics 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, such as infinite dimensional algebras, conformal mappings, integral equations or modular functions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Giuseppe Mussardo (International School for Advanced Studies (ISAS), Trieste, Italy)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 18.00cm , Height: 4.10cm , Length: 25.30cm
Weight:   1.672kg
ISBN:  

9780199547586

ISBN 10:   0199547580
Pages:   780
Publication Date:   27 August 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Table of Contents

I: Introductory Notions 1: Introduction 2: One-dimensional systems 3: Approximate solutions II: Bidimensional lattice models 4: Duality of two-dimensional Ising model 5: Combinatorial solutions of the Ising model 6: Transfer matrix of the two-dimensional Ising model III: Quantum field theory and conformal variance 7: Quantum field theory 8: Renormalization group 9: Fermionic formulation of the Ising model 10: Conformal field theory 11: Minimal conformal models 12: Conformal field theory of free Bosonic and Fermionic fields 13: Conformal field theories with extended symmetries 14: The arena of conformal models IV: Away from criticality 15: In the vicinity of the critical points 16: Integrable quantum field theories 17: S-matrix theory 18: Exact S-matrices 19: Thermodynamics Bethe Ansatz 20: Form factors and correlation functions 21: Non-integrable aspects

Reviews

<br> Very comprehensive and suitable for beginners in this field. This book contains a lot of material and it gives detailed discussions of the physical theories and mathematical techniques involved. It will also be very helpful for mathematicians interested in conformal field theory and exactly solvable models. --Mathematical Reviews<br> Well written and the mathematical proofs are presented clearly...Best suited for students who have taken graduate courses in statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Recommended. --Choice<br>

Overall, this book is very comprehensive and suitable for beginners in this field. It will also be very helpful for mathematicians interested in conformal field theory and exactly solvable models. Mathematical Reviews

`The book is well suited to provide access into this fascinating field of research and at the same time leads its readers all the way to the forefront of present research. It will provide a solid basis as a textbook for an advanced course in statistical physics, giving the lecturer an ample choice of topics supplemented by problem sets and references to the original literature.' Holger Frahm, Leibniz University, Hannover `I am very impressed with the contents of this book, it is certainly needed. The author is a good writer and can explain things well. From the scientific point of view the quality is outstanding.' Alexei Tsvelik, Brookhaven National Laboratory `There has been dramatic progress over the last two decades in our understanding of off-critical systems in two dimensions. At present there is no book that explains these developments, which here are tied into the larger framework of statistical mechanics in two dimensions, an area that continues to attract tremendous attention. ' Fabian Essler, Oxford University `The author is an excellent physicist who has contributed very significantly to the field, and has always shown a passion for pedagogy. He is one of a handful of people who look beyond formal theory and think in terms of physics, always trying to push the boundaries of our knowledge. I am sure this book will become a most useful and successful text for graduate students and researchers.' Hubert Saleur, University of Southern California

Author Information

Giuseppe Mussardo has been Professor of Theoretical Physics at the International School for Advanced Studies (ISAS) in Trieste since 2000, and was Deputy Director of ISAS 2001-2004. He is Head of the Statistical Physics group at ISAS and Coodinator of the European Science Foundation grant INSTANS. He edits Nuclear Physics B: Statistical Mechanics and Field Theory, and JSTAT.

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