Proceedings of the conference in honor of C.N. Yang's 85th birthday : Singapore, 31 October - 3 November 2007 : statistical physics, high energy, condensed matter and mathematical physics
The Conference on Statistical Physics, High Energy, Condensed Matter and Mathematical Physics was held in honor of Professor Chen-Ning Yang's 85th birthday in Singapore in Oct–Nov 2007. The conference paid tribute to the breadth and depth of Professor Yang's achievements in physics and science education since he received his Nobel Prize in Physics fifty years ago.This notable birthday volume is a collection of the presentations made at the conference by many eminent scientists who had worked closely with him or who have been influenced to some extent by his work.
The Conference on Statistical Physics, High Energy, Condensed Matter and Mathematical Physics was held in honor of Professor Chen-Ning Yang's 85th birthday in Singapore in Oct–Nov 2007. The conference paid tribute to the breadth and depth of Professor Yang's achievements in physics and science education since he received his Nobel Prize in Physics fifty years ago.This notable birthday volume is a collection of the presentations made at the conference by many eminent scientists who had worked closely with him or who have been influenced to some extent by his work.
Professor Chen Ning Yang has made seminal and influential contributions in many different areas in theoretical physics. This talk focuses on his contributions in statistical mechanics, a field in which Professor Yang has held a continual interest for over sixty years. His Master's thesis was on the theory of binary alloys with multi-site interactions, some 30 years before others studied the problem. Likewise, his other works opened the door and led to subsequent developments in many areas of modern day statistical mechanics and mathematical physics. He made seminal contributions in a wide array of topics, ranging from the fundamental theory of phase transitions, the Ising model, Heisenberg spin chains, lattice models, and the Yang–Baxter equation, to the emergence of Yangian in quantum groups. These topics and their ramifications will be discussed in this talk.
Quantum many-body theory as a discipline in its own right dates largely from the 1950's. It has developed since then to its current position as one of the cornerstones of modern theoretical physics. The field remains vibrant and active, vigorous and exciting. Indeed, its successes and importance were vividly illustrated prior to the conference by the sharing of the 1998 Nobel Prizes in both Physics and Chemistry by three many-body theorists. Two of those Nobel laureates, Walter Kohn and Bob Laughlin, delivered invited lectures at this meeting, the tenth in the series of International Conferences on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories. This series is universally recognized as being the premier series of meetings on this subject, and its proceedings have always summarized the current state of the art through the lectures of its leading practitioners. The present volume is no exception. A major aim of this conference series has been to foster the exchange of ideas between physicists working in all the diverse fields of application of quantum many-body theory. These include nuclear and subnuclear physics, quantum fluids, strongly correlated electronic systems, and low-dimensional condensed-matter systems and materials. All of these fields and others are represented in the present volume. Other topical themes covered include density functional theory and its applications to nuclear and electronic systems, quantum dots and chaos, and trapped Bose?Einstein condensates. Through this breadth of applications the reader will get a clear illustration of the power of the tools of modern microscopic quantum many-body theory, and their usefulness both in achieving a commonality of approach and understanding, and in transferring powerful ideas from one field to another.
Quantum many-body theory as a discipline in its own right dates largely from the 1950's. It has developed since then to its current position as one of the cornerstones of modern theoretical physics. The field remains vibrant and active, vigorous and exciting. Indeed, its successes and importance were vividly illustrated prior to the conference by the sharing of the 1998 Nobel Prizes in both Physics and Chemistry by three many-body theorists. Two of those Nobel laureates, Walter Kohn and Bob Laughlin, delivered invited lectures at this meeting, the tenth in the series of International Conferences on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories. This series is universally recognized as being the premier series of meetings on this subject, and its proceedings have always summarized the current state of the art through the lectures of its leading practitioners. The present volume is no exception. A major aim of this conference series has been to foster the exchange of ideas between physicists working in all the diverse fields of application of quantum many-body theory. These include nuclear and subnuclear physics, quantum fluids, strongly correlated electronic systems, and low-dimensional condensed-matter systems and materials. All of these fields and others are represented in the present volume. Other topical themes covered include density functional theory and its applications to nuclear and electronic systems, quantum dots and chaos, and trapped Bose?Einstein condensates. Through this breadth of applications the reader will get a clear illustration of the power of the tools of modern microscopic quantum many-body theory, and their usefulness both in achieving a commonality of approach and understanding, and in transferring powerful ideas from one field to another.
The birth of condensed matter physics in Italy is linked to a small number of very distinguished scientists. Mario Tosi, Professor of Physics of Matter at the Scuola Normale Superiore, is unquestionably among the leading figures, a true founder of the theoretical activity in the country and a true catalyst of novel research directions internationally. This volume collects the proceedings of a symposium held at Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, designed to show Mario Tosi's broad, deep influence in very diverse areas of the quantum theory of condensed matter. The topics covered in the volume represent the breadth of his interests and the highlights in the quantum theory of condensed matter: liquids, electronic states in complex structures, quantum degenerate gases, many-body physics.
Martin C. Gutzwiller has made groundbreaking contributions in several fundamental areas of physics. These works range from the Gutzwiller wave function for strongly correlated electrons to the likewise eponymous trace formula, powerful for quantization of chaotic systems, and mathematical studies of the orbit of the moon. His interests also include the history of classical and quantum mechanics. In recognition of the high esteem that Martin enjoys among his peers, we tried to reach out to those who have been inspired by Martin's works and put forth a festschrift honoring our distinguished colleague on the occasion of his 75th birthday in October of 2000 in the following few special issues of Foundations of Physics. The first issue contains a collection of papers related to Solid State Physics, and the remaining issues will cover mostly other areas of physics. All the contributions appearing in the Gutzwiller special issues are invited papers dedicated to Martin Gutzwiller. We are delighted to be able to celebrate Martin's 75th birthday together in this festschrift. Martin, Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!