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There is no doubt that we have, during the last decade, moved into
a "golden age" of condensed matter science. The sequence of
discoveries of novel new states of matter and their rapid
assimilation into experimental and theoretical research, as well as
devices, has been remarkable. To name but a few: spin glasses;
incommensurate, fractal, quasicrystal structures; synthetic metals;
quantum well fabrication; fractional quantum Hall effect: solid
state chaos; heavy fermions; and most spectacularly
high-temperature superconductivity. This rapid evolution has been
marked by the need to address the reality of materials in "extreme"
conditions - - disordered, nonlinear systems in reduced dimensions,
restricted geometries and at mesoscopic scales, often with striking
competitions between several length and frequency scales, and
between strong electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions.
In such new territory it is not surprising that very
interdisciplinary approaches are being explored and traditional
boundaries between subjects and disciplines re-defined. In theory,
this is evident, for instance, in attempts: (1) to advance the
state of the art for elec tronic structure calculations so as to
handle strongly interacting many-body systems and delicate
competitions for collective ground states (spin models or
many-electron Hamiltoni ans, field theory, band structure, quantum
chemistry and numerical approaches); or (2) to understand pattern
formation and complex (including chaotic) dynamics in extended sys
tems. This demands close involvement with applied mathematics,
numerical simulations and statistical mechanics techniques.
The collection of articles in this volume represents the
proceedings of the inau- gural Conference of the Institute of
Theoretical Matter Physics at the University of Florence, Italy,
June 7-13, 1990. The aim of this Institute (sponsored by the Con-
sorzio Interuniversitario di Fisica della Materia, INFM) is to
foster interdisciplinary approaches to theoretical problems in
Solid State, Electronics and Optics. Corre- spondingly, the
Conference surveyed a broad scope of modern analytic techniques in
nonlinear science and their application to novel liquids, solids
and optical environ- ments. The Conference was held at Centro Studi
CISL, a magnificent Villa up to Florence. The major topics
addressed through survey and specialized lectures, discussions and
posters were: Complexity and Coherence in spin glasses, associative
distribu- tive memory, low dimensional electronic materials,
magnets, Josephson junction ar- rays, optics, semiconductors,
convection cells, material science, high-temperature
superconductivity; Physics of Quantum Devices such as nonlinear
feedback oscilla- tors, macroscopic quantum tunneling, hetero
structures, quantum ballistic devices, tunneling in atomic devices;
Field Theory and Statistical Mechanics, especially for
soliton-bearing and quantum chaotic systems. Many exciting ideas
and results were presented and debated in lively fashion. Perhaps
two major themes were evident throughout the workshop.
In the past three decades there has been enormous progress in
identifying the essential role that nonlinearity plays in physical
systems, including supporting soliton-like solutions and
self-trapped sxcitations such as polarons. during the same period,
similarly impressive progress has occurred in understanding the
effects of disorder in linear quantum problems, especially
regarding Anderson localization arising from impurities, random
spatial structures, stochastic applied fields, and so forth. These
striking consequences of disorder, noise and nonlinearity
frequently occur together in physical systems. Yet there have been
only limited attempts to develop systematic techniques which can
include all of these ingredients, which may reinforce, complement
or frustrate each other. This book contains a range of articles
which provide important steps toward the goal of systematic
understanding and classification of phenomenology. Experts from
Australia, Europe, Japan, USA, and the USSR describe both
mathematical and numerical techniques - especially from soliton and
statistical physics disciplines - and applicaations to a number of
important physical systems and devices, including optical and
electronic transmission lines, liquid crystals, biophysics and
magnetism.
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Nonlinearity in Condensed Matter - Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 5-9 May, 1986 (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1987)
Alan R. Bishop, David K. Campbell, Steven E. Trullinger, Pradeep Kumar
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R3,036
Discovery Miles 30 360
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The Sixth Annual Conference of the Center for Nonlinear Studies at
the Los Alamos National Laboratory was held May 5-9, 1986, on the
topic "Nonlinearity in Condensed Matter: Lessons from the Past and
Prospects for the Future. " As conference organizers, we felt that
the study of non linear phenomena in condensed matter had matured
to the point where it made sense to take stock of the numerous
lessons to be learned from a variety of contexts where nonlinearity
plays a fundamental role and to evaluate the prospects for the
growth of this general discipline. The successful 1978 Oxford
Symposium on nonlinear (soliton) struc ture and dynamics in
condensed matter (Springer Ser. Solid-State Sci., Vol. 8) was held
at a time when the ubiquity of solitons was just begin ning to be
appreciated by the condensed matter community; in subsequent years
the soliton paradigm has provided a rather useful framework for in
vestigating a large number of phenomena, particularly in
low-dimensional systems. Nevertheless, we felt that the importance
of nonlinearity in wider arenas than "solitonics" merited a
significant expansion in the scope of the conference over that of
the 1978 symposium. Indeed, many of the lessons are quite general
and their potential for cross-fertilization of otherwise poorly
connected disciplines was certainly one of the prime motivations
for this conference. Thus, while these proceedings contain many
contribu tions pertaining to soliton behavior in different
contexts, the reader will find much more as well, particularly in
the later chapters."
ill the past three decades there has been enonnous progress in
identifying the es sential role that "nonlinearity" plays in
physical systems. Classical nonlinear wave equations can support
localized, stable "soliton" solutions, and nonlinearities in
quantum systems can lead to self-trapped excitations, such as
polarons. Since these nonlinear excitations often dominate the
transport and response properties of the systems in which they
exist, accurate modeling of their effects is essential to
interpreting a wide range of physical phenomena. Further, the
dramatic de velopments in "deterministic chaos", including the
recognition that even simple nonlinear dynamical systems can
produce seemingly random temporal evolution, have similarly
demonstrated that an understanding of chaotic dynamics is vital to
an accurate interpretation of the behavior of many physical
systems. As a conse quence of these two developments, the study of
nonlinear phenomena has emerged as a subject in its own right.
During these same three decades, similar progress has occurred in
understand ing the effects of "disorder". Stimulated by Anderson's
pioneering work on "dis ordered" quantum solid state materials,
this effort has also grown into a field that now includes a variety
of classical and quantum systems and treats "disorder" arising from
many sources, including impurities, random spatial structures, and
stochastic applied fields. Significantly, these two developments
have occurred rather independently, with relatively little
overlapping research.
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