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This book is a self-contained presentation of the quantum field theory of topological defects created during spontaneous symmetry breakdown phase transitions, with a particular emphasis on phenomenological issues of current interest.
Quantum dynamics underlies macroscopic systems exhibiting some kind of ordering, such as superconductors, ferromagnets and crystals. Even large scale structures in the Universe and ordering in biological systems appear to be the manifestation of microscopic dynamics ruling their elementary components. The scope of this book is to answer questions such as: how it happens that the mesoscopic/macroscopic scale and stability characterizing those systems are dynamically generated out of the microscopic scale of fluctuating quantum components; how quantum particles coexist and interact with classically behaving macroscopic objects, e.g. vortices, magnetic domains and other topological defects. The...
This volume presents modern trends in the area of symmetries and their applications based on contributions to the workshop "Lie Theory and Its Applications in Physics" held near Varna (Bulgaria) in June 2019. Traditionally, Lie theory is a tool to build mathematical models for physical systems. Recently, the trend is towards geometrization of the mathematical description of physical systems and objects. A geometric approach to a system yields in general some notion of symmetry, which is very helpful in understanding its structure. Geometrization and symmetries are meant in their widest sense, i.e., representation theory, algebraic geometry, number theory, infinite-dimensional Lie algebras an...
The contributions to this volume are based on selected lectures from the first international workshop on decoherence, information, complexity and entropy (DICE). The aim of this volume is to reflect the growing importance ot common concepts behind seemingly different fields such as quantum mechanics, general relativity and statistical physics in a form accessible to nonspecialist researchers. Many presentations include original results which published here for the first time.
From August to September 1998, a group of 75 physicists from 52 laboratories in 15 countries met in Erice, Italy, for the 36th Course of the International School of Subnuclear Physics. This book constitutes the proceedings of that meeting. It reviews the present status of subnuclear physics and its connections with the fundamental problems of physics, such as the unification of all gauge forces.
In this small book, theoretical physicist Gerard 't Hooft (Nobel prize 1999), philosopher Emanuele Severino (Lincei Academician), and theologian Piero Coda (Pontifical Lateran University) confront one another on a topic that lies at the roots of quantum mechanics and at the origin of Western thought: Determinism and Free Will. "God does not play dice" said Einstein, a tenacious determinist. Quantum Mechanics and its clash with General Relativity have reanimated ancient dilemmas about chance and necessity: Is Nature deterministic? Is Man free? The “free-will theorem” by Conway and Kochen, and the deterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics proposed by 't Hooft, revive such philosophical questions in modern Physics. Is Becoming real? Is the Elementary Event a product of the Case? The cyclopean clash between Heraclitus and Parmenides has entered a new episode, as evidenced by the essays in this volume.
This introduction to the dissipative quantum model of brain and to its possible implications for consciousness studies is addressed to a broad interdisciplinary audience. Memory and consciousness are approached from the physicist point of view focusing on the basic observation that the brain is an open system continuously interacting with its environment. The unavoidable dissipative character of the brain functioning turns out to be the root of the brain's large memory capacity and of other memory features such as memory association, memory confusion, duration of memory. The openness of the brain implies a formal picture of the world which is modeled on the same brain image: a sort of brain copy or Double, where world objectiveness and the brain implicit subjectivity are conjugated. Consciousness is seen to arise from the permanent dialogue of the brain with its Double. The author's narration of his (re-)search gives a cross-over of the physics of elementary particles and condensed matter, and the brain's basic dynamics. This dynamic interplay makes for a satisfying feeling of the unity of knowledge. (Series A)
This book provides a unique survey displaying the power of Riccati equations to describe reversible and irreversible processes in physics and, in particular, quantum physics. Quantum mechanics is supposedly linear, invariant under time-reversal, conserving energy and, in contrast to classical theories, essentially based on the use of complex quantities. However, on a macroscopic level, processes apparently obey nonlinear irreversible evolution equations and dissipate energy. The Riccati equation, a nonlinear equation that can be linearized, has the potential to link these two worlds when applied to complex quantities. The nonlinearity can provide information about the phase-amplitude correlations of the complex quantities that cannot be obtained from the linearized form. As revealed in this wide ranging treatment, Riccati equations can also be found in many diverse fields of physics from Bose-Einstein-condensates to cosmology. The book will appeal to graduate students and theoretical physicists interested in a consistent mathematical description of physical laws.
In August/September 1999, a group of 68 physicists from 48 laboratories in 17 countries met in Erice, Italy, to participate in the 37th Course of the International School of Subnuclear Physics. This volume constitutes the proceedings of that meeting. It focuses on the basic unity of fundamental physics at both the theoretical and the experimental level. Contents: The Glorious Days of Physics (Dedicated to BjArn H Wiik) (K Johnsen, H Wenninger & G Wolf); Opening Lecture (G ''t Hooft); Mini-courses on Basics (Z Kunszt, A Masiero, E W Kolb, B Greene & E Rabinovici); Experimental Highlights (K Nishikawa, T D Lee, H Wahl & B Winstein); Theoretical Highlights (G ''t Hooft, R Brout, J March-Russell, G Veneziano & F Englert); Special Sessions for New Talents (C Armendiriz-Picn, L Bellantoni, L L Everett, G Eyal, P Jizba, A Marrone, M Nardi, A Seganti & T Weidig). Readership: High energy, experimental and theoretical physicists."
In August/September 1999, a group of 68 physicists from 48 laboratories in 17 countries met in Erice, Italy, to participate in the 37th Course of the International School of Subnuclear Physics. This volume constitutes the proceedings of that meeting. It focuses on the basic unity of fundamental physics at both the theoretical and the experimental level.