Statistical Field Theory, Volume 2

Author: Claude Itzykson, Jean-Michel Drouffe
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-11-01
Features: "Statistical Field Theory (Volume 2). (Reprint Edition)"
Sometenyearsago,whencompletingwithJ.-B.ZuberaprevioustextonQuantumFieldTheory,theseniorauthorwaspainfullyawarethatlittlementionwasmadethatmethodsinstatisticalphysicsandEuclideanfieldtheorywerecomingcloserandcloser,withcommontoolsbasedontheuseofpathintegralsandtherenormalizationgroupgivinginsightsonglobalstructures.Itwaspartlytofillthisgapthatthepresentbookwasundertaken.Alas,overthefiveyearsthatittooktocometolife,bothsubjectshaveundergoneanewevolution.Disorderedmedia,growthpatterns,complexdynamicalsystemsorspinglassesareamongthenewimportanttopicsinstatisticalmechanics,whilesuperstringtheoryhasturnedtothestudyofextendedsystems,Kaluza-Kleintheoriesinhigherdimensions,anticommutingcoordinates...inanattempttoformulateaunifiedmodelincludingallknowninteractions.Newandsophisticatedtechniqueshaveinvadedstatisticalphysics,rangingfromalgebraicmethodsinintegrablesystemstofractalsetsorrandomsurfaces.Powerfulcomputersorspecialdevicesprovide"experimental"meansforanewbrandoftheoreticalphysicists.Inquantumfieldtheory,applicationsofdifferentialtopology,geometry,Riemannianmanifolds,operatortheory...requireadeeperbackgroundinmathematicsandaknowledgeofsomeofitsmostrecentdevelopments.Asaresult,whensurveyingwhathasbeenincludedinthepresentvolumeinanattempttouncoverthebasicunityofthesesubjects,theauthorshavethesameunsatisfactoryfeelingofnotbeingabletobringthereaderreallyuptodate.Itispresumablythefateofsuchendeavourstoalwayscomeshortofaccomplishingtheirpurpose.