Applications of Statistical and Field Theory Methods to Condensed Matter

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.
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