Caught by Disorder

Caught by Disorder
Author: Peter Stollmann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1461201691

Disorder is one of the predominant topics in science today. The present text is devoted to the mathematical studyofsome particular cases ofdisordered systems. It deals with waves in disordered media. To understand the significance of the influence of disorder, let us start by describing the propagation of waves in a sufficiently ordered or regular environment. That they do in fact propagate is a basic experience that is verified by our senses; we hear sound (acoustic waves) see (electromagnetic waves) and use the fact that electromagnetic waves travel long distances in many aspects ofour daily lives. The discovery that disorder can suppress the transport properties of a medium is oneof the fundamental findings of physics. In its most prominent practical application, the semiconductor, it has revolutionized the technical progress in the past century. A lot of what we see in the world today depends on that relatively young device. The basic phenomenon of wave propagation in disordered media is called a metal-insulator transition: a disordered medium can exhibit good transport prop erties for waves ofrelatively high energy (like a metal) and suppress the propaga tion of waves of low energy (like an insulator). Here we are actually talking about quantum mechanical wave functions that are used to describe electronic transport properties. To give an initial idea of why such a phenomenon could occur, we have to recall that in physical theories waves are represented by solutions to certain partial differential equations. These equations link time derivatives to spatial derivatives.

Statistical Mechanics of Lattice Systems

Statistical Mechanics of Lattice Systems
Author: Sacha Friedli
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 643
Release: 2017-11-23
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1107184827

A self-contained, mathematical introduction to the driving ideas in equilibrium statistical mechanics, studying important models in detail.

Models of Disorder

Models of Disorder
Author: J. M. Ziman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 548
Release: 1979-09-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521292801

Originally published in 1979, this book discusses how the physical and chemical properties of disordered systems such as liquids, glasses, alloys, amorphous semiconductors, polymer solutions and magnetic materials can be explained by theories based on a variety of mathematical models, including random assemblies of hard spheres, tetrahedrally-bonded networks and lattices of 'spins'. The text describes these models and the various mathematical theories by which the observable properties are derived. Techniques and concepts such as the mean field and coherent approximations, graphical summation, percolation, scaling and the renormalisation group are explained and applied. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in theoretical and experimental physics.

Mathematical Physics in One Dimension

Mathematical Physics in One Dimension
Author: Elliott H. Lieb
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 580
Release: 2013-09-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483218562

Mathematical Physics in One Dimension: Exactly Soluble Models of Interacting Particles covers problems of mathematical physics with one-dimensional analogs. The book discusses classical statistical mechanics and phase transitions; the disordered chain of harmonic oscillators; and electron energy bands in ordered and disordered crystals. The text also describes the many-fermion problem; the theory of the interacting boson gas; the theory of the antiferromagnetic linear chains; and the time-dependent phenomena of many-body systems (i.e., classical or quantum-mechanical dynamics). Physicists and mathematicians will find the book invaluable.

Mathematics for Physics

Mathematics for Physics
Author: Michael Stone
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 821
Release: 2009-07-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1139480618

An engagingly-written account of mathematical tools and ideas, this book provides a graduate-level introduction to the mathematics used in research in physics. The first half of the book focuses on the traditional mathematical methods of physics – differential and integral equations, Fourier series and the calculus of variations. The second half contains an introduction to more advanced subjects, including differential geometry, topology and complex variables. The authors' exposition avoids excess rigor whilst explaining subtle but important points often glossed over in more elementary texts. The topics are illustrated at every stage by carefully chosen examples, exercises and problems drawn from realistic physics settings. These make it useful both as a textbook in advanced courses and for self-study. Password-protected solutions to the exercises are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521854030.

Flow Control

Flow Control
Author: Max D. Gunzburger
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1461225264

The articles in this volume cover recent work in the area of flow control from the point of view of both engineers and mathematicians. These writings are especially timely, as they coincide with the emergence of the role of mathematics and systematic engineering analysis in flow control and optimization. Recently this role has significantly expanded to the point where now sophisticated mathematical and computational tools are being increasingly applied to the control and optimization of fluid flows. These articles document some important work that has gone on to influence the practical, everyday design of flows; moreover, they represent the state of the art in the formulation, analysis, and computation of flow control problems. This volume will be of interest to both applied mathematicians and to engineers.

Discrete Probability and Algorithms

Discrete Probability and Algorithms
Author: David Aldous
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1461208017

Discrete probability theory and the theory of algorithms have become close partners over the last ten years, though the roots of this partnership go back much longer. The papers in this volume address the latest developments in this active field. They are from the IMA Workshops "Probability and Algorithms" and "The Finite Markov Chain Renaissance." They represent the current thinking of many of the world's leading experts in the field. Researchers and graduate students in probability, computer science, combinatorics, and optimization theory will all be interested in this collection of articles. The techniques developed and surveyed in this volume are still undergoing rapid development, and many of the articles of the collection offer an expositionally pleasant entree into a research area of growing importance.