Texts and Readings in Physical Sciences

The application of field theoretic techniques to problems in condensed matter physics has generated an array of concepts and mathematical techniques to attack a range of problems such as the theory of quantum phase transitions, the quantum Hall effect and quantum wires. While concepts such as the renormalisation group, topology and bosonisation have become necessary tools for the condensed matter physicist, enough open problems and interesting applications remain that one expects to see much activity in this area in the coming years.

The present book is the outcome of a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) school, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, held at the Harish-chandra Research Institute in Allahabad in February-March 2000.

The chapters, written by leading experts, provide a comprehensive survey of the concepts, techniques and applications of the field. The contributors include Somendra Bhattacharjee, Indrani Bose, Deepak Kumar, Pinaki Majumdar, R. Rajaraman, Sumathi Rao, Diptiman Sen and Ajit Srivastava.

The lecture notes, taken together, will give the graduate student entering the area of modern condensed matter physics much of the necessary background. They will also provide the field theorist a valuable introduction to those areas of condensed matter physics where field theoretic concepts can be fruitfully applied.
1. Quantum Many Particle Physics: Pinaki Majumdar
2. Critical Phenomena: Somendru M. Bhattacharjee
3. Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena: Deepak Kumar
4. Topological Defects: Ajit M. Srivastava
5. Introduction to Bosonization: Sumathi Rao and Diptiman Sen
6. Quantum Hall Effect: R. Rajaraman
7. Low-dimensional Quantum Spin Systems: Indrani Bose