Condensed Matter Theories

Presenting the physics of the most challenging problems in condensed matter using the conceptual framework of quantum field theory, this book is of great interest to physicists in condensed matter and high energy and string theorists, as well as mathematicians.

This book is especially addressed to young researchers in theoretical physics with a basic background in Field Theory and Condensed Matter Physics. The topics were chosen so as to offer the largest possible overlap between the two expertises, selecting a few key problems in Condensed Matter Theory which have been recently revisited within a field-theoretic approach. The presentation of the material is aimed not only at providing the reader with an overview of this exciting frontier area of modern theoretical physics, but also at elucidating most of the tools needed for a technical comprehen­ sion of the many papers appearing in current issues of physics journals and, hopefully, to enable the reader to tackle research problems in this area of physics. This makes the material a live creature: while not pretending it to be exhaustive, it is tutorial enough to be useful to young researchers as a starting point in anyone of the topics covered in the book.

Condensed matter systems where interactions are strong are inherently difficult to analyze theoretically. The situation is particularly interesting in low-dimensional systems, where quantum fluctuations play a crucial role. Here, the development of non-perturbative methods and the study of integrable field theory have facilitated the understanding of the behavior of many quasi one- and two-dimensional strongly correlated systems.