In,1872, Boltzmann published a paper which for the first time provided a precise mathematical basis for a discussion of the approach to equilibrium. The paper dealt with the approach to equilibrium of a dilute gas and was based on an equation - the Boltzmann equation, as we call it now - for the velocity distribution function of such ~ gas. The Boltzmann equation still forms the basis of the kinetic theory of gases and has proved fruitful not only for the classical gases Boltzmann had in mind, but als- if properly generalized - for the electron gas in a solid and the excitation gas in a...

The contributions to this volume deal with topics ranging over constructive and general quantum field theory and related algebraic problems, non-renormalizable models,equilibrium sta- tistical mechanics, critical phenomena, and nonlinear equations modelling the onset of turbulence. They are based on lectures intended to provide the 1975/1976 research group "Mathematical Problems of Quantum Dynamics" at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) of Bielefeld University with an input reflecting important recent develop- ments and presented by leading experts in the pertinent fields of...

These lectures concern the properties of topological charge in gauge theories and the physical effects which have been attributed to its existence. No introduction to this subject would be adequate without a discussion of the original work of Belavin, Polyakov, Schwarz, and Tyupkin [1], of the beautiful calculation by 't Hooft [2,3], and of the occurrence of 8-vacua [4-6]. Other important topics include recent progress on solutions of the Yang-Mills equation of motion [7,8], and the problem of parity and time-reversal invariance in strong interactions [9] (axions [10,11], etc. ). In a few...

The main task of an experimental talk at a theoreticians school should probably be a tempering one. In this respect, e+e- physics may have been a bad choice. The field has so rapidly developed and dis coveries are chasing each other that much of the optimism of theory has passed over to e+e- experimentalists. A vast amount of experimental material arose from the simple reaction of e+e- annihilation. I, therefore, have to limit myself to recent results - most of them less than one year old. The paper will be organized as follows: In the first lecture (chapter I and II) I will give - a short...

The papers contained in this volume are lectures and seminars presented at the 20th "Universitatswochen fUr Kernphysik" in Schladming in February 1981. The goal of this school was to review some rapidly developing branches in mathematical physics. Thanks to the generous support provided by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research, the Styrian Government and other sponsors, it has been possible to keep up with the - by now already traditional - standards of this school. The lecture notes have been reexamined by the authors after the school and are now published in their final...

This volume contains the written versions of lectures held at the "23. Internationale Universit~tswochen fUr Kernphysik" in Schladming, Austria, in February 1984. Once again the generous support of our sponsors, the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research, the Styrian Government and others, had made it possible to organize this school. The aim of the topics chosen for the meeting was to present different aspects of stochastic methods and techniques. These methods have opened up new ways to attack problems in a broad field ranging from quantum mechanics to quantum field theory. Thanks to the...

This volume contains the Proceedings of the "XXIV. Inter nationale Universitatswochen fur Kernphysik" held in Schlad ming, Austria, in February 1985. It consists of the written versions of the lectures (3-4 hours) given at this winter school and includes also most of the seminars (30-50 minutes) presented. In choosing the topic for the 1985 meeting, our aim was to give an account of the present understanding of the nucleon-nucleon as well as nucleon-antinucleon inter actions. This field, which is of definite relevance in nuclear and particle physics, has witnessed a rapid develop ment in...

This volume collects the papers given at the European Workshop "Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of Hadronic Few-Body Systems" which, adhering to an invitation of the European Few-Body Physics Research Committee, was organized in Rome on October 7-11, 1986. All papers presented at the workshop appear in the volume, plus two papers which could not be presented orally because their authors were at the last moment unable to attend. The list of contents closely follows the programme of the workshop. The workshop, attended by 128 American, European, and Japanese physicists from 60...