The physics of extended systems is a topic of great interest for the experimentalist and the theoretician alike. There exists a large literature on this subject in which solutions, bifurcations, fronts, and the dynamical stability of these objects are discussed. To the uninitiated reader, the theoretical methods that lead to the various results often seem somewhat ad hoc, and it is not clear how to generalize them to the nextthat is, not yet solvedproblem. In an introduction to the subject of instabilities in spatially infinite systems, Pierre Collet and Jean-Pierre Eckmann aim to give a...

In this book, Robert Israel considers classical and quantum lattice systems in terms of equilibrium statistical mechanics. He is especially concerned with the characterization of translation-invariant equilibrium states by a variational principle and the use of convexity in studying these states.

Arthur Wightman's Introduction gives a general and historical perspective on convexity in statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Professor Israel then reviews the general framework of the theory of lattice gases. In addition to presenting new and more direct proofs of some known results,...

About 120 years ago, James Clerk Maxwell introduced his now legendary hypothetical "demon" as a challenge to the integrity of the second law of thermodynamics. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science--and linkages have been established between Maxwell's demon and each of these disciplines. The demon's seductive quality makes it appealing to physical scientists, engineers, computer scientists, biologists, psychologists, and historians and philosophers of science. Until now its important...