This volume contains the conference on quantum topology, held at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 24 - 28 March 1993.Quantum topology is a rapidly growing field of mathematics dealing with the recently discovered interactions between low-dimensional topology, the theory of quantum groups, category theory, C∗-algebra theory, gauge theory, conformal and topological field theory and statistical mechanics. The conference, attended by over 60 mathematicians and theoretical physicists from Canada, Denmark, England, France, Japan, Poland and the United States, was highlighted by lecture series given by Louis Kauffman, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago and Nicholai Reshetikhin, Univ. of Califonia, Berkeley.

This book constitutes a review volume on the relatively new subject of Quantum Topology. Quantum Topology has its inception in the 1984/1985 discoveries of new invariants of knots and links (Jones, Homfly and Kauffman polynomials). These invariants were rapidly connected with quantum groups and methods in statistical mechanics. This was followed by Edward Witten's introduction of methods of quantum field theory into the subject and the formulation by Witten and Michael Atiyah of the concept of topological quantum field theories.This book is a review volume of on-going research activity. The papers derive from talks given at the Special Session on Knot and Topological Quantum Field Theory of the American Mathematical Society held at Dayton, Ohio in the fall of 1992. The book consists of a self-contained article by Kauffman, entitled Introduction to Quantum Topology and eighteen research articles by participants in the special session.This book should provide a useful source of ideas and results for anyone interested in the interface between topology and quantum field theory.

The book is an introduction to quantum mechanics at a level suitable for the second year in a European university (junior or senior year in an American college). The matrix formulation of quantum mechanics is emphasized throughout, and the student is introduced to Dirac notation from the start. A number of major examples illustrate the workings of quantum mechanics. Several of these examples are taken from solid state physics, with the purpose of showing that quantum mechanics forms the common basis for understanding atoms, molecules and condensed matter. The book contains an introductory chapter which puts the concepts of quantum mechanics into a historical framework. The solid-state applications discussed in this text include the quantum Hall effect, spin waves, quantum wells and energy bands. Other examples feature the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator, coherent states, two-electron atoms, the ammonia molecule and the chemical bond. A large number of homework problems are included.

This volumes provides a comprehensive review of interactions between differential geometry and theoretical physics, contributed by many leading scholars in these fields. The contributions promise to play an important role in promoting the developments in these exciting areas. Besides the plenary talks, the coverage includes: models and related topics in statistical physics; quantum fields, strings and M-theory; Yang-Mills fields, knot theory and related topics; K-theory, including index theory and non-commutative geometry; mirror symmetry, conformal and topological quantum field theory; development of integrable systems; and random matrix theory.

This volume contains material submitted to a symposium on mathematical physics in July 1993 at the Technical University of Clausthal. It focuses on mathematical and physical notions of symmetries, especially on generalized and quantum symmetries (quantum groups and algebras) with applications to integrable systems, quasi-exact solvability, quantization methods and nonlinear problems. The workshop is a continuation of the series of meetings and workshops on mathematical physics in Clausthal which brings together mathematicians, theoretical and mathematical physicists working in the different parts of generalized symmetries. Recent developments in the mathematical structure and physical applications of generalized symmetries are discussed.

This volume provides a self-contained introduction to applications of loop representations in particle physics and quantum gravity, in order to explore the gauge invariant quantization of Yang-Mills theories and gravity. First published in 1996, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.

Since 1975, the triennial Marcel Grossmann Meetings have been organized in order to provide opportunities for discussing recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativisitic field theories, emphasizing mathematical foundations, physical predictions, and experimental tests.The proceedings of the Seventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting include the invited papers given at the plenary sessions, the summaries of the parallel sessions, the contributed papers presented at the parallel sessions, and the evening public lectures.The authors of these papers discuss many of the recent theoretical, observational, and experimental developments that have significant implications for the fields of physics, cosmology, and relativistic astrophysics.

Due to the strong appeal and wide use of this monograph, it is now available in its third revised edition. The monograph gives a systematic treatment of 3-dimensional topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) based on the work of the author with N. Reshetikhin and O. Viro. This subject was inspired by the discovery of the Jones polynomial of knots and the Witten-Chern-Simons field theory. On the algebraic side, the study of 3-dimensional TQFTs has been influenced by the theory of braided categories and the theory of quantum groups. The book is divided into three parts. Part I presents a construction of 3-dimensional TQFTs and 2-dimensional modular functors from so-called modular categories. This gives a vast class of knot invariants and 3-manifold invariants as well as a class of linear representations of the mapping class groups of surfaces. In Part II the technique of 6j-symbols is used to define state sum invariants of 3-manifolds. Their relation to the TQFTs constructed in Part I is established via the theory of shadows. Part III provides constructions of modular categories, based on quantum groups and skein modules of tangles in the 3-space. This fundamental contribution to topological quantum field theory is accessible to graduate students in mathematics and physics with knowledge of basic algebra and topology. It is an indispensable source for everyone who wishes to enter the forefront of this fascinating area at the borderline of mathematics and physics. Contents: Invariants of graphs in Euclidean 3-space and of closed 3-manifolds Foundations of topological quantum field theory Three-dimensional topological quantum field theory Two-dimensional modular functors 6j-symbols Simplicial state sums on 3-manifolds Shadows of manifolds and state sums on shadows Constructions of modular categories

This volume covers topics ranging from the early universe, cosmology, inflation, quantum gravity, exact solutions and computer-aided computations to space and terrestrial gravity experiments, with special emphasis on recent research.