Physics in the plane: From condensed matter to string theory

February 28 – March 5, 2010

Scientific Direction:

Jesper JACOBSEN (LPT ENS, Université Paris VI, Paris, France)
Stéphane OUVRY (LPTMS, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France)
Vincent PASQUIER (IPhT, CEA, Saclay, France)
Didina SERBAN (IPhT, CEA, Saclay, France)

Speakers:

Eldad Bettelheim (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Pasquale Calabrese (Universita di Pisa)

Jean-Sébastien Caux (University of Amsterdam)

Jérôme Dubail (IPhT, Saclay)

Bertrand Duplantier (IPhT, Saclay)

Kolya Gromov (King's Colledge London & PNPI St. Petersburg )

Christian Hagendorf (University of Virginia)

Yacine Ikhlef (University of Genève)

Volodya Kazakov (LPT ENS, Paris)

Kirone Mallick (IPhT, Saclay)

Francesco Ravanini (Universita di Bologna)

Nicolas Régnault (LPA ENS, Paris)

Raoul Santachiara (LPTMS, Orsay)

Stanislas Smirnov (University of Genève)

Roberto Tateo (University of Torino)

Simon Trebst (University of California)

Guifre Vidal (University of Queensland)

Programme:

Scientific Programme:

Two-dimensional models are known to provide reliable descriptions of a wide array of physical phenomena, ranging from condensed matter (disordered electron gases, quantum liquids) to string theory (brane physics, AdS/CFT duality). Recent years have shown an extraordinary convergence of the methods used to study such models. The fruitful interplay between conformal field theory and quantum inverse scattering has been supplemented by mathematical methods coming from combinatorics, representation theory, and probability theory.
The algebraic structures underlying exactly solvable lattice models have deep connections to those emerging in the continuum description. On the other hand, stochastic Loewner evolution has provided a fundamentally new way of thinking about conformal field theory.
The goal of the workshop is to treat this plethora of models and techniques in a transversal way, emphasizing the common underlying structures. It is intended to be a continuation of the July 2008 Les Houches summer school, where a number of students followed a series of lectures on some of the most rapidly evolving topics concerning exact methods applied in low-dimensional statistical systems. This time, the emphasis will be put on the most recent applications of these methods. The audience targeted is composed of students, post-docs and young researchers.

Registration:

Application form can be downloaded here. Applications must reach the LPTMS secretariat (address and email can be found in the application form) before December 18, 2009 in order to be considered. The full cost per participant, including housing and meals is 365 euros. One can also contact the School at

ÉCOLE DE PHYSIQUE DES HOUCHES
Côte des Chavants
F-74310 LES HOUCHES, France

Directeur : Jean-François Pinton
Phone : +33 –4 50 54 40 69 – Fax : +33 –4 50 55 53 25
Email : secretariat.houches@ujf-grenoble.fr


Les Houches is a village located in Chamonix valley, in the French Alps. Established in 1951, the Physics School is situated at 1150 m above sea level in natural surroundings, with breathtaking view on the Mont-Blanc range. Les Houches Physics School is affiliated with Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble I (UJF).It is a joint interuniversity facility of UJF and Grenoble-INP, and is supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Direction des Sciences de la Matière du Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique 5CEA/DSM).