Consists of lectures that are part of the MSRI workshops and that introduce students and researchers to the intriguing world of theoretical physics.

Zeta regularization is a method to treat the divergent quantities appearing in several areas of mathematical physics and, in particular, in quantum field theory; it is based on the fascinating idea that a finite value can be ascribed to a formally divergent expression via analytic continuation with respect to a complex regulating parameter.This book provides a thorough overview of zeta regularization for the vacuum expectation values of the most relevant observables of a quantized, neutral scalar field in Minkowski spacetime; the field can be confined to a spatial domain, with suitable boundary conditions, and an external potential is possibly present. Zeta regularization is performed in this framework for both local and global observables, like the stress-energy tensor and the total energy; the analysis of their vacuum expectation values accounts for the Casimir physics of the system. The analytic continuation process required in this setting by zeta regularization is deeply linked to some integral kernels; these are determined by the fundamental elliptic operator appearing in the evolution equation for the quantum field. The book provides a systematic illustration of these connections, devised as a toolbox for explicit computations in specific configurations; many examples are presented. A comprehensive account is given of the existing literature on this subject, including the previous work of the authors.The book will be useful to anyone interested in a mathematically sound description of quantum vacuum effects, from graduate students to scientists working in this area.

Exploring common themes in modern art, mathematics, and science, including the concept of space, the notion of randomness, and the shape of the cosmos. This is a book about art—and a book about mathematics and physics. In Lumen Naturae (the title refers to a purely immanent, non-supernatural form of enlightenment), mathematical physicist Matilde Marcolli explores common themes in modern art and modern science—the concept of space, the notion of randomness, the shape of the cosmos, and other puzzles of the universe—while mapping convergences with the work of such artists as Paul Cezanne, Mark Rothko, Sol LeWitt, and Lee Krasner. Her account, focusing on questions she has investigated in her own scientific work, is illustrated by more than two hundred color images of artworks by modern and contemporary artists. Thus Marcolli finds in still life paintings broad and deep philosophical reflections on space and time, and connects notions of space in mathematics to works by Paul Klee, Salvador Dalí, and others. She considers the relation of entropy and art and how notions of entropy have been expressed by such artists as Hans Arp and Fernand Léger; and traces the evolution of randomness as a mode of artistic expression. She analyzes the relation between graphical illustration and scientific text, and offers her own watercolor-decorated mathematical notebooks. Throughout, she balances discussions of science with explorations of art, using one to inform the other. (She employs some formal notation, which can easily be skipped by general readers.) Marcolli is not simply explaining art to scientists and science to artists; she charts unexpected interdependencies that illuminate the universe.

This unique text is an introduction to harmonic analysis on the simplest symmetric spaces, namely Euclidean space, the sphere, and the Poincaré upper half plane. This book is intended for beginning graduate students in mathematics or researchers in physics or engineering. Written with an informal style, the book places an emphasis on motivation, concrete examples, history, and, above all, applications in mathematics, statistics, physics, and engineering. Many corrections and updates have been incorporated in this new edition. Updates include discussions of P. Sarnak and others' work on quantum chaos, the work of T. Sunada, Marie-France Vignéras, Carolyn Gordon, and others on Mark Kac's question "Can you hear the shape of a drum?", A. Lubotzky, R. Phillips and P. Sarnak's examples of Ramanujan graphs, and, finally, the author's comparisons of continuous theory with the finite analogues. Topics featured throughout the text include inversion formulas for Fourier transforms, central limit theorems, Poisson's summation formula and applications in crystallography and number theory, applications of spherical harmonic analysis to the hydrogen atom, the Radon transform, non-Euclidean geometry on the Poincaré upper half plane H or unit disc and applications to microwave engineering, fundamental domains in H for discrete groups Γ, tessellations of H from such discrete group actions, automorphic forms, and the Selberg trace formula and its applications in spectral theory as well as number theory.

The current state of knowledge on the Monster group, including Majorana theory, Vertex Operator Algebras, Moonshine and maximal subgroups.

The sine-Gordon model is a ubiquitous model of Mathematical Physics with a wide range of applications extending from coupled torsion pendula and Josephson junction arrays to gravitational and high-energy physics models. The purpose of this book is to present a summary of recent developments in this field, incorporating both introductory background material, but also with a strong view towards modern applications, recent experiments, developments regarding the existence, stability, dynamics and asymptotics of nonlinear waves that arise in the model. This book is of particular interest to a wide range of researchers in this field, but serves as an introductory text for young researchers and students interested in the topic. The book consists of well-selected thematic chapters on diverse mathematical and physical aspects of the equation carefully chosen and assigned.