Hardbound. This session of was organized with two principal purposes. Firstly to introduce a common language and culture to a mixed audience, composed of field theorists, string theorists, condensed matter physicists and statistical mechanicians. Secondly, to expose young researchers to the recent advances in various areas of theoretical physics, where the concepts of extended objects, geometry and fluctuations are currently playing an important role.Courses included an introduction to the problem of random paths in disordered media; theoretical and numerical approaches to quantized geometries, from random paths to surfaces/strings to four-dimensional gravity; physics of amphiphilic membranes and the models of random surfaces used to describe them; defects in various physical systems; recent developments on the formulation of two-dimensional gauge theories as string theories. Problems of condensed matter physics were surveyed and a seminar on the renor

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This volume offers an introduction to recent developments in several active topics of research at the interface between geometry, topology and quantum field theory. These include Hopf algebras underlying renormalization schemes in quantum field theory, noncommutative geometry with applications to index theory on one hand and the study of aperiodic solids on the other, geometry and topology of low dimensional manifolds with applications to topological field theory, Chern-Simons supergravity and the anti de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. It comprises seven lectures organized around three main topics, noncommutative geometry, topological field theory, followed by supergravity and string theory, complemented by some short communications by young participants of the school.

"Soft matter science is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of physics, biology, chemistry, engineering, and materials science. It encompasses colloids, polymers, and liquid crystals as well as rapidly emerging topics such as metamaterials, memory formation and learning in matter, bioactive systems, and artificial life. This textbook introduces key phenomena and concepts in soft matter from a modern perspective, marrying established knowledge with the latest developments and applications. The presentation integrates statistical mechanics, dynamical systems, and hydrodynamic approaches, emphasizing conservation laws and broken symmetries as guiding principles while paying attention to computational and machine learning advances. The book features introductory chapters on fluid mechanics, elasticity, and stochastic phenomena and also covers advanced topics such as pattern formation and active matter. it discusses technological applications as well as relevant phenomena in the life sciences and offers perspectives on emerging research directions"--

Data assimilation aims at determining as accurately as possible the state of a dynamical system by combining heterogeneous sources of information in an optimal way. Generally speaking, the mathematical methods of data assimilation describe algorithms for forming optimal combinations of observations of a system, a numerical model that describes its evolution, and appropriate prior information. Data assimilation has a long history of application to high-dimensional geophysical systems dating back to the 1960s, with application to the estimation of initial conditions for weather forecasts. It has become a major component of numerical forecasting systems in geophysics, and an intensive field of research, with numerous additional applications in oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, and extensions to other geophysical sciences. The physical complexity and the high dimensionality of geophysical systems have led the community of geophysics to make significant contributions to the fundamental theory of data assimilation. This book gathers notes from lectures and seminars given by internationally recognized scientists during a three-week school held in the Les Houches School of physics in 2012, on theoretical and applied data assimilation. It is composed of (i) a series of main lectures, presenting the fundamentals of the most commonly used methods, and the information theory background required to understand and evaluate the role of observations; (ii) a series of specialized lectures, addressing various aspects of data assimilation in detail, from the most recent developments of the theory to the specificities of various thematic applications.

Over the last few decades, the quantum aspects of light have been explored and major progress has been made in understanding the specific quantum aspects of the interaction between light and matter. The domain of classical optics has recently seen many exciting new developments, especially in the areas of nano-optics, nano-antennas, metamaterials, and optical cloaking. Approaches based on single-molecule detection and plasmonics have provided new avenues for exploring light-matter interaction at the nanometre scale. All these topics have in common a trend to consider and use smaller and smaller objects, down to the micrometre, nanometre, and even atomic range. The summer school held in Les Houches in July 2013 treated all these subjects lying at the frontier between nanophotonics and quantum optics, in a series of lectures given by world experts

This volume is an introduction to interfacial phenomena. It collects the lecture notes from a one month Summer school in Les Houches. The courses and the notes are intended to be especially useful for master and PhD students as well as young researchers.