Topological defects have recently become of great interest in condensed matter physics, particle physics and cosmology. They are the unavoidable remnants of many symmetry breaking phase transitions. Topological defects can play an important role in describing the properties of many condensed matter systems (e.g. superfluids and superconduc tors); they can catalyze many unusual effects in particle physics models and they may be responsible for seeding the density perturbations in the early Universe which de velop into galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe. Topological defects are also of great interest in mathematics as nontrivial solutions of nonlinear differential equations stabilized by topological effects. The purpose of the Advanced Study Institute "Formation and Interactions of Topo logical Defects" was to bring together students and practitioners in condensed matter physics, particle physics and cosmology, to give a detailed exposition of the role of topo logical defects in these fields; to explore similarities and differences in the approaches; and to provide a common basis for discussion and future collaborative research on common problems.

A reference and text, Dissipative Phenomena treats the broadly applicable area of nonequilibrium statistical physics and concentrates the modelling and characterization of dissipative phenomena. A variety of examples from diverse disciplines, such as condensed matter physics, materials science, metallurgy, chemical physics, are discussed. Dattagupta employs a broad framework of stochastic processes and master equation techniques to obtain models for a range of experimentally relevant phenomena such as classical and quantum Brownian motion, spin dynamics, kinetics of phase ordering, relaxation in glasses, and dissipative tunnelling. This book will serve as a graduate/research level textbook since it offers considerable utility to experimentalists, computational physicists and theorists.

In this volume, the problems of pattern formation in physics, chemistry and other related fields in complex and nonlinear dissipative systems are studied. Main subjects discussed are formation mechanisms, properties, statistics, characterization and dynamics of periodic and nonperiodic patterns in the electrohydrodynamics in liquid crystals, Rayleigh-Benard convection, crystallization, viscous fingering and Belouzov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction. Recent developments in topological and defect-mediated chaos, chaos in systems with large degrees of freedom and turbulence-turbulence transitions are also discussed.

Spontaneous pattern formation in nonlinear dissipative systems far from equilibrium occurs in a variety of settings in nature and technology, and has applications ranging from nonlinear optics through solid and fluid mechanics, physical chemistry and chemical engineering to biology. This book explores the forefront of current research, describing in-depth the analytical methods that elucidate the complex evolution of nonlinear dissipative systems.

In 1979, a historical meeting took place at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Kiev, USSR, where 48 American Scientists, specialists in nonlinear and turbulent processes, met for two weeks with their soviet counterparts. This meeting pro vided the unique opportunity for USA and USSR participants to directly interact personally and scientifically with each other. This interaction was of great impor not only for the individuals involved but also for the science of nonlinear tance phenomena in general. At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that this exchange should continue, and it was decided to have the next meeting in the USA in 1981. Unfortunately, due to the political situation at that time, the second meeting in the USA never materialized. However, in 1983, the Soviet scientists organized in Kiev a second Workshop. This second meeting was again quite successful. Similar meetings, with growing success were organized at Kiev in 1987, and 1989. It should be noted that 405 participants from 22 countries participated at the fourth Kiev workshop on Nonlinear and Turbulent Processes. The Chainnan of this workshop was V. Zakharov, who has also been a co-chainnan of all the previous workshops.