Lattice field theory is the most reliable tool for investigating non-perturbative phenomena in particle physics. It has also become a cross-discipline, overlapping with other physical sciences and computer science. This book covers new developments in the area of algorithms, statistical physics, parallel computers and quantum computation, as well as recent advances concerning the standard model and beyond, the QCD vacuum, the glueball, hadron and quark masses, finite temperature and density, chiral fermions, SUSY, and heavy quark effective theory.

Lattice field theory is the most reliable tool for investigating non-perturbative phenomena in particle physics. It has also become a cross-discipline, overlapping with other physical sciences and computer science. This book covers new developments in the area of algorithms, statistical physics, parallel computers and quantum computation, as well as recent advances concerning the standard model and beyond, the QCD vacuum, the glueball, hadron and quark masses, finite temperature and density, chiral fermions, SUSY, and heavy quark effective theory.

During the past 15 years, quantum field theory and classical statistical mechanics have merged into a single field, and the need for nonperturbative methods for the description of critical phenomena in statistical mechanics as well as for problems in elementary particle physics are generally acknowledged. Such methods formed the central theme of the 1987 Cargese Advanced Study Institut. e on "Nonpert. urbat. ive Quantum Field Theory." The use of conformal symmet. ry has been of central interest in recent years, and was a main subject at. t. he ASI. Conformal invariant quantum field theory describes statistical mechanical systems exactly at a critical point, and can be analysed to a remarkable ext. ent. by group t. heoretical methods. Very strong results have been obtained for 2-dimensional systems. Conformal field theory is also the basis of string theory, which offers some hope of providing a unified t. heory of all interactions between elementary particles. Accordingly, a number of lectures and seminars were presented on these two topics. After syst. ematic introductory lectures, conformal field theory on Riemann surfaces, orbifolds, sigma models, and application of loop group theory and Grassmannians were discussed, and some ideas on modular geometry were presented. Other lectures combined' traditional techniques of constructive quant. um field theory with new methods such as the use of index-t. heorems and infinite dimensional (Kac Moody) symmetry groups. The problems encountered in a quantum mechanical description of black holes were discussed in detail.

The aim of the book is to familiarize the new generation of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows with the principles and methods of modern lattice field theory, which aims to resolve fundamental, non-perturbative questions about QCD without uncontrolled approximations.

Publisher Description

This book contains the proceedings of the Workshop on Nonperturbative Methods in Quantum Field Theory, held in Adelaide, Australia, in February 1998. Lattice gauge theory and calculations based on the use of Schwinger-Dyson equations feature prominently, with further contributions in the areas of variational and functional techniques, strong interaction phenomenology and chiral perturbation theory. QCD in the infrared regime as well as QCD at finite temperatures and densities is the subject matter of a number of papers, while other authors explore chiral symmetry breaking in QCD as well as in other field theories.

Providing a new perspective on quantum field theory, this book is useful for graduate students and researchers within and outside the field. It describes non-perturbative methods, and explores two-dimensional and four-dimensional gauge dynamics using those methods. Applications are thoroughly described.