Mathematical Physics in Theoretical Chemistry deals with important topics in theoretical and computational chemistry. Topics covered include density functional theory, computational methods in biological chemistry, and Hartree-Fock methods. As the second volume in the Developments in Physical & Theoretical Chemistry series, this volume further highlights the major advances and developments in research, also serving as a basis for advanced study. With a multidisciplinary and encompassing structure guided by a highly experienced editor, the series is designed to enable researchers in both academia and industry stay abreast of developments in physical and theoretical chemistry. - Brings together the most important aspects and recent advances in theoretical and computational chemistry - Covers computational methods for small molecules, density-functional methods, and computational chemistry on personal and quantum computers - Presents cutting-edge developments in theoretical and computational chemistry that are applicable to graduate students and research professionals in chemistry, physics, materials science and biochemistry

One of the most challenging problems of contemporary theoretical physics is the mathematically rigorous construction of a theory which describes gravitation and the other fundamental physical interactions within a common framework. The physical ideas which grew from attempts to develop such a theory require highly advanced mathematical methods and radically new physical concepts. This book presents different approaches to a rigorous unified description of quantum fields and gravity. It contains a carefully selected cross-section of lively discussions which took place in autumn 2010 at the fifth conference "Quantum field theory and gravity - Conceptual and mathematical advances in the search for a unified framework" in Regensburg, Germany. In the tradition of the other proceedings covering this series of conferences, a special feature of this book is the exposition of a wide variety of approaches, with the intention to facilitate a comparison. The book is mainly addressed to mathematicians and physicists who are interested in fundamental questions of mathematical physics. It allows the reader to obtain a broad and up-to-date overview of a fascinating active research area.

This text focuses on the algebraic formulation of quantum field theory, from the introductory aspects to the applications to concrete problems of physical interest. The book is divided in thematic chapters covering both introductory and more advanced topics. These include the algebraic, perturbative approach to interacting quantum field theories, algebraic quantum field theory on curved spacetimes (from its structural aspects to the applications in cosmology and to the role of quantum spacetimes), algebraic conformal field theory, the Kitaev's quantum double model from the point of view of local quantum physics and constructive aspects in relation to integrable models and deformation techniques. The book is addressed to master and graduate students both in mathematics and in physics, who are interested in learning the structural aspects and the applications of algebraic quantum field theory.

The past two decades have seen transformative advances in cosmology and string theory. Observations of the cosmic microwave background have revealed strong evidence for inflationary expansion in the very early universe, while new insights about compactifications of string theory have led to a deeper understanding of inflation in a framework that unifies quantum mechanics and general relativity. Written by two of the leading researchers in the field, this complete and accessible volume provides a modern treatment of inflationary cosmology and its connections to string theory and elementary particle theory. After an up-to-date experimental summary, the authors present the foundations of effective field theory, string theory, and string compactifications, setting the stage for a detailed examination of models of inflation in string theory. Three appendices contain background material in geometry and cosmological perturbation theory, making this a self-contained resource for graduate students and researchers in string theory, cosmology, and related fields.

The discovery of a duality between Anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) and Conformal Field Theories (CFT) has led to major advances in our understanding of quantum field theory and quantum gravity. String theory methods and AdS/CFT correspondence maps provide new ways to think about difficult condensed matter problems. String theory methods based on the AdS/CFT correspondence allow us to transform problems so they have weak interactions and can be solved more easily. They can also help map problems to different descriptions, for instance mapping the description of a fluid using the Navier–Stokes equations to the description of an event horizon of a black hole using Einstein's equations. This textbook covers the applications of string theory methods and the mathematics of AdS/CFT to areas of condensed matter physics. Bridging the gap between string theory and condensed matter, this is a valuable textbook for students and researchers in both fields.