Statistical Physics

Recent years have seen enormous experimental progress in preparing, controlling and probing quantum systems in various regimes far from thermal equilibrium. Examples include systems as ultra-cold atomic quantum gases under time-dependent perturbations, driven non-linear cavity QED systems or strongly correlated electrons in solid-state materials under ultra-fast optical excitations.

This course is an introduction to geometrical critical phenomena and their description by means of algebraic, probabilistic and quantum field theoretical techniques. 

Since the 80’s, laser cooling has enabled the production of sub-milliKelvin dilute atomic gases - which can be further cooled to the nanoKelvin regime.

Phase transitions take place in many different branches of physics: from soft and hard condensed matter to cosmology and high-energy physics. This course presents the fundamental ideas, concepts and methods that underpin the modern theory of phase transitions.