Thordur Jonsson

This graduate/research level text describes in a unified fashion the statistical mechanics of random walks, random surfaces and random higher dimensional manifolds with an emphasis on the geometrical aspects of the theory and applications to the quantisation of strings, gravity and topological field theory. With chapters on random walks, random surfaces, two- and higher dimensional quantum gravity, topological quantum field theories and Monte Carlo simulations of random geometries, the text provides a self-contained account of quantum geometry from a statistical field theory point of view. The approach uses discrete approximations and develops analytical and numerical tools. Continuum physics is recovered through scaling limits at phase transition points and the relation to conformal quantum field theories coupled to quantum gravity is described. The most important numerical work is covered, but the main aim is to develop mathematically precise results that have wide applications. Many diagrams and references are included.

This graduate/research level text describes in a unified fashion the statistical mechanics of random walks, random surfaces and random higher dimensional manifolds with an emphasis on the geometrical aspects of the theory and applications to the quantisation of strings, gravity and topological field theory. With chapters on random walks, random surfaces, two- and higher dimensional quantum gravity, topological quantum field theories and Monte Carlo simulations of random geometries, the text provides a self-contained account of quantum geometry from a statistical field theory point of view. The approach uses discrete approximations and develops analytical and numerical tools. Continuum physics is recovered through scaling limits at phase transition points and the relation to conformal quantum field theories coupled to quantum gravity is described. The most important numerical work is covered, but the main aim is to develop mathematically precise results that have wide applications. Many diagrams and references are included.

This book begins with an introduction on continuum mechanics and a derivation of the linear partial differential equations for sound waves in fluids and elastic waves in solids. There is a brief chapter on the wave equations of electrodynamics. This is followed by a description of plane wave solutions and a discussion of concepts like reflection, refraction, polarization and the role of boundary conditions. The second part of the book deals with the theory and applications of distributions and Fourier transforms. Furthermore, dispersion, the method of stationary phase, Kramers-Kronig relations and various examples including surface waves on liquids are discussed. This text is unique because it emphasizes the use of distributions to analyze the solutions of the wave equation. The treatment of continuum mechanics is self-contained, as well as the discussion on distributions and Fourier transforms. In addition, many classical methods of theoretical physics are thoroughly discussed, e.g. the use of Green functions and multipole expansions.