Session XCIX

Strongly Interacting Quantum Systems Out of Equilibrium

July 30th - August 24th 2012

Scientific Direction:

T. Giamarchi DPMC-MaNEP, University of Geneva, Switzerland

A.J. Millis Department of Physics, Columbia University, USA

O. Parcollet Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA Saclay, France

H. Saleur Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA Saclay, France

International Advisory Committee:

I. Affleck University of British Columbia, Canada

J.P. Blaizot Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA Saclay, France

I. Bloch MPQ & LMU Munich, Germany

A. Cavalleri University of Hamburg, Germany

Z. Ovadyahu The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

H. Pothier IRAMIS, CEA-Saclay, France

Long Courses:

I. Aleiner (Department of Physics, Columbia University, USA) From basic concepts to many-body localization

E. Altman (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) Non-equilibrium physics in cold atom systems

N. Andrei / H. Saleur (Rutgers University, USA/ IPhT, CEA-Saclay, France) Exact solutions to quantum non-equilibrium problems

J. Berges (Heidelberg University, Germany) Far from equilibrium quantum fields in particle physics and cosmology

G. Biroli (IPhT, CEA Saclay, France) Slow relaxations and non-equilibrium dynamics in classical and quantum systems

U. Schollwoeck (LMU Munich, Germany) Numerical methods in the study of non-equilibrium many-body physics

Short Courses:

I. Bloch (MPQ & LMU Munich, Germany) Non-equilibrium physics of cold atoms: recent experimental results and prospects

C. Glattli (CEA Saclay & ENS, France) Non-equilibrium phenomena in quantum nanosystems

P. Paruch (University of Geneva, Switzerland) Ferroic domain walls

L. Perfetti (Ecole Polytechnique, France) Pump-probe experiments in condensed matter physics

D. Son (University of Washington, USA) AdS/CFT and applications

Seminars: A regular schedule of pedagogical seminars on more specialized topics will also be proposed.

Scientific Program:

Remarkable experimental and theoretical developments in fields ranging from cold atoms, nanoscience and materials physics to the quark- gluon plasma and the early universe have brought the issue of the nonequilibrium physics of strongly correlated quantum systems to the scientific forefront. Basic questions include the principles governing the long time behavior of driven quantal systems, the physics of suddenly quenched systems, the development of appropriate analytical and numerical methods and the consequences of noise and decoherence. Progress has been made on many different fronts, but because the developments have taken place within different sub-fields of science, there has been in practice little overlap despite the many commonalities. The goal of the school is to synthesize the present understanding of nonequilibrium quantum systems, presenting students with a unified picture of the theoretical and experimental state of the art of this rapidly developing yet fundamental field.

Location:

Les Houches is a village located in Chamonix valley, in the French Alps. Established in 1951, the Physics School is situated at 1150 m above sea level in natural surroundings, with breathtaking views of the Mont-Blanc range.

Registration:

Applications must reach the School before March 15th, 2012 in order to be considered by the selection committee. The full cost per participant, including housing, meals and the book of lecture notes, is 1500 euros. Thanks to financial support by various funding agencies, we expect to cover part of these expenses; a contribution of about 900 euros will be requested from each participant. A few additional grants will be available. Application forms can be downloaded from the registration webpage, or can be found at: http://houches.ujf-grenoble.fr. One can also contact:

ECOLE D'ETE DE PHYSIQUE THEORIQUE Director: Leticia Cugliandolo

La Côte des Chavants Phone: +33 –4 50 54 40 69

74310 LES HOUCHES, France Email: houches0812@ujf-grenoble.fr

Related conference:

Please note the related Workshop on Complex Quantum Systems: Non-Ergodicity, Glassiness and Localization taking place at ICTP, Trieste
August 27, 2012 - August 31, 2012
ICTP and Les Houches support applications from developing countries for a limited number of participants who would attend both activities.

Les Houches Physics School is affiliated with Université Joseph Fourier and Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, and is supported by the Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Recherche, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Direction des Sciences de la Matière du Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA/DSM). This school is also supported by MaNEP, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the European Research Council (ERC).