This significantly expanded second edition of Riemann, Topology, and Physics combines a fascinating account of the life and work of Bernhard Riemann with a lucid discussion of current interaction between topology and physics. The author, a distinguished mathematical physicist, takes into account his own research at the Riemann archives of Göttingen University and developments over the last decade that connect Riemann with numerous significant ideas and methods reflected throughout contemporary mathematics and physics.

Klappentext

The significantly expanded second edition of this book combines a fascinating account of the life and work of Bernhard Riemann with a lucid discussion of current interaction between topology and physics. The author, a distinguished mathematical physicist, takes into account his own research at the Riemann archives of Göttingen University and developments over the last decade that connect Riemann with numerous significant ideas and methods reflected throughout contemporary mathematics and physics. Special attention is paid in part one to results on the Riemann-Hilbert problem and, in part two, to discoveries in field theory and condensed matter.

Inhalt

Bernhard Riemann.- Beginnings.- Doctoral Dissertation.- Privatdozent at Göttingen.- Riemann and Dirichlet.- Full Professor in Göttingen.- Last Years.- Posthumous Fate.- Topological Themes in Contemporary Physics.- Topological Structures.- The Connectivity of a Manifold and Quantization of Magnetic Flux.- Systems with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking.- Topology and Liquid Crystals.- Theory of Gauge Fields.- Topological Particles.- Soliton Particles.- Knots, Links, and Physics.- What Next?.- A Brief Historical Survey.