The aim of the workshop was to bring together specialists in various fields where non-exponential relaxation is observed in order to compare models and experimental results and to examine the general physical principles governing this type of behaviour. Non-exponential relaxation is found in extremely diverse physical systems all of which can be classified as complex. The form of the relaxation is generally parametrized using logarithmic, algebraic or stretched exponential decay forms. The conceptually simplest mechanism for the non-exponential decay is a spectrum of relaxation rates due to non-interacting units each of which relaxes with a different intrinsic time constant. Clear experimental examples can be given where for instance the relaxation of a collection of isolated polymer molecules leads to an overall stretched exponential decay. Non-exponential relaxation is observed in all strongly interacting complex systems (structural glasses, spin glasses, etc ... ) where each elementary unit is in interaction with many other units.

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Turin, Italy, October 16-20, 1989

Inhalt
Relaxation and Dynamics in Magnetic Systems.- Experiments on Spin Glass Dynamics.- Attempt at a Comprehensive Description of the Slow Spin Glass Dynamics.- Spin-Glass Dynamics in the Two-Dimensional Ising System Rb2Cu1?xCoxF4.- Cluster Model for Non-Equilibrium Relaxation in Spin Glasses.- Some Aspects of the Dynamics of Random Anisotropy Systems.- Static and Dynamic Properties of Fine Magnetic Particles.- Kinetic Aspects of Magnetic Relaxation in Amorphous Ferromagnetic Alloys.- Dynamic Crossover in Dipolar Ferromagnets.- Magnetic Excitations in the Disordered System Mg1?xCoxCl2.- Dynamic Properties of Critical and Paramagnetic Spin Fluctuations in Simple Magnets: Confrontation of Experimental and Theoretical Findings.- Relaxation and Dynamics in Superconductors.- Thermally Activated Flux Motion in High-Tc-Superconductors.- Flux Motion in Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+x Single Crystals.- Relaxation of the Vortex Lattice in Type II Superconductors.- Investigation of the Relaxation Behaviour in High Tc Superconductors.- Relaxation Experiments in Short Coherence Length Superconductors.- Quasi-Equilibrium Dynamics and Non-Debye Relaxation in High Tc Granular Superconductors.- Relaxation and Dynamics in Granular Superconductors and Superconducting Arrays.- Numerical Simulation of the Magnetic Relaxation in Superconducting Systems.- Noise Measurements in dc-SQUIDs Based on Nb-Nbox-PbAuIn Josephson Junctions.- The Resistive Transition of Inhomogeneous Superconductors: Effects of Mild Granularity, Dimensionality, Gaussian Fluctuations and Critical Behaviour.- Relaxation and Dynamics in Molecular and Biological Systems.- Comparison of Spin Glass Relaxation and Energy Transport at Dynamic Percolation.- Stretched-Exponential Relaxation of Electric Birefringence in Critical Systems andColloidal Solutions.- The Glass Transition of Hard Spherical Colloids.- Structural Relaxation and Dynamics of Water in Disordered MX-RH2O Systems.- Glassy Dynamics and Relaxation in Proteins.- Models for Relaxation in Glasses and Protein Channels.- Information Classification Acquired by Organization of Neuronic Connections.- Long-Term Behavior of Neural Networks.- Information Storage and Relaxation in Biological Systems.- Relaxation and Dynamics in Other Complex Systems.- Dynamical Properties of Hierarchical Polymeric Cluster Solutions.- Critical Scaling in Glassy Glasses.- Flow in Granular Materials: Self-Organized Non-Critical Behavior.- Non-Exponential Thermal Relaxation and Low-Energy Excitations in CDW Compounds.- Non-Debye-Like Dielectric Relaxation in Ionically and Electronically Conducting Glasses.- Anelastic Relaxation due to Interacting Point Defects.- Complexity and Chaos in Thermal Convection.- About the Fractal Relationship Between Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts Decay, Cole-Cole and Davidson-Cole Relaxations.- Polarization Decay in Glass-Forming and Ferroelectric Perovskites.- General Theoretical Aspects of Relaxation in Complex Systems.- Localization as a Mechanism for the Transition to Anomalous Relaxation.- Complexity of Hierarchical Relaxation.- Probability Density of Random Walks on Random Fractals: Stretched Gaussians and Multifractal Features.- The Symmetric and Fully Distributed Solution to a Generalized Dining Philosophers Problem: An Analogue of the Coupling Theory of Relaxations in Complex Correlated Systems.- Onsager-Machlup Functions for Ising Networks.- Simple Models for Complex Relaxation.- to the Lattice Boltzmann Equation for Fluid Dynamics.- Author Index.