FIFTY YEARS OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS: SELECTED WORKS OF LUDWIG FADDEEV (Ws 21st Century Mathematics)

This unique volume summarizes with a historical perspective several of the major scientific achievements of Ludwig Faddeev, with a foreword by Nobel Laureate C N Yang. The volume that spans over fifty years of Faddeev's career begins where he started his own scientific research, in the subject of scattering theory and the three-body problem. It then continues to describe Faddeev's contributions to automorphic functions, followed by an extensive account of his many fundamental contributions to quantum field theory including his original article on ghosts with Popov. Faddeev's contributions to soliton theory and integrable models are then described, followed by a survey of his work on quantum groups. The final scientific section is devoted to Faddeev's contemporary research including articles on his long-term interest in constructing knotted solitons and understanding confinement. The volume concludes with his personal view on science and mathematical physics in particular.

Readership: Graduate students and researchers in the interface of mathematics with mathematical and theoretical physics.

"Faddeev's selected papers give ample evidence of his contributions at the forefront of physics and mathematics. The breadth, vigor and beauty of Ludwig's permanent accomplishments fully justifies calling him the 'Beethoven of mathematical physics.'" -- Professor Roman W Jackiw, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

"It is excellent." -- Nobel Laureate C N Yang

"Faddeev is an excellent expositor, and is concerned about reaching a large audience with his message ... in true Russian form, is deeply concerned not just with his science but with its proper communication, at all levels. Such a scholar as Faddeev is a hypermodern phenomenon, and the rest of the closing article in the present book, replete with fascinating autobiographical elements, bears this out. It is truly a wonderful essay to read, and a wonderful comment of the history of physics in the 20th century, with a lot of welcome emphasis placed on the most recent developments. Faddeev was, and is, a major figure in this connection and it is a marvelous experience to read his views on these interesting matters, affording those of us whose "thought processes [stem] from geometry and algebra" a glimpse into how a mathematical physicist of Faddeev's ilk sees his subject." -- Mathematical Association of America

"Ludwig Faddeev left behind a wonderful legacy and a huge influence on the content of twentieth century Mathematical Physics and on the direction of the twenty first's. Of the 226 publications listed at the end of this book, 40 have been selected for reproduction and since he started his career working in Scattering Theory, it is those that comprise the opening section. The initial work determined the flavour of much that was to come." -- Contemporary Physics