This book provides a thorough introduction to the fascinating world of phase transitions as well as many related topics, including random walks, combinatorial problems, quantum field theory and S-matrix. Fundamental concepts of phase transitions, such as order parameters, spontaneous symmetry breaking, scaling transformations, conformal symmetry, and anomalous dimensions, have deeply changed the modern vision of many areas of physics, leading to remarkable developments in statistical mechanics, elementary particle theory, condensed matter physics and string theory.
Alfred S. Goldhaber, C. N. Yang, "Symmetry and Modern Physics" C N Yang, one of the greatest physicists of the 20th Century, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1957, jointly with T D Lee, for their investigation of the relationship (parity symmetry) between left- and right-handed states, leading to a discovery that astounded the world of physics — the nonconservation of parity by elementary particles and their reactions.
