Theory of Simple Glasses

Giorgio Parisi is a Professor of Physics at the Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy. His research is broadly focused on theoretical physics; from particle physics to glassy systems. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Boltzmann Medal, the Enrico Fermi Prize, the Max Planck Medal, the Lars Onsager Prize and an ERC advanced grant. He is president of the Accademia dei Lincei and a member of the collaboration 'Cracking the glass problem', funded by the Simons Foundation. Pierfrancesco Urbani is a CNRS researcher. His research activity focuses on statistical physics of disordered and glassy systems. After a joint Ph.D. between Sapienza University of Rome, Italy and Université Paris-Sud, France, he joined the Institut de Physique Théorique of CEA, first as a post-doctoral researcher and then as a permanent researcher. Francesco Zamponi is a Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) Research Director and an Associated Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris. His research is broadly focused on complex systems, ranging from glasses to agent-based models for macroeconomy. He has been awarded an ERC consolidator research grant and he is a member of the collaboration 'Cracking the glass problem' funded by the Simons Foundation.

'In this advanced textbook, the authors, all solid-state physicists, present a theory of simple glasses, defined as collections of interacting point particles. The approach, based on statistical mechanics and concepts of multiple-state metastability, is rigorous and educational. Derivations are careful and detailed … An especially useful and educational feature is that each chapter includes a résumé of main results and an annotated short bibliography geared to beginning students. An extensive, up-to-date bibliography at the end mainly draws from the Physical Review literature and related journals. Minimally indexed (no entries on shear stress or strain, viscosity, temperature, or spheres), the book is oriented toward advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students (who will need preparation in statistical mechanics and liquid theory) and researchers in glasses, essentially addressing the solid-state physics and statistical mechanics communities.' J. Lambropoulos, Choice

• Preface; 1. Infinite-dimensional models in statistical physics; 2. Atomic liquids in infinite dimensions: thermodynamics; 3. Atomic liquids in infinite dimensions: equilibrium dynamics; 4. Thermodynamics of glass states; 5. Replica symmetry breaking and hierarchical free energy landscapes; 6. The Gardner transition; 7. Counting glass states: the complexity; 8. Packing spheres in large dimensions; 9. The jamming transition; 10. Rheology of the glass; References; Index.