Operator Algebras and Mathematical Physics: Proceedings (Contemporary Mathematics)

This volume contains papers presented at the University of Iowa 1985 Summer Conference in honor of H.-J. Borchers, N. M. Hugenholtz, R. V. Kadison, and D. Kastler and gives a systematic, up-to-date treatment of the fruitful interaction that the last two decades have brought between operator algebras and mathematical physics. Special attention is paid to an overview of the algebraic approach to quantum field theory and in particular, to quantum statistical mechanics. More than half the papers culminate with a presentation of new results which have not appeared previously in journals, and with a few exceptions, these new results are presented with complete proofs. This book is addressed to graduate students and researchers working in a broad spectrum of areas in mathematics and mathematical physics. Functional analysis, operator algebras, operator theory, differential geometry, cyclic cohomology, $K$-theory, and index theory are applied to questions in the quantum theory of fields and statistical mechanics. The individual papers are self-contained, but the reader should have some familiarity with the basic concepts of functional analysis and operator theory, although no physics background is assumed.