Frontiers of Quantum and Mesoscopic Thermodynamics 2013

FQMT’13 is a follow-up to the three previous, successful Prague conferences "Frontiers of Quantum and Mesoscopic Thermodynamics" (FQMT’04, FQMT’08, and FQMT’11). The contributions from these conferences are published in Physica E, vol. 29 (1-2), 2005, Physica E, vol. 42 (3), 2010, and Physica Scripta T151, 2012. The program has two types of lectures. Overview invited lectures cover a somewhat broader area or a few related topics (30 minutes), while shorter invited lectures (20 minutes) deal with promising progress in developing and understanding particular topics or techniques related to the scope of the conference. Non-invited (contributed) papers will be presented and discussed only in the poster session. Due to the shortage of time for invited lectures, the scientific committee will also invite several special invited poster contributions, which may be discussed in a related poster session "meeting".

Topics

• Foundations of quantum physics
• Non-equilibrium statistical physics
• Quantum thermodynamics
• Quantum measurement, entanglement and coherence
• Dissipation, dephasing, noise and decoherence
• Quantum optics
• Macroscopic quantum behavior, e.g. cold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates
• Physics of quantum computing and quantum information
• Mesoscopic, nano-electromechanical and nano-optical systems
• Biological systems, molecular motors
• Cosmology, gravitation and astrophysics

Scope of the Conference

The conference will address the foundations of quantum physics and non-equilibrium statistical physics. The systems considered will be mainly on the order of mesoscopic (nanoscale) size, and include those of both natural and artificial origin. The main goal of the conference is to contribute to better understanding of the behavior of mesoscopic systems, and to provide insight into the recent problems of the foundations, relying on the theoretical and experimental methods of condensed matter physics and quantum optics. Special attention will be given to problems of measurement of non-equilibrium quantum systems, physics of quantum information and biological systems, in terms of both theory and experiment. Subjects from astrophysics, gravitation or cosmology related to the above scope will be included.

Multidisciplinary Character of the Conference

The aim of FQMT’13 is to create a bridge between the fields of statistical physics, condensed matter physics, biophysics, quantum optics, and the quickly developing field of foundations of quantum physics.

Following the tradition of the FQMT conferences, FQMT’13 will bring together a unique combination of both young and experienced scientists across a disciplinary spectrum ranging from foundations of quantum physics to emerging statistical physics approaches to the study of non-equilibrium quantum systems. The interdisciplinary character of the conference will be supported by choice of key speakers who, apart from their specializations, are not only able to report specific results within their fields, but are also able to discuss the state of the art of their fields from the standpoint of a broader perspective of overlap with other fields. It is an objective to gather important scientists from overlapping branches of physics who can mutually benefit from the systems and various theoretical and experimental approaches to the study of current problems in physics. It is intended that this arrangement of the scientific program of the conference will significantly contribute to the formulation of challenging questions and problems, as well as their related answers that are nowadays essential to improve the understanding of the foundations of quantum physics, quantum statistical physics of finite systems far from equilibrium and the physics of nanoscale systems, and further, will motivate new collaboration and intensive discussions between experts from differing fields (i.e., physics, chemistry, and biology).

More details as for the scope and scientific program background you can find in the conference website