Mathematics meets physics

The interaction between mathematics and physics was the topic of a conference held at the Saxon Academy of Science in Leipzig in March 2010. The fourteen talks of the conference have been adapted for this book and give a colourful picture of various aspects of the complex and multifaceted relations.

The articles mainly concentrate on the development of this interrelation in the period from the beginning of the 19th century until the end of WW II, and deal in particular with the fundamental changes that are connected with such processes as the emergence of quantum theory, general relativity theory, functional analysis or the application of probabilistic methods. Some philosophical and epistemological questions are also touched upon. The abundance of forms of the interaction between mathematics and physics is considered from different perspectives: local developments at some universities, the role of individuals and/or research groups, and the processes of theory building.

The conference reader is in line with the bilingual character of the conference, with the introduction and nine articles presented in English, and five in German.