Fifteenth Chris Engelbrecht Summer School in Theoretical Physics

21 January to 30 January 2004

Alpine Heath Resort, Drakensberg, Natal, South Africa

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Last updated: 04 March 2004

Time and Venue

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The school took place from Wednesday, 21 January to Friday, 
30 January 2004 at Alpine Heath Resort, Drakensberg, Natal, South Africa. 

View provisional timetable: [.pdf]  [.xls]

Theme

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NANOSCALE PHYSICS 

Course Lecturers and Topics

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Boris Altshuler, Princeton University
Introduction into mesoscopic theory:  Anderson localisation, disordered conductors, decoherence, universality aspects; interacting systems.

Carlo Beenakker, Leiden University
Random-matrix theory of quantum transport; mesoscopic superconductivity.

Leonid Glazman, University of Minnesota
Coulomb blockade; quantum fluctuations of charge; discrete electron states in a quantum dot; Kondo effect.

Leo Kouwenhoven, Technical University Delft
Quantum transport in nanoscale devices; quantum point contacts; nanowires and nanotubes, design aspects of qubit circuits.

Ramamurti Shankar, Yale University
Introduction to the renormalization group in general; introduction to Fermi liquid theory using the RG; application of these ideas to quantum dots.

Jan von Delft, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
Spectroscopy of discrete energy levels in ultrasmall metallic grains.

View provisional timetable: [.pdf]  [.xls]

 

Format

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About 40 one-hour lectures will be presented in English. 

View provisional timetable: [.pdf]  [.xls]

Participation

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The course is a graduate school aimed primarily at theoretical physicists and postgraduate students interested in broadening their knowledge of the field.  Persons with other backgrounds are welcome to register, but we do expect all participants to have a suitable background in the natural sciences or engineering. Typically at least an honours degree with a good working knowledge of quantum mechanics and condensed matter physics is required, with some exposure to quantum field theory.

The following references will provide participants with a good idea of the type of material to be covered at the school:

C Beenakker
http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/9612179
http://ilorentz.org/beenakker/fulltext/beenakker92.pdf

L Glazman, cond-mat/0302159

L Kouwenhoven
http://qt.tn.tudelft.nl/grkouwen/leok/IOPLeok01-dreamteam.pdf
http://qt.tn.tudelft.nl/grkouwen/leok/RMP03Wilfred.pdf
http://qt.tn.tudelft.nl/grkouwen/leok/no.60.pdf

R Shankar, Rev. Mod. Phys. 66 (1994) 129 -192

J von Delft and DC Ralph, Physics Reports, 345 (2001) 61 -173

A list with the names and some contact information of all the school participants and lecturers can be seen here.

Students

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Students are normally expected to find support from their home institution and/or thesis advisor to participate in the school. Funds are, however, available to support a number of bona fide, full-time local (South African) students. It is envisaged that the successful candidates will be subsidized up to 60% of their total costs for shared accommodation. Interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications for a subsidy should provide a brief summary of personal details and a motivation for participation, and must include a letter of recommendation from the Head of Department or thesis advisor. Complete applications should be sent to Prof HB Geyer at the secretariat address below by 19 November 2003. Only in cases of particular need will increased support be considered for well motivated and meritful applications. It is unfortunately not possible to subsidize any travelling costs.

Applicants will be informed by 24 November 2003 if they had been successful. After that date all applications will be subject to available funding.

Students from African Countries
A very limited number of scholarships are available to allow students from African countries to participate. The Ford Foundation indicated that they will favourably consider scholarships which will cover travelling, registration and accommodation costs. The same information, motivation and letter(s) of recommendation as above are required and should be sent to Prof HB Geyer at the secretariat address below by 19 November 2003. Applicants will be informed by 24 November 2003 if they had been successful.

Accommodation

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 Please see Alpine Heath Resort’s own web page http://www.alpineheath.co.za for full details of facilities.

A special school package is offered to participants. Accommodation is provided in well-equipped 3-bedroom chalets (please see http://www.alpineheath.co.za for details) on the following basis:

Five persons per chalet
R450 per person per day

Three persons per chalet
R570 per person per day

Accommodation includes three meals per day at Alpine Heath Resort, as well as refreshments during two daily breaks and use of the conference facilities. Rooms are available from the afternoon of
Tuesday 20 Jan and must be evacuated by noon Friday 30 Jan. The package does not include lunch on Sat 24 and Sun 25 Jan, allowing participants to make their own arrangements over the weekend. Dinner
on Tue 20 Jan is included, as well as breakfast and lunch on Fri 30 Jan.

Room allocation per chalet will be done by the organizing committee on a ‘first fully paid, first served’ basis.

Deposit for accommodation (also see `Costs’ below for further information and deadline details)

The following deposits are required to secure accommodation at Alpine Heath Resort:

Five persons per chalet
R1500 (US$220 for participants from outside Africa)

Three persons per chalet)
R1900 (US$300 for participants from outside Africa)

Transport

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Transport between Johannesburg International airport and the school venue is being organized for all lecturers and for international participants according to the travel information they provide. Participants who would like to make use of this transport are expected
to arrive in Johannesburg during the morning of Tue 20 Jan 2004.

All other participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements to arrive at the school venue at Alpine Heath during the afternoon of Tuesday 20 January 2004.

Costs

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Registration fee

All course documentation is included in the registration fee.

Accommodation

A special school package is offered to participants. Accommodation is provided in well-equipped 3-bedroom chalets (please see http://www.alpineheath.co.za and Accommodation above for details) on the following basis:

Five persons per chalet
R450 per person per day

Three persons per chalet
R570 per person per day

NOTE After the deadline of 5 December 2003 participants will have to make all accommodation arrangements directly with the management of Alpine Heath Resort, in which case the special school rate cannot be guaranteed any more.

Deposit for accommodation 

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The following deposits per participant are required to secure accommodation at Alpine Heath Resort:

Five persons per chalet
R1500 (US$220 for participants from outside Africa)

Three persons per chalet)
R1900 (US$300 for participants from outside Africa)

The closing date for registration (with payment of early bird rate) and payment of an accommodation deposit is Friday 5 December 2003. The balance of accommodation costs is payable by Friday 23 January 2004.

NOTE After the deadline of 5 December 2003 regular registration rates will apply and all accommodation arrangements will have to be made directly with the management of Alpine Heath Resort, in which case the special school rate cannot be guaranteed any more.

Payment details

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Participants resident in South Africa can pay by bank transfer or personal cheque.   Foreign participants can pay by bank draft or bank transfer (in US dollars).  All cheques and bank drafts should be made payable to 'Theoretical Physics Summer School'.  For bank transfers refer to the following information:

If payment is made by bank transfer, a copy of the transfer instruction should be faxed to the secretariat at (+27-21-8083385).

Please ensure that you add your REFERENCE NUMBER on the Bank Deposit Slip / other documentation, which is submitted to the secretariat as proof of payment. 

Organizing
Committee

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Contact info

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