From quasicrystals to more complex systems : les Houches School, February 23 - March 6, 1998

The prime objective of this book is to bring about a fundamental understanding of aperiodic solids with long range order (incommensurate phases, quasicrystals), and of glasses and more complex systems (fractal, chaotic). It provides a comprehensive insight into the most recent concepts and tools of Condensed Matter Physics. The first part of this book is devoted to methods and results on quasicrystals. Next, it deals with models and concepts currently at work in studies on aperiodic media and phenomena. The third part is devoted to glasses, and to dynamical systems as applied to condensed matter with emphasis on the most salient experimental and theoretical developments on fractal and multifractal analysis relevant to the fields. The deliberate pedagogical aim of the School also stands out in the Glossary written by the Editors, with suggestions by the Authors. It will help the readers, - particularly the experimentalists, - to find their way throughout the book.