Strings and Symmetries: Proceedings of the Gürsey Memorial Conference I, Held at Istanbul, Turkey, 6–10 June 1994(447 Lecture Notes in Physics)

The contributions of this volume, by distinguished physicists and mathematicians, cover topics such as strings, conformal field theories, W and Virasoro algebras, topological field theory, quantum groups, vertex and Hopf algebras, and non-commutative geometry. Written in a pedagogical style, it is suitable for students and scientists.

Table of Contents:
Superstrings: The view from below.- Note on holomorphic anomalies in topological field theories.- Folded strings.- Algebro-geometric aspects of the Bethe equations.- Extended superconformal symmetry, Freudenthal triple systems and gauged WZW models.- A three-dimensional fractional string.- Why don't we have a covariant superstring field theory?.- Search for duality symmetries in p-branes.- Non linear identities between unitary minimal Virasoro characters.- Finite deformations of CF T and space-time geometry.- Non-standard fermion propagators from conformal field theory.- Manifestly space-time conformally invariant null strings.- Lie algebras and exactly solvable problems in Quantum Mechanics.- Geometry and arithmetic of factorized S-matrices.- Duality principle and braided geometry.- HyperKähler quotients and N=4 gauge theories in D=2.- Four dimensional integrable theories.- Regularisation, the BV method, and the antibracket cohomology.- E 10 for beginners.- Symmetry principles for string theory.- Are on-shell 3-string amplitudes the structure constants of the fake monster Lie algebra?.- Auxiliary fields for super Yang-Mills from division algebras.- Automorphism groups of discrete octonions and possible applications in physics.- Spatial geometry and the Wu-Yang ambiguity.- The classification of third order PDE with respect to symmetry.- Symmetries of large systems of differential equations.- q-Deformed path integral and generalized grassmann variables.- Quantum mechanical quantum group in two-dimensional gravity.- Electromagnetism and gravity in noncommutative geometry.- The geometry of W symmetry algebras.- Quantization of a gauge theory of quadratic Lie algebras in 2d.- The BV-algebra structure of W 3 cohomology.- Black hole solution of topologically massivegravity.- Linearized gravity in “closed” universes with continuous symmetries.- Quantum fluctuations in the presence of gravitational waves.- On the radiative processes near cosmic strings.- Integrable models in multidimensional cosmology with multicomponent perfect fluid and Toda lattices.- Effective field theory.- Gürsey's chiral model and its modifications.- Instability of a Nielsen-Olesen vortex embedded in the electroweak theory.- Proper-time methods in the presence of non-constant background fields.- On Abelian bosonization of free fermi fields in three space dimensions.- Internal spin structure of the nucleon.- Strings and membranes in electron theory.- Quark and lepton masses and the Higgs field in fifth dimension.- Regularization and quantization of higher dimensional current algebras.- Fermion masses and mixing from an extra gauge symmetry.- E6 model manifestations in z and ? decays.- Anomaly and exotic statistics in one dimension.- Samuel MacDowell Closing Remarks Gürsey Memorial Conference I June 6–10,1994.