Summer School on “Quantum Information meets Statistical Mechanics”

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ANNOUNCEMENT
Summer School on “Quantum Information meets
Statistical Mechanics”
—- QI&SM 2011 —-

Universidad Complutense de Madrid
El Escorial (Madrid), Spain
11 – 15 July 2011
http://www.ucm.es/info/giccucm/Escorial2011
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The Summer School will take place at El Escorial, Spain (http://www.euroforum.es/), a nice and historic city about 50 km to the
north of Madrid. See further information below and in the website.

The whole activity will focus primarily on the following topics:
1. One-Way Quantum Computation and Statistical Mechanics
2. Topological Codes and Statistical Models
3. Random Statistical Mechanical Systems and Lattice Gauge Theories
4. Quantum Information and Models of Discrete Quantum Gravity

We would be glad to have you and share with us these new developments in an interactive an open atmosphere.

Thank you and best wishes,

The organizers:
Miguel A. Martin-Delgado (UCM) and Hans J. Briegel (IQOQI, Innsbruck)

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FURTHER INFORMATION

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The goal of the school is to bring together scholars from quantum information theory and statistical mechanics to explore emerging connections between these fields and hopefully develop some fruitful collaborations.

The (incomplete) list of invited speakers whom we are contacting for the conference includes the following names:

Maarten Van den Nest
Gemma De las Cuevas
Robert Raussendorf
Helmut Katzgraber
Hector Bombin
A. Peter Young
John T. Chalker
Uwe-Jens Wiese
Tomotoshi Nishino
Paolo Fachi
Renate Loll
Silke Weinfurtner
Fotini Markopoulou
Rafael Sorkin
and others

The Complutense University has been holding summer courses at El Escorial since 1988 and these are given by eminent lecturers worldwide. We have been awarded the organization of one of those courses, which we want to devote to “Quantum Information meets Statistical Mechanics”.

Allow us to give you some more information about the Summer Courses held at El Escorial and organized by the Complutense University (Madrid, Spain).

In 1988, the Complutense University decided to open its doors to the most advanced knowledge in the present time and to tend a bridge between science, culture, literature etc… and the Spanish society. With this broad aim and scope, the Courses are born during each summer, organized by the General Foundation of the University. They have become an annual showcase of new knowledge and a forum of exchange of information and opinions based on the plurality and the diffusion of the advances in all the scientific areas:

Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and also beyond natural sciences: Literature, Scenic Arts, etc… The Courses are, by their rigor and the ample scope of subjects treated every year, a reference for mass media and the Spanish society.

Thus, the University satisfies in this way the necessities not covered in ordinary winter courses. In the Summer Courses, the lecturers are specialists of maximum level, even Nobel prizewinners in their fields. They are
accessible to the students/attendees, who can discuss with them inside and outside the classes. The speakers themselves find here an excellent opportunity for the interchange of experiences that enrich their research and professional activity.

Each Course lasts an average of five days, and it is developed in conferences and occasionally in round-tables. As a complement, all the nights takes place an activity of Scenic Arts, or a concert, a play at a theater or a movie show which is free for the speakers.

More information about the courses can be found at the following link:

http://www.ucm.es/info/cv/

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About the Royal Site of “San Lorenzo de El Escorial”:

Located 50 kilometers north-west of Madrid, this locality was born around the majestic Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, that Spanish King Felipe II ordered to construct in 1561 to commemorate his victory in the battle of San Quintin. The town is located in the skirt of the Abantos mount, in the heart of the mountain chain “Sierra de Guadarrama”, which explains its pleasant climate during the months of summer. By its great cultural interest, it is one of the more important tourist centers and of greatest tradition of the Community of Madrid.

The surrounding landscape is pleasant, and during summer the moderate climate provides an escape from Madrid’s sometimes stifling temperatures. Other interesting monuments are: “Casita del Infante” or “de arriba” and “Casita del Principe” or “de abajo”, both by Juan de Villanueva, and inside there are a good colletions of pictures by Lucas Jordan and Giaquinto; the “Real Coliseo de Carlos III” and the famous “Silla de Felipe II”, or “Piedra de la Herreria” , where Phillip II watched the progress of the works. But the best in this town is the superb views and impressive panorama of this landscape.

More information is available at the following links:

http://www8.madrid.org/gema/goc/131/12/267/index.htm
http://rbme.patrimonionacional.es/
http://www.sanlorenzodeelescorial.org/
http://www.sanlorenzoturismo.org/