FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

The XXVII International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (Group-27), organized by the International Center for Advanced Studies and Physics Department of the Yerevan State University, in collaboration with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia) will be held in Yerevan, Armenia on August 13-19, 2008. The ICGTMP is one of the traditional conference series covering the most important topics of symmetry which are relevant to the intersection of present-day mathematics and physics. The first Colloquium was held in Marseille, in 1972 and afterwards continued in Nijmegen (1973, 1975), Marseille (1974), Montreal (1976, 1988), Tubingen (1977), Austin (1978), Kiryat Anavim (1979), Cocoyoc (1980), Canterbury (1981), Istanbul (1982), Trieste (1983), College Park (1984), Seoul (1985), Philadelphia (1986), Varna (1987), Moscow (1990), Salamanca (1992), Toyonaka (1994), Goslar (1996), Hobart (1998), Dubna (2000), Paris (2002), Cocoyoc (2004) and New York (2006).

The preliminary program of the Colloquium in Yerevan includes the following topics:

 • Foundations of quantum mechanics;
 • Integrable models;
 • Symmetries of nonlinear differential equations;
 • Infinite-dimensional symmetries ;
 • Duality in quantum field theory and quantum mechanics;
 • Superstrings, cosmology, quantum gravity and topological defects;
 • Group theory in modern geometry, noncommutative geometry;
 • Loop algebras and W-algebra;
 • Lie groups, representation theory and special functions;
 • Quantum optics and quantum information;
 • Symmetry aspect of classical and quantum chaos;
 • Symmetries in particle, nuclear, atomic and molecular physics;
 • Symmetries in condensed matter physics and statistical physic;
 • Modern application of group theory in biology.

Partially overlapping these topics, we are planning as substructures the following Symposia consisting of several parallel sessions:

 • Symposium on Quantum Groups and Supersymmetry, (co-organizer Vladimir Dobrev and Alexey Isaev )

 • Symposium on Group Theory and Superintegrability, (co-organizers Ernie Kalnins and Willard Miller)

 • Symposium on Symmetries of Difference equations and Discrete Phenomena, (co-organizers Pavel Winternitz and Decio Levi)

We are planning to have 20 plenary lectures (45 minutes duration) scheduled for the six morning sessions. The four parallel sessions with short talks (20 and 30 minutes duration) will be held in the afternoon. The poster sessions will be presented every day after the lunch. About 250 scientists from all over the world are expected to attend the Group27 Colloquium. It is scheduled to have six working days. The lectures start on Wednesday, August 13 at 10 a.m. and end on Tuesday, August 19 at noon. The arrival day is Tuesday, August 12 and the departure day is Wednesday, August 20. The working language of the Colloquium is English.


International Standing Committee


S.Twareque Ali Concordia University, Montreal
Joseph Birman City University of New York, New York
Arno Bohm University of Texas, Austin
Luis Boya University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza
Laurence Boyle University of Kent, Canterbury
Vladimir Dobrev INRNE, Sofia
Heinz-Dietrich Doebner University of Clausthal, Clausthal
Jean-Pierre Gazeau Univesity of Paris VII, Paris
Mo-Lin Ge Nankai Institute of Mathematics, Tianjin
Robert Gilmore Drexel University, Philadelphia
Gerald Goldin Rutgers University, Piscataway
Francesco Iachello Yale University, New Haven
Richard Kerner University of Paris VI, Paris
Young Kim University of Maryland, College Park
Alan Kostelecky Indiana University, Bloomington
Vladimir Man’ko Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow
Mariano del Olmo University of Valladolid, Valladolid
Tchavdar Palev INRNE, Sofia
George Pogosyan Yerevan State University, Yerevan
Allan Solomon Open University, Milton Keynes
Reidun Twarock University of York
Joris Van der Jeugt University of Ghent
Luc Vinet University of Montreal, Montreal
Kurt Bernardo Wolf UNAM, Cuernavaca


International Organizing Committee

Vladimir Dobrev INRNE,Sofia
Pavel Exner Nuclear Physics Institute, Prague
Alexey Isaev JINR, Dubna
Petr Kulish St.Petersburg Department of Steklov Institute of Mathematics, St. Petersburg
Deco Levi University of Rome, Rome
Jerzy Lukierski Institute of Theoretical Physics, Wroclav
Willard Miller Jr. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
George Pogosyan University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara & Yerevan State University, Yerevan
Alexey Sissakian JINR, Dubna
Pavel Winternitz University of Montreal, Montreal
Kurt Bernardo Wolf UNAM, Cuernavaca

Conference Committee

 Chairman: George Pogosyan (University of Guadalajara & Yerevan State University), Vice-Chairman: Levon Mardoyan (Yerevan State University), Secretary: Knarik Muradyan (Yerevan State University), Roland Avagyan (Yerevan State University),Edvard Chubaryan (Yerevan State University),Lilit Melkonian (Yerevan State University), Ruben Manvelyan (Yerevan Physics Institute),Armen Nerssesian (Yerevan State University), Vadim Ohanyan (Yerevan State University), Ruben Poghossian (Yerevan Physics Institute), Aram Saharian (Yerevan State University)


About the town

 The country of majestic mountains together with biblical Ararat and ancient churches,was the first to adopt Christianity. With its clear lakes, splendid colours and azure sky, sorrowful duduk and impressive culture, Armenia is situated at cultural, historical, and religious crossroads between Europe and Asia, in the southern Transcaucasus. The country spans 29,743 square kilometers of mountainous terrain centered around the Ararat Valley, the heart of the Armenian nation. Armenia has borders with Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran. Armenia's landscapes offer boundless beauty. Mount Aragats, the highest point within the Republic's boundaries (4090 meters at its summit), is a hiker's less explored paradise. More than 200 rivers and streams traverse the country. In addition, there are over 200 therapeutic mineral springs, differing in composition and temperature. Lake Sevan, one of the largest freshwater mountain lakes in the world, is the largest body of water in Armenia, accounting for 5% of the country's land area.Armenian's thousands of years' history is expressed in its numerous historical and archeological monuments.

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is situated in the mountains at the height of 950-1200 meters above the sea level, on the bank of the river Hrazdan. Looming above the Yerevan skyline rises majestic Mount Ararat. Yerevan has many art galleries with extensive collections of classical and modern art, museums, concert halls and theatres, Opera House-all being very close to the city center. Virtually all the hotels, museums, government offices, clubs and the like are in the very centre, which can be walked across in 20 minutes making Yerevan an extremely walkable city. Particularly, in the summer and fall central Yerevan is so attractive with its brightness and warmth. The days are hot, so the nights are perfect for sitting out.

Local time in Armenia is 4 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT + 4). The Armenian national currency is the dram. Average temperatures in the country's capital, Yerevan, ranges from 5C in winter to 30 C in summer. In August the climate in Yerevan is warm (35 degrees C), dry and sunny.


Accommodation

 Single and double rooms will be available in hotels of various categories, all located in the center of Yerevan. They are within 20 to 30 min. walking distance from the University. The Conference Committee will reserve the University Hotel (for 50 participants) which contains the cheap category of rooms (single 40$US-50$US, double 60$US including breakfast) and is within the 20 min. walking distance from the University.


Financial Support

 The conference will be able to offer financial support to a limited number of participants coming from newly developing countries and also from the CIS.


For all information please contact

 Dr. George Pogosyan

International Center for Advanced Studies,
Physics Department,Yerevan State University,
Alex Manoogian 1, Yerevan 0025, Armenia
Phone: (+374-10) 57 88 41
E-mail: group27@ysu.am
            pogosyan@theor.jinr.ru