The Poincar? Seminar is held twice a year at the Institute Henri Poincar? in Paris. The goal of this seminar is to provide up-to-date information about general topics of great interest in physics. Both the theoretical and experimental results are covered, with some historical background. Particular care is devoted to the pedagogical nature of the presentation. This volume is devoted to Einstein's 1905 papers and their legacy. After a presentation of Einstein's epistemological approach to physics, and the genesis of special relativity, a centenary perspective is offered. The geometry of relativistic spacetime is explained in detail. Single photon experiments are presented, as a spectacular realization of Einstein's light quanta hypothesis. A previously unpublished lecture by Einstein, which presents an illuminating point of view on statistical physics in 1910, at the dawn of quantum mechanics, is reproduced. The volume ends with an essay on the historical, physical and mathematical aspects of Brownian motion.
Progress in Mathematical Physics Volume 47
Editors-in-Chief Anne Boutet de Monvel, Université Paris VII Denis Diderot, France Gerald Kaiser, Center for Signals and Waves, Austin, TX, USA
Editorial Board Sir M. Berry, University of Bristol, UK C. Berenstein, University of Maryland, College Park, USA P. Blanchard, University of Bielefeld, Germany A.S. Fokas, University of Cambridge, UK D. Sternheimer, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France C. Tracy, University of California, Davis, USA
Einstein, 1905–2005 Poincaré Seminar 2005
Thibault Damour Olivier Darrigol Bertrand Duplantier Vincent Rivasseau Editors
Birkhäuser Verlag Basel • Boston • Berlin
Editors: Thibault Damour IHÉS 35, Route de Chartres, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette France e-mail: