Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction.- Kinetic Pattern Formation at Solid Surfaces.- Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation in Semiconductor Systems.- Group-Theoretic Methods in the Theory of Pattern Formation.- On Fundamental Structure-Forming Processes.- Glass Transition in Colloids and Undercooled Liquids.- Experimental Investigations of Collective Excitations in Disordered Matter.- Theories of the Structural Glass Transition.- Glassy Dynamics and Aging in Disordered Systems.- Nonlinear Dynamics in Aperiodic Crystals.- Disordered Dynamical Systems.- Lyapunov Instability of Fluids.- On Symbolic Dynamics of Space-Time Chaotic Models.- Complex Adaptive Systems.- Index.

Phase transitions in disordered systems and related dynamical phenomena are a topic of intrinsically high interest in theoretical and experimental physics. This book presents a unified view, adopting concepts from each of the disjoint fields of disordered systems and nonlinear dynamics. Special attention is paid to the glass transition, from both experimental and theoretical viewpoints, to modern concepts of pattern formation, and to the application of the concepts of dynamical systems for understanding equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of fluids and solids. The content is accessible to graduate students, but will also be of benefit to specialists, since the presentation extends as far as the topics of ongoing research work.