Perspectives in Statistical Mechanics

Without attempting to summarize the vast field of statistical mechanics, we briefly mention some of the progress that was made in areas which have enjoyed Barry Simon's interests. In particular, we focus on rigorous non-perturbative results which provide insight on the spread of correlations in Gibbs equilibrium states and yield information on phase transitions and critical phenomena. Briefly mentioned also are certain spinoffs, where ideas which have been fruitful within the context of statistical mechanics proved to be of use in other areas, and some recent results which relate to previously open questions and conjectures.