On behalf of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and on behalf of the Organizing Committee of the Workshop on Novel Physics in Low-Dimensional Electron Systems, I have the honor to accord to all of you a most cordial welcome to the workshop, to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, to this culturally rich city of Madras and to India. The object of the workshop is to review the fascinating progress in recent times on Quantized Hall Effect, Quantum Dots and other Nanostructures. I complement Professor Tapash Chakraborty, Convenor of this workshop, for his efforts in gathering together such a galaxy of experts from all major laboratories around the world and look forward to the critical review of the recent developments in the field.
Nanostructures are fascinating technological achievements. In introductory Quantum Mechanics courses, it is customary to discuss simple systems such as a particle in a box with a view to drive home the concepts of discrete spectrum seen in atoms and molecules. They contain all the essential ingredients of Quantum Physics and a useful warm-up to realistic physical systems, undertaken for study later. It is remarkable that systems that mimic such elementary constructs can be realized in the form of Quantum Dots, Rings and such Nanostructures and they can be populated with a precisely controlled number of particles. They appear to provide a fascinating confirmation of the basic ideas that govern their physics and should lead to further devices for useful applications. In the quantum Hall effect, the basic starting point is another well-known class room example -a free electron in a uniform magnetic field. The resultant equally spaced quantized levels and their ordered filling give rise to an array of beautiful physical phenomena. When the electrons are confined in thin films, they exhibit properties, characteristic of two-dimensional systems, with a rich content of physics and consequent technology.
We would like to express our gratitude to all of you for your contribution to the workshop, in particular the many eminent participants from abroad who have kindly accepted our invitation, made the necessary efforts to arrange for their own international travel, and provided us the necessary encouragement. I sincerely hope that the workshop will generate useful active interaction and discussion among participants and promote further progress in the field. With these words I formally inaugurate the proceedings of the workshop.