“Emerging trends in many-body cavity quantum electrodynamics”, which will be part of the IOP conference CMD29. After 39 years, the conference returns to Manchester (the location of CMD2) and will take place from 21-26 August 2022.

The purpose of our mini-colloquium is to bring together diverse researchers of light-matter physics, condensed matter, and statistical physics to present and discuss emerging theoretical, numerical, and experimental results, to share ideas, and to understand and expand the scope of future research on the thermodynamics of many-body cavity QED systems. The thermodynamic phases of many-body systems within cavities have been of perennial interest since the seminal work of Dicke, Hepp and Lieb. The subject has become a rich interdisciplinary field, with connections to quantum chaos, open quantum systems theory, and superconducting circuits. Recently, these topics have received renewed interest, resulting in numerous contemporary theoretical studies on ultra-strongly coupled cavity QED systems and strongly correlated electrons coupled to one- and two-dimensional fields. Many open challenges remain, including the roles played by strong light-matter interactions, gauge-freedom, and the legitimacy of approximations.

CMD29 is a large international conference covering all aspects of condensed matter physics. It the 29th in the series of General conferences of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society, organized together with the Institute of Physics and will now take place from 21-26 August 2022 in Manchester.

After 39 years, CMD returns to Manchester, site of CMD-2! That second conference was bolstered by the enthusiasm generated by CMD-1, the very first large European Condensed Matter physics meeting held in Antwerp (Belgium) in 1980. In its turn, CMD29 is the successor to the first fully online CMD28 – CMD2020 GEFES conference, held from August 31st through September 4th, 2020. A full list of CMD conferences can be found here.

Manchester and the United Kingdom were expressly chosen by the CMD Board of the EPS and the IOP in order to affirm our common commitment to pan-European collaboration in scientific research and in condensed matter physics in particular. The city of Manchester and its universities are centrally located within the U.K., easily accessible from all of Europe and beyond, is a major centre for condensed matter research, and, by its many restaurants, bars, hotels, and other services and infrastructure offers splendid opportunities for a most productive meeting and a vibrant social programme. The greater Manchester area is also the site of rich history, and situated close to the countryside and the beautiful Peak District national park.