Quantum Fields - Algebras

Are we living in a golden age? It is now more than half a century that Einstein and Heisenberg have given us the theories of relativity and of quantum mechanics, but the great challenge of 20th century science remains unre- solved: to assemble these building blocks into a fundamental theory of matter. And yet, for anyone watching the interplay of mathematics and theoretical physics to-day, developing symbiotically through the stimulus of a lively, even essential interdisciplinary dia- logue, this is a time of fascination and great satisfaction. It is also a time of gratitude to those who had the courage to in- sist that "a rudimentary knowledge of the Latin and Greek alpha- bets" was not enough, and tore down the barriers between the disciplines. On the basis of this groundwork there is now so much progress, and, notably, such strengthening of the dia].ogue with phenomenology that - reaching out for The Great Break- through - this may indeed turn out to be the golden age.