Consists of lectures that are part of the MSRI workshops and that introduce students and researchers to the intriguing world of theoretical physics.

Part I. Introductory Lectures: 1. Lectures on zeta functions, L-functions and modular forms with some physical applications Floyd L. Williams; 2. Basic zeta functions and some applications in physics Klaus Kirsten; 3. Zeta functions and chaos Audrey Terras; 4. Vertex operators and modular forms Geoffrey Mason and Michael Tuite; Part II. Research Lectures: 5. Applications of elliptic and theta functions to Friedmann-Robertson-Lemaître-Walker cosmology with cosmological constant Jennie D'Ambroise; 6. Integrable systems and 2D gravitation: how a soliton illuminates a black hole Shabnam Beheshti; 7. Functional determinants in higher dimensions using contour integrals Klaus Kirsten; 8. The role of the Patterson-Selberg zeta function of a hyperbolic cylinder in three-dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant Floyd L. Williams.