The primary aim of this conference was to bring together fluctuational nonlinear dynamicists and superfluid physicists in a context where they could communicate and exchange ideas and information easily. It seemed to be generally agreed that this aim was successfully achieved.
Fluctuations play a key role in many physical processes.
But it is a role that in many cases is not yet properly understood. Over the last few years, there have been increasing efforts to develop fluctuation theory in application to a wide range of scientific problems. Gratifying progress has already been made, but a huge amount remains to be done and the activity is burgeoning. In low temperature physics and superfluidity, however, fluctuations are usually treated on the assumption that the system remains in thermal equilibrium, or quasiequilibrium. But deviations from equilibrium may change very dramatically, not only the prefactors, but also the exponents in the nucleation rates, because the notion of free energy barriers for given thermodynamic conditions no longer applies.