Heat kernels and zeta functions on fractals

On fractals, spectral functions such as heat kernels and zeta functions exhibit novel features, very different from their behaviour on regular smooth manifolds, and these can have important physical consequences for both classical and quantum physics in systems having fractal properties. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical in honour of Stuart Dowker's 75th birthday devoted to 'Applications of zeta functions and other spectral functions in mathematics and physics'.