Disordered elastic systems and one-dimensional interfaces

We briefly introduce the generic framework of disordered elastic systems (DES), giving a short 'recipe' of a DES modeling and presenting the quantities of interest in order to probe the static and dynamical disorder-induced properties of such systems. We then focus on a particular low-dimensional DES, namely the one-dimensional interface in short-ranged elasticity and short-ranged quenched disorder. Illustrating different elements given in the introductory sections, we discuss specifically the consequences of the interplay between a finite temperature T > 0 and a finite interface width zeta > 0 on the static geometrical fluctuations at different lengthscales, and the implications on the quasistatic dynamics. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.