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Books in Physics

Physics titles offer comprehensive research and advancements across the fundamental and applied areas of physical science. From quantum mechanics and particle physics to astrophysics and materials science, these titles drive innovation and deepen understanding of the principles governing the universe. Essential for researchers, educators, and students, this collection supports scientific progress and practical applications across a diverse range of physics disciplines.

  • Molecular Nonlinear Optics

    Materials, Physics, and Devices
    • 1st Edition
    • Joseph Zyss
    • English
    This volume brings together contributions from world renowned researchers on molecular nonlinear optics. It takes as its impetus work done over the last five years in which newly developed optoelectronic devices havedeepened our understanding of the fundamental physics and chemistry underlying these materials. Organic materials involving thin films, polymers, and resulting devices will be emphasized.
  • The Quantum Vacuum

    An Introduction to Quantum Electrodynamics
    • 1st Edition
    • Peter W. Milonni
    • English
    In modern physics, the classical vacuum of tranquil nothingness has been replaced by a quantum vacuum with fluctuations of measurable consequence. In The Quantum Vacuum, Peter Milonni describes the concept of the vacuum in quantum physics with an emphasis on quantum electrodynamics. He elucidates in depth and detail the role of the vacuum electromagnetic field in spontaneous emission, the Lamb shift, van der Waals, and Casimir forces, and a variety of other phenomena, some of which are of technological as well as purely scientific importance.This informative text also provides an introduction based on fundamental vacuum processes to the ideas of relativistic quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory, including renormalization and Feynman diagrams. Experimental as well as theoreticalaspects of the quantum vacuum are described, and in most cases details of mathematical derivations are included. Chapter 1 of The Quantum Vacuum - published in advance in The American Journal of Physics (1991)-was later selected by readers as one of the Most Memorable papers ever published in the 60-year history of the journal. This chapter provides anexcellent beginning of the book, introducing a wealth of information of historical interest, the results of which are carefully woven into subsequent chapters to form a coherent whole.
  • Lasers and Optical Fibers in Medicine

    • 1st Edition
    • Abraham Katzir
    • English
    The increasing use of fiber optics in the field of medicine has created a need for an interdisciplinary perspective of the technology and methods for physicians as well as engineers and biophysicists. This book presents a comprehensive examination of lasers and optical fibers in an hierarchical, three-tier system. Each chapter is divided into three basic sections: the Fundamentals section provides an overview of basic concepts and background; the Principles section offers an in-depth engineering approach; and the Advances section features specific information on systems and biophysical parameters. All those interested in the fields of lasers and fiber optics will find this book fascinating and instructive reading.
  • Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 16
    • English
    The first chapter focuses on one aspect of one of the most stimulating topics in the whole of lanthanide science: the dual valence state elements Ce, Pr and Tb (valences of 3 and 4) and Sm, Eu, Tm and Yb (valences of 2 and 3). The authors bring us up to date on the status of our knowledge of valence fluctuation and heavy fermion 4f systems as gleaned from neutron scattering experiments. The major topics include cerium-based valence fluctuation systems, cerium-based heavy fermion materials and ytterbium-based materials. The remaining quarter of the chapter deals with samarium-, europium- and thulium-based systems.The next chapter deals with the thermal conductivity of rare earth containing materials and is the first major review on this topic. A great deal of information can be obtained on the electrical and magnetic nature of these solids, because of the varied response of the thermal conductivity to long range magnetic order, spin glass behavior, heavy fermions and Kondo lattices, crystalline electric fields, and superconductivity in metallic systems. The thermal conductivity of insulators and semiconductors is also reviewed.The third and fourth chapters deal with special classes of materials rather than measuring techniques as found in the first two chapters and the last one of this volume. The authors discuss the chemistry, structure, electrical, magnetic and thermal behaviors, spectroscopic (vibrational, ultraviolet-visible and Mössbauer) properties, and luminescence of pyrochlores.The longest chapter in this book deals with the crystal structures of approximately 100 of the ˜225 known minerals. These minerals were grouped into five classes based on the types of anionic groups found in the various structures. Within each class the minerals are arranged by the sizes of the anionic groups (isolated groups, chains, sheets or plates, and three-dimensional frameworks). The chapter is well illustrated with drawings of the structures and anion coordination polyhedra around the rare earth ion.The last chapter is concerned with appearance potential spectroscopy (APS), which measures the probability for electronic excitation of a core level as a function of the incident electron energy. This is a technique which in the future may be accepted as a popular analytical tool for the material characterization of surfaces.
  • Quantum Control and Measurement

    • 1st Edition
    • H. Ezawa + 1 more
    • English
    This book presents the latest results in the most fundamental field of quantum state preparation and control. At this unique conference researchers, both from the academic and industrial world, presented their work. A variety of crucial experiments under controlled, novel conditions, and theoretical checks from novel points of view are reported. Highlighted are new schemes for quantum interference, single particle behaviour, gravitational waves, electron holography and semiconductor microlasers. Containing all the recent results available in the field, this volume points the direction for further experimental and theoretical work in the foundations of physics.
  • Progress in Optics

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 31
    • English
    A collection of comprehensive reviews in the field of optics. The first article presents a review of recent investifations concerning multiphoton ionization of atoms in intense radiation fields and includes discussions on above threshold ionization, generation of higher-order harmonics of an intense field interacting with a gaseous medium and the role of chaotic dynamics in the interaction of atoms with monochromatic radiation. A tutorial section on chaotic behaviour is also included. The second article presents a review of modern developments regarding properties of light diffracted by gratings. Both a phemonenological treatment and a macroscopic analysis are presented. The following article reviews developments relating to optical amplifiers, especially those which use semiconductors and optical fibres. The article covers the operating principles, fabrication and performance characteristics. The next article reviews recent research on a promising new class of neural networks, the so-called adaptive multilayer optical networks. Although still in the early states of developments, these devices offer the possibility of implementing optical interconnections in three dimensions and they can be functionally equivalent to several thousand chips. The fifth article deals with idealized but rather useful models of some atomic systems, namely two-level and four-level atoms. The analogy between a quantum two-level atom and a classical model consisting of two coupled optical modes is discussed. Extension of these considerations to optical band structure and to four-level systems is also treated. The concluding article deals thoroughly with free electron lasers in a physical way, while minimum attention is paid to organic generalities and mathematical rigour.
  • High T<INF>c</INF> Superconductors

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 38
    • J. Dumas + 4 more
    • English
    A wide range of progress in materials development [single crystals, ceramics, thin films, wire and tapes] is reported in the 169 papers in this volume. The main focus of the papers is in attaining a better understanding of the relationship between microstructure and electrical properties. Invited papers cover topics such as the effects of substitution and doping; multilayers; nanostructure characterisation; electric field effects in High Tc Superconductors [HTS]; surface stability; critical currents; flux pinning and magnetooptic imaging of flux patterns; effects of irradiation induced defects; properties and preparation of materials; microwave properties and electronic devices. A clearly broadened basis for understanding processes and mechanisms in [HTS] is portrayed. Appreciable progress has been achieved in the reproducible manufacturing of high quality materials supported by very efficient methods in microstructural analysis. This essential improvement is reflected in the increased number of practical devices encouraging the use of HTS in applications for electronics and power engineering, all of which are reviewed in depth in this work.
  • Synthetic Materials for Non-Linear Optics and Electronics

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 35
    • C. Taliani + 2 more
    • English
    Recent progress in organic and LED structures, in photorefractive response in molecular ferromagnetism, as well as the ultrafast and large non-linear optical response in conjugated systems are attracting great interest from the scientific community. The discovery of fullerenes has added further impetus to this field. Two areas bear particular promise for the development of a new electronics based on SEM materials: the integration of organic materials into the planar silicon technology such as, for instance, the advances in "all organic" field-effect transistors (FET) and the new organic light emitting diodes (LED); and secondly the appearance of a totally new electronics in which photons, rather than electrons, carry the information and SEM materials act as switching devices. Both aspects and more are covered in this volume. The quality of the 52 contributions attests to the fact that this subject area has progressed from the level of a scientific curiosity to a mature field of materials science introducing important technological perspectives for electronic applications.
  • Laser Manipulation of Atoms and Ions

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 118
    • Ennio Arimondo + 2 more
    • English
    The recent fascinating progress on laser cooling is the result of the close connection between theoretical work and the rapid technological advances in laser sources, particularly in the field of powerful semiconductor and solid-state lasers operating over a wide range of optical and near-infrared frequencies. The very close international and personal collaboration amongst the researchers resulting in a direct link between experimental data and theoretical calculations which characterize work in this field, have been important factors in the rapid comprehension of the subtle and beautiful phenomena involved in laser manipulation.This Enrico Fermi school is the first formal school fully devoted to this topic. The theoretical part of the book includes contributions on the framework for the study of the photon momentum exchanges in the absence of relaxation, recent mechanisms of laser cooling, an analysis of the cooling forces, analysis of atomic and molecular beams, cooling through coherent population trapping and the relation between laser cooling and quantum nondemolition measurements. The experimental section deals with topics such as, an analysis of atomic and molecular beams, methods and applications of laser cooling, advances in laser cooling and the new exciting field of atomic interferometry.All students and researchers working in this field will welcome this excellent review of research and progress in laser cooling, so strongly linked to the fundamental understanding of physics.