Matter�wave interferometry is a promising and successful way to explore truly macroscopic quantum phenomena and probe the validity of quantum theory at the borderline to the classic world. Indeed, we may soon witness quantum superpositions with nano to micrometer-sized objects. Yet, venturing deeper into the macroscopic domain is not only an experimental but also a theoretical endeavour: new interferometers must be conceived, sources of noise and decoherence identified, size effects understood and possible modifications of the theory taken into account. This thesis provides the theoretical background to recent advances in molecule and nanoparticle interferometry. In addition, it contains a physical and objective method to assess the degree of macroscopicity of such experiments, ranking them among other macroscopic quantum superposition phenomena.

This work addresses dynamical aspects of quantum criticality in two space dimensions. It probes two energy scales: the amplitude (Higgs) mode, which describes fluctuations of the order parameter amplitude in the broken symmetry phase and the dual vortex superfluid stiffness. The results demonstrate that the amplitude mode can be probed arbitrarily close to criticality in the universal line shape of the scalar susceptibility and the optical conductivity. The hallmark of quantum criticality is the emergence of softening energy scales near the phase transition. In addition, the author employs the charge-vortex duality to show that the capacitance of the Mott insulator near the superfluid to insulator phase transition serves as a probe for the dual vortex superfluid stiffness. The numerical methods employed are described in detail, in particular a worm algorithm for O(N) relativistic models and methods for numerical analytic continuation of quantum Monte Carlo data. The predictions obtained are particularly relevant to recent experiments in cold atomic systems and disordered superconductors.

This book provides an advanced introduction to extended theories of quantum field theory and algebraic topology, including Hamiltonian quantization associated with some geometrical constraints, symplectic embedding and Hamilton-Jacobi quantization and Becci-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) symmetry, as well as de Rham cohomology. It offers a critical overview of the research in this area and unifies the existing literature, employing a consistent notation. Although the results presented apply in principle to all alternative quantization schemes, special emphasis is placed on the BRST quantization for constrained physical systems and its corresponding de Rham cohomology group structure. These were studied by theoretical physicists from the early 1960s and appeared in attempts to quantize rigorously some physical theories such as solitons and other models subject to geometrical constraints. In particular, phenomenological soliton theories such as Skyrmion and chiral bag models have seen a revival following experimental data from the SAMPLE and HAPPEX Collaborations and these are discussed. The book describes how these model predictions were shown to include rigorous treatments of geometrical constraints because these constraints affect the predictions themselves. The application of the BRST symmetry to the de Rham cohomology contributes to a deep understanding of Hilbert space of constrained physical theories. Aimed at graduate-level students in quantum field theory, the book will also serve as a useful reference for those working in the field. An extensive bibliography guides the reader towards the source literature on particular topics.

How much knowledge can we gain about a physical system and to what degree can we control it? In quantum optical systems, such as ion traps or neutral atoms in cavities, single particles and their correlations can now be probed in a way that is fundamentally limited only by the laws of quantum mechanics. In contrast, quantum many-body systems pose entirely new challenges due to the enormous number of microscopic parameters and their small length- and short time-scales. This thesis describes a new approach to probing quantum many-body systems at the level of individual particles: Using high-resolution, single-particle-resolved imaging and manipulation of strongly correlated atoms, single atoms can be detected and manipulated due to the large length and time-scales and the precise control of internal degrees of freedom. Such techniques lay stepping stones for the experimental exploration of new quantum many-body phenomena and applications thereof, such as quantum simulation and quantum information, through the design of systems at the microscopic scale and the measurement of previously inaccessible observables.

The application of molecules in technological devices hinges on the proper understanding of their behavior on metallic electrodes or substrates. The intrinsic molecular electronic and magnetic properties are modified at a metallic interface, and greatly depend on the atomic configuration of the molecule-metal bond. This poses certain problems, such as the lack of reproducibility in the transport properties of molecular junctions, but also offers the possibility to induce new charge and spin configurations that are only present at the interface. The results presented in this thesis address this issue, providing a comprehensive overview of the influence of molecule-metal and molecule-molecule interactions on the electronic and magnetic properties of molecules adsorbed on metallic substrates. Using metal-phthalocyanines (MePc), a commonly used metal-organic complex as a model system, each chapter explores different aspects of the interaction with silver surfaces: the local adsorption geometry, self-assembly, the modifications of the electronic and magnetic characteristics due to hybridization and charge transfer, and finally the manipulation of molecular charge and spin states by electron doping using alkali atoms moved with the STM tip.

With contributions from leading scientists in the field, and edited by two of the most prominent astronomers of our time, this is a totally authoritative volume on X-ray astronomy that will be essential reading for everyone interested - from students to astrophysicists and physicists. All the aspects of this exciting area of study are covered, from astronomical instrumentation to extragalactic X-ray astronomy.

The main goal of this book is to elucidate what kind of experiment must be performed in order to determine the full set of independent parameters which can be extracted and calculated from theory, where electrons, photons, atoms, ions, molecules, or molecular ions may serve as the interacting constituents of matter. The feasibility of such perfect' and-or `complete' experiments, providing the complete quantum mechanical knowledge of the process, is associated with the enormous potential of modern research techniques, both, in experiment and theory. It is even difficult to overestimate the role of theory in setting of the complete experiment, starting with the fact that an experiment can be complete only within a certain theoretical framework, and ending with the direct prescription of what, and in what conditions should be measured to make the experiment `complete'. The language of the related theory is the language of quantum mechanical amplitudes and their relative phases. This book captures the spirit of research in the direction of the complete experiment in atomic and molecular physics, considering some of the basic quantum processes: scattering, Auger decay and photo-ionization. It includes a description of the experimental methods used to realize, step by step, the complete experiment up to the level of the amplitudes and phases. The corresponding arsenal includes, beyond determining the total cross section, the observation of angle and spin resolved quantities, photon polarization and correlation parameters, measurements applying coincidence techniques, preparing initially polarized targets, and even more sophisticated methods. The `complete' experiment is, until today, hardly to perform. Therefore, much attention is paid to the results of state-of-the-art experiments providing detailed information on the process, and their comparison to the related theoretical approaches, just to mention relativistic multi-configurational Dirac-Fock, convergent close-coupling, Breit-Pauli R-matrix, or relativistic distorted wave approaches, as well as Green's operator methods. This book has been written in honor of Herbert Walther and his major contribution to the field but even to stimulate advanced Bachelor and Master students by demonstrating that obviously nowadays atomic and molecular scattering physics yields and gives a much exciting appreciation for further advancing the field.

This multi-author contributed volume includes methodological advances and original applications to actual chemical or biochemical phenomena which were not possible before the increased sophistication of modern computers. The chapters contain detailed reviews of the developments of various computational techniques, used to study complex molecular systems such as molecular liquids and solutions (particularly aqueous solutions), liquid-gas, solid-gas interphase and biomacromolecular systems. Quantum modeling of complex molecular systems is a useful resource for graduate students and fledgling researchers and is also an excellent companion for research professionals engaged in computational chemistry, material science, nanotechnology, physics, drug design, and molecular biochemistry.

This graduate-level textbook on quantum theory covers important recent developments and most aspects of the theory with detailed presentations. It is also a reference and research work which provides background for research in this discipline. In addition to traditional topics, coverage includes: Wigner's Theorem of symmetry transformations, Bose-Fermi oscillators, coherent states, the non-relativistic Lamb shift, Ramsey oscillatory fields methods, the AB effect, Schroedinger's cat and quantum decoherence, quantum teleportation and cryptography, quantum dynamics of the Stern-Gerlach effect.

This dissertation focuses on the calculation of transport coefficients in the matter created in a relativistic heavy-ion collision after chemical freeze-out. This matter can be well approximated using a pion gas out of equilibrium. We describe the theoretical framework needed to obtain the shear and bulk viscosities, the thermal and electrical conductivities and the flavor diffusion coefficients of a meson gas at low temperatures. To describe the interactions of the degrees of freedom, we use effective field theories with chiral and heavy quark symmetries. We subsequently introduce the unitarization methods in order to obtain a scattering amplitude that satisfies the unitarity condition exactly, then go on to calculate the transport properties of the low-temperature phase of quantum chromodynamics - the hadronic medium - which can be used in hydrodynamic simulations of a relativistic heavy-ion collision and its subsequent evolution. We show that the shear viscosity over entropy density exhibits a minimum in a phase transition by studying this coefficient in atomic Argon (around the liquid-gas phase transition) and in the linear sigma model in the limit of a large number of scalar fields (which presents a chiral phase transition). Finally, we provide an experimental method for estimating the bulk viscosity in relativistic heavy-ion collisions by performing correlations of the fluctuating components of the stress-energy tensor.

Short Historical Overview In the 1940s, two phenomena in the ?eld of cosmic rays (CR) forced scientists to think that the Sun is a powerful source of high-energy particles. One of these was discovered because of the daily solar variation of CR, which the maximum number of CR observed near noon (referring to the existence of continuous ?ux of CR from the direction of the Sun); this became the experimental basis of the theory that CR's originate from the Sun (or, for that matter, from within the solar system) (Alfven 1954). The second phenomenon was discovered when large ?uxes of high energy particles were detected from several solar ?ares, or solar CR. These are the - called ground level events (GLE), and were ?rst observed by ionization chambers shielded by 10 cm Pb (and detected mainly from the secondary muon-component CR that they caused) during the events of the 28th of February 1942, the 7th of March 1942, the 25th of July 1946, and the 19th of November 1949. The biggest such event was detected on the 23rd of February 1956 (see the detailed description in Chapters X and XI of Dorman, M1957). The ?rst phenomenon was investigated in detail in Dorman (M1957), by ?rst correcting experimental data on muon temperature effects and then by using coupling functions to determine the change in particle energy caused by the solar-diurnal CR variation.

This book covers the complete spectrum of the fundamentals of clocked, regenerative comparators, their state-of-the-art, advanced CMOS technologies, innovative comparators inclusive circuit aspects, their characterization and properties. Starting from the basics of comparators and the transistor characteristics in nanometer CMOS, seven high-performance comparators developed by the authors in 120nm and 65nm CMOS are described extensively. Methods and measurement circuits for the characterization of advanced comparators are introduced. A synthesis of the largely differing aspects of demands on modern comparators and the properties of devices being available in nanometer CMOS, which are posed by the so-called nanometer hell of physics, is accomplished. The book summarizes the state of the art in integrated comparators. Advanced measurement circuits for characterization will be introduced as well as the method of characterization by bit-error analysis usually being used for characterization of optical receivers. The book is compact, and the graphical quality of the illustrations is outstanding. This book is written for engineers and researchers in industry as well as scientists and Ph.D students at universities. It is also recommendable to graduate students specializing on nanoelectronics and microelectronics or circuit design.

This collection of reviews by leading Japanese researchers covers topics like ultrafast optical responses, terahertz and phonon studies, super-sensitive surface and high-pressure spectroscopy, combination of visible and x-ray photonics. Several related areas at the cutting edge of measurement technology and materials science are included. This book is partly based on well-cited review articles in the Japanese language in special volumes of the Journal of the Vacuum Society of Japan.

The twelve chapters of this volume aim to provide a complete manual for using noble gases in terrestrial geochemistry, covering applications which range from high temperature processes deep in the Earth's interior to tracing climatic variations using noble gases trapped in ice cores, groundwaters and modern sediments. Other chapters cover noble gases in crustal (aqueous, CO2 and hydrocarbon) fluids and laboratory techniques for determining noble gas solubilities and diffusivities under geologically relevant conditions. Each chapter deals with the fundamentals of the analysis and interpretation of the data, detailing sampling and sampling strategies, techniques for analysis, sources of error and their estimation, including data treatment and data interpretation using recent case studies.

State-of-the-art survey by leading experts in the field. Major foci are superheavy nuclei and neutron-rich exotic nuclei. In addition new developments in nuclear fission and nuclear cluster decay are shown. Finally developments in relativistic heavy ion collisions and the physics of supercritical fields are detailed.

The 11th International Conference on X-Ray Lasers had contributions in the following topical areas: Transient Collisional X-Ray Lasers, Table-Top High Repetition Rate X-Ray Lasers, Optical-Field Ionised (OFI) X-Ray Lasers, Theory and Simulation of X-Ray Lasers, High Order Harmonic Generation, XUV Optics and X-Ray Laser Applications, Capillary Discharge X-Ray Lasers, Alternative Sources of coherent XUV Radiation. The proceedings of this conference constitute a comprehensive source of reference for scientists involved in researching the development and application of coherent X-Ray sources.

The cutting-edge advances in this research field are nicely pictured in the chapters of this volume. They come from world’s leading laboratories engaged in the development of molecular machines and are authored by some of the most respected scientists in the field. This volume shows, on the one hand, the level of ingenuity and technical capability reached in the construction of artificial nanomachines roughly two decades after their inception. On the other hand, it conveys the excitement about the enormous opportunities as well as the challenges this research area presents, as the interest of researchers is shifting from ensemble to single-molecule measurements and from homogeneous to heterogeneous environments. Indeed, as Feynman said “when we have some control of the arrangement of things on a molecular scale, we will get an enormously greater range of possible properties that substances can have.� Although the answer to the “when� question is not easy to find, there is no doubt that artificial molecular machines and motors will lead to a wide variety of applications which we cannot even envisage today.The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 was awarded jointly to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines". Both Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Bernard L. Feringa contributed to this volume. The goal of each thematic volume in this series is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors. Readership: research chemists at universities or in industry, graduate students.

This is the only handbook available on X-ray data. In a concise and informative manner, the most important data connected with the emission of characteristic X-ray lines are tabulated for all elements up to Z = 95 (Americium). The tabulated data are characterized and, in most cases, evaluated. Furthermore, all important processes and phenomena connected with the production, emission and detection of characteristic X-rays are discussed.

Extensions to the No-Core Shell Model presents three extensions to the No-Core Shell Model (NCSM) that allow for calculations of heavier nuclei, specifically for the p-shell nuclei. The Importance-Truncated NCSM (IT-NCSM) formulated on arguments of multi-configurational perturbation theory selects a small set of basis states from the initially large basis space in which the Hamiltonian is diagonalized. Previous IT-NCSM calculations have proven reliable, however, there has been no thorough investigation of the inherent error in the truncated IT-NCSM calculations. This thesis provides a detailed study of IT-NCSM calculations and compares them to full NCSM calculations to judge the accuracy of IT-NCSM in heavier nuclei. When IT-NCSM calculations are performed, one often needs to extrapolate the ground-state energy from the finite basis (or model) spaces to the full NCSM model space. In this thesis a careful investigation of the extrapolation procedures was performed. On a related note, extrapolations in the NCSM are commonplace, but up to recently did not have the ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) physics under control. This work additionally presents a method that maps the NCSM parameters into an effective-field theory inspired framework, in which the UV and IR physics are treated appropriately. The NCSM is well-suited to describe bound-state properties of nuclei, but is not well-adapted to describe loosely bound systems, such as the exotic nuclei near the neutron drip line. With the inclusion of the Resonating Group Method (RGM), the NCSM / RGM can provide a first-principles description of exotic nuclei and the first extension of the NCSM.

This textbook explains the experimental basics, effects and theory of nuclear physics. It supports learning and teaching with numerous worked examples, questions and problems with answers. Numerous tables and diagrams help to better understand the explanations. A better feeling to the subject of the book is given with sketches about the historical development of nuclear physics. The main topics of this book include the phenomena associated with passage of charged particles and radiation through matter which are related to nuclear resonance fluorescence and the Moessbauer effect., Gamov's theory of alpha decay, Fermi theory of beta decay, electron capture and gamma decay. The discussion of general properties of nuclei covers nuclear sizes and nuclear force, nuclear spin, magnetic dipole moment and electric quadrupole moment. Nuclear instability against various modes of decay and Yukawa theory are explained. Nuclear models such as Fermi Gas Model, Shell Model, Liquid Drop Model, Collective Model and Optical Model are outlined to explain various experimental facts related to nuclear structure. Heavy ion reactions, including nuclear fusion, are explained. Nuclear fission and fusion power production is treated elaborately.

Based on a series of university lectures on nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, this textbook covers a wide range of topics, from the birth of quantum mechanics to the fine-structure levels of heavy atoms. The author sets out from the crisis in classical physics and explores the seminal ideas of Einstein, Bohr, and de Broglie and their vital importance for the development of quantum mechanics. There follows a bottom-up presentation of the postulates of quantum mechanics through real experiments (such as those of neutron interferometry), with consideration of their most important consequences, including applications in the field of atomic physics. A final chapter is devoted to the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, and particularly those aspects that are still open and hotly debated, to end up with a mention to Bell's theorem and Aspect's experiments. In presenting the principles of quantum mechanics in an inductive way, this book has already proved very popular with students in its Italian language version.It complements the exercises and solutions book "Problems in Quantum Mechanics", by E. d'Emilio, L.E. Picasso (Springer).

Novel coherent light sources such as x-ray free-electron lasers open exciting prospects for the interaction of light with nuclei. The thesis "Coherent Control of Nuclei and X-rays" covers this still-developing field and proposes, in a daring attempt to revolutionize nuclear physics, three innovative schemes for taming nuclei using coherent effects. The theoretical explorations, which address control of nuclear quantum states, a nuclear memory for single photons in future photonic circuits, and optimized concepts for a nuclear clock, make use of new approaches at the borderline between nuclear physics and quantum dynamics. The result is a well written work, impressive in its stimulating style and promising ideas.

This corrected and updated second edition of "Scattering Theory" presents a concise and modern coverage of the subject. In the present treatment, special attention is given to the role played by the long-range behaviour of the projectile-target interaction, and a theory is developed, which is well suited to describe near-threshold bound and continuum states in realistic binary systems such as diatomic molecules or molecular ions. It is motivated by the fact that experimental advances have shifted and broadened the scope of applications where concepts from scattering theory are used, e.g. to the field of ultracold atoms and molecules, which has been experiencing enormous growth in recent years, largely triggered by the successful realization of Bose-Einstein condensates of dilute atomic gases in 1995. The book contains sections on special topics such as near-threshold quantization, quantum reflection, Feshbach resonances and the quantum description of scattering in two dimensions. The level of abstraction is kept as low as at all possible and deeper questions related to the mathematical foundations of scattering theory are passed by. It should be understandable for anyone with a basic knowledge of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The book is intended for advanced students and researchers, and it is hoped that it will be useful for theorists and experimentalists alike.

Optical Coherence Tomography represents the ultimate noninvasive ocular imaging technique although being in the field for over two-decades. This book encompasses both medical and technical developments and recent achievements. Here, the authors cover the field of application from the anterior to the posterior ocular segments (Part I) and present a comprehensive review on the development of OCT. Important developments towards clinical applications are covered in Part II, ranging from the adaptive optics to the integration on a slit-lamp, and passing through new structural and functional information extraction from OCT data. The book is intended to be informative, coherent and comprehensive for both the medical and technical communities and aims at easing the communication between the two fields and bridging the gap between the two scientific communities.

The second edition of "The Chemistry of the Superheavy Elements" provides a complete coverage of the chemistry of a series of elements beginning with atomic number 104 - the transactinides or superheavy elements - including their nuclear properties and production in nuclear reactions at heavy-ion accelerators. The contributors to this work include many renowned scientists who, during the last decades, have made vast contributions towards understanding the physics and chemistry of these elusive elements, both experimentally and theoretically. The main emphasis here is on demonstrating the fascinating studies involved in probing the architecture of the Periodic Table at its uppermost end, where relativistic effects drastically influence chemical properties. All known chemical properties of these elements are described together with the experimental techniques applied to study these short-lived man-made elements one atom-at-a-time. The status of theoretical chemistry and of empirical models is presented as well as aspects of nuclear physics. In addition, one chapter outlines the meanderings in this field from a historical perspective and the search for superheavy elements in Nature.