In Vivo EPR (ESR) is a textbook on this relatively new subject in biomedical electron spin resonance. While a few chapters have appeared in special topics volumes in this series, this book covers the principles and theory, instrumentation as well as the latest applications at the time of its writing. The authors are world-renowned experts and pioneers in their fields. This book is divided into two major sections dealing with theory and instrumentation, and aspects of biochemistry, in vitro and in vivo applications. A significant amount of detail is devoted to clinical applications and the problems and pitfalls encountered in in vivo spectroscopy and imaging.
Key Features:

-History of In Vivo EPR,
-Principles of Imaging-Theory and Instrumentation,
-Time-domain Radio Frequency EPR Imaging,
-The Measurement of Oxygen In Vivo Using In Vivo EPR Techniques,
-Potential Medical (Clinical) Applications of EPR,
-Combining NMR and EPR/ESR for In Vivo Experiments.

Quantum information science is a new field of science and technology which requires the collaboration of researchers coming from different fields of physics, mathematics, and engineering: both theoretical and applied. Quantum Computing and Quantum Bits in Mesoscopic Systems addresses fundamental aspects of quantum physics, enhancing the connection between the quantum behavior of macroscopic systems and information theory. In addition to theoretical quantum physics, the book comprehensively explores practical implementation of quantum computing and information processing devices. On the experimental side, this book reports on recent and previous observations of quantum behavior in several physical systems, coherently coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, quantum dots, superconducting quantum interference devices, Cooper pair boxes, and electron pumps in the context of the Josephson effect. In these systems, the book discusses all required steps, from fabrication through characterization to the final basic implementation for quantum computing.

This is a monograph on geometrical and topological features which arise in various quantization procedures. Quantization schemes consider the feasibility of arriving at a quantum system from a classical one and these involve three major procedures viz. i) geometric quantization, ii) Klauder quantization, and iii) stochastic quanti zation. In geometric quantization we have to incorporate a hermitian line bundle to effectively generate the quantum Hamiltonian operator from a classical Hamil tonian. Klauder quantization also takes into account the role of the connection one-form along with coordinate independence. In stochastic quantization as pro posed by Nelson, Schrodinger equation is derived from Brownian motion processes; however, we have difficulty in its relativistic generalization. It has been pointed out by several authors that this may be circumvented by formulating a new geometry where Brownian motion proceses are considered in external as well as in internal space and, when the complexified space-time is considered, the usual path integral formulation is achieved. When this internal space variable is considered as a direc tion vector introducing an anisotropy in the internal space, we have the quantization of a Fermi field. This helps us to formulate a stochastic phase space formalism when the internal extension can be treated as a gauge theoretic extension. This suggests that massive fermions may be considered as Skyrme solitons. The nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is achieved in the sharp point limit."

Reference Data on Multicharged Ions summarizes spectroscopic and collisional atomic data for highly charged positive ions: oscillator strength, energy levels, transition probabilities, cross sections and rate coefficients of different elementary processes taking place in hot plasmas.
The book does not give complicated theory and formulas; it presents the data in abbreviated form using tables, figures and, if possible, scaling laws for different characteristics. The data is interpreted on physical grounds, and ample references are given to the original literature.

The present book contains the proceedings of the workshop "Plasma Technology and Applications" which was held at 11 Ciocco (Lucca-Italy) during 5-6 July 1991. The workshop was organized just before ICPIG XX to emphasize the role of plasma physics and plasma chemistry in different fields of technology. Topics cover different applications such as lamps, plasma treatment of materials (etching, deposition, nitriding), plasma sources (microwave excitation, negative ion sources) and plasma destruction of pollutants. Several chapters deal with basic concepts in plasma physics, non- equilibrium plasma modeling and plasma diagnostics as well as with laser interaction with solid targets. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by university of Bari (Italy) and by CNR (Centro di Studio per la Chimica dei Plasmi, Istituto di Fisica Atomica e Molecolare (IFAM) and Progetto Finalizzato Materiali Speciali per Tecnologie Avanzate) as well as the sponsorship of ENEA. M. Capitelli C. Gorse v CONTENTS Plasmas in nature, laboratory and technology 1 A. M. Ignatov and A. A. Rukhadze Laser diagnostics of plasmas 11 L. Pyatnitsky Probe diagnostics of plasmas 27 G. Dilecce Theory, properties and applications of non- equilibrium plasmas created by external energy sources 45 E. Son Non-Equilibrium plasma modeling 59 M. Capitel1i , R. Celiberto, G. Capriati, C. Gorse and S. Longo Gas discharge lamps 81 M. Koedam Plasma etching processes and diagnostics 93 R. d'Agostino and F. Fracassi Plasma deposition: processes and diagnostics 109 A.

Although used with increasing frequency in many branches of physics, random matrix ensembles are not always sufficiently specific to account for important features of the physical system at hand. One refinement which retains the basic stochastic approach but allows for such features consists in the use of embedded ensembles.

The present text is an exhaustive introduction to and survey of this important field. Starting with an easy-to-read introduction to general random matrix theory, the text then develops the necessary concepts from the beginning, accompanying the reader to the frontiers of present-day research. With some notable exceptions, to date these ensembles have primarily been applied in nuclear spectroscopy. A characteristic example is the use of a random two-body interaction in the framework of the nuclear shell model. Yet, topics in atomic physics, mesoscopic physics, quantum information science and statistical mechanics of isolated finite quantum systems can also be addressed using these ensembles.

This book addresses graduate students and researchers with an interest in applications of random matrix theory to the modeling of more complex physical systems and interactions, with applications such as statistical spectroscopy in mind.

The articles in this book cover a broad range of topics in the field of nuclear physics, including many articles on the subject of high spin physics. With an emphasis on the discussion and analysis of future developments within a number of significant areas, the book's attempt to address the status of research at the beginning of the next century is to be welcomed by researchers and students alike.

Hydrogen is the smallest impurity atom that can be implanted in a metallic host. Its small mass and strong interaction with the host electrons and nuclei are responsible for many anomalous and interesting solid state effects. In addition, hydrogen in metals gives rise to a number of technological problems such as hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen storage, radiation hardening, first wall problems associated with nuclear fusion reactors, and degradation of the fuel cladding in fission reactors. Both the fundamental effects and applied problems have stimulated a great deal of inter est in the study of metal hydrogen systems in recent years. This is evident from a growing list of publications as well as several international conferences held in this field during the past decade. It is clear that a fundamental understanding of these problems re quires a firm knowledge of the basic interactions between hydrogen, host metal atoms, intrinsic lattice defects and electrons. This understanding is made particularly difficult by hyrogen's small mass and by the large lattice distortions that accompany the hydrogenation process. The purpose of the "International Symposium on the Electronic Structure and Properties of Hydrogen in Metals" held in Richmond, Virginia, March 4-6, 1982 was to increase our fundamental under standing of hydrogen in metals. Such knowledge is essential in solving technologically important questions. The symposium con sisted of twenty-two invited papers and seventy-two contributed poster presentations and attracted nearly 150 participants from thirteen countries. The proceedings of this symposium constitute this book."

The last decade has been witness to many exciting and rapid developments in the fields of Nuclear Physics and Intermediate Energy Physics, the interface between Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics. These developments involved to a large extent the sub nucleonic degrees of freedom in nuclei. In deep inelastic lepton scattering from nuclei, for example, it was observed that the quark structure of the nucleon is influenced by the nuclear medium. Also, the spin-dependent structure function of the nucleon was found to differ from sum rules based on SU(3) symmetry, a discrepancy referred to as the "spin crisis". In pion electroproduction at threshold and in the production of pions and other mesons in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies interesting experimental results have been obtained, which triggered lively theoretical discussions. Furthermore, the search for the quark-gluon plasma phase of hadronic matter, a phase that is supposed to have existed in the first few seconds of the Big Bang, has been intensified. Not only were these developments accompanied by technical developments, such as the building of new experimental facilities, but also extensive theoretical efforts have been directed towards understanding these phenomena. These concerted efforts will hopefully lead to an understanding of the transition from the non-perturbative QCD regime to the perturbative one, in which the quark structure of nucleons is better understood. All of the aforementioned developments occur at a high pace, making it difficult to incorporate them into the courses offered to advanced students.

The ASI 'Topics in Atomic and Nuclear Collisions' was organized in Predeal from August 31 to September 11. It brought together people with a broad interest in Atomic and Nuclear Physics from several research institutes and universities in Ro mania and 16 other countries. The school continues a tradition that started on a small scale back in 1968, fo cussing mainly on current problems in nuclear physics. Though the organizing of this edition started very late and in very uncertain economic and financial conditions, it turned out to be the largest meeting of this type ever organized in Romania, both in topics and participation. There were many applicants for participation and grants, considerably more than could be handled. The selection made by the local organizing committee was based on the following criteria: a proper balance of atomic and nuclear physicists, a broad representation of people from Research Institutes and Universities, a balanced par ticipat!on with respect to age, sex, nationality and observance of ASI requirements.

From September 24 through 30, 1992 the Workshop on "Waves and Parti cles in Light and Matter" was held in the Italian city of Trani in celebration of the centenary of Louis de Broglie's birth. As is well known, the relationship between quantum theory and ob jective reality was one of the main threads running through the researches of this French physicist. It was therefore in a fitting tribute to him on his 90th birthday that ten years ago an international conference on the same subject was convened in Perugia. On that occasion, physicists from all over the world interested in the problematics of wave-particle duality engaged in thoughtful debates (the proceedings of which were subsequently published) on recent theoretical and experimental developments in our understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics. This time around, about 120 scientists, coming from 5 continents, in the warm and pleasant atmosphere of Trani's Colonna Conference Center focussed their discussions on recent results concerned with the EPR para dox, matter-interferometry, reality of de Broglie's waves, photon detection, macroscopic quantum coherence, alternative theories to usual quantum mechanics, special relativity, state reduction, and other related topics. The workshop was organized in plenary sessions, round tables, and poster sessions, and the present volume collects most-but not all-of the presented papers. A number of acknowledgements are due. We thank, first of all, the contributors, without whose constant dedication this volume could not have been published."

Advances in Space Environment Research - Volume I contains the proceedings of two international workshops, the World Space Environment Forum (WSEF2002) and the High Performance Computing in Space Environment Research (HPC2002), organized by the World Institute for Space Environment Research (WISER) from 22 July to 2 August 2002 in Adelaide, Australia.
The articles in this volume review the state-of-the-art of the theoretical, computational and observational studies of the physical processes of Sun-Earth connections and Space Environment. They cover six topical areas: Sun/Heliosphere, Magnetosphere/Bow Shock, Ionosphere/Atmosphere, Space Weather/Space Climate, Space Plasma Physics/Astrophysics, and Complex/Intelligent Systems.
The authors are leading space physicists from 20 countries/regions, representing the WISER international network of research and training centers of excellence dedicated to promote cooperation in cutting-edge space environment research and training of first-rate space scientists, and to link nations for the peaceful use of the space environment.
This volume is useful for space physicists, astrophysicists and plasma physicists; and can be adopted as a reference book for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Contemporary research in atomic and molecular physics concerns itself with studies of interactions of electron, positron, photons, and ions with atoms, molecules, and clusters; interactions of intense ultrashort laser interaction with atoms, molecules, and solids; laser assisted atomic collisions, optical, and magnetic traps of neutral atoms to produce ultracold and dense samples; high resolution atomic spectroscopy and experiments by using synchrotron radiation sources and ion storage rings. In recent years, important advances have been made in the experimental as well as theoretical understanding of atomic and molecular physics. The advances in atomic and molecu lar physics have helped us to understand many other fields, like astrophyics, atmo spheric physics, environmental science, laser physics, surface physics, computational physics, photonics, and electronics. XII National Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics was held at the Physics Department, M. 1. S. University, Udaipur from 29th Dec. 1998 to 2ndJan. 1999 under the auspices of the Indian Society of Atomic and Molecular Physics. This volume is an outcome of the contributions from the invited speakers at the conference. The volume contains 24 articles contributed by the distinguished scientists in the field. The contrib utors have covered a wide range of topics in the field in which current research is being done. This also reflects the trend of research in this field in Indian universities and research institutes. We are grateful to the national programme committee, national, and local organiz ing committees, and members of the Physics Department and Computer Centre, M. 1.

th This workshop was the 15 in a series that addresses the subject of the dynamics of nuclear reactions. These workshops are dedicated to the concept that bringing together scientists from diverse areas of nuclear reactions promotes the vibrant exchange of ideas. This workshop hosted presentations from experimentalists and theorists, intermediate energy to ultrarelativistic energies, and final results to recent speculations. Many of these scientists would not normally be exposed to the work done in other subfields. Thus the Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics plays a unique role in information exchange and the stimulation of new ides. The field of nuclear dynamics has a bright future. New accelerators are being planned and completed around the world. New detectors are being constructed. New models and theories are being developed to describe these phenomena. The Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics will continue to promote this lively and compelling field of research. WOLFGANG BAUER AND GARY D. WESTFALL v Previous Workshops The following table contains a list of the dates and locations of the previous Winter Workshops on Nuclear Dynamics as well as the members of the organizing committees. The chairpersons of the conferences are underlined.

The present volume contains the texts of the invited talks delivered at the Sev enth International Conference on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories held at the University of Minnesota during the period August 26-31, 1991. The proceedings of the Fourth Conference (Oulu, Finland, 1987) and Fifth Conference (Arad, Israel, 1989) have been published by Plenum as the first two volumes of this series. Papers from the First Conference (Trieste, 1978) comprise Nuclear Physics volume A328, Nos. 1, 2. The Second Conference (Oaxtepec, Mexico, 1989) was published by Springer-Verlag as volume 142 of "Lecture Notes in Physics," entitled "Recent Progress in Many Body Theories." Volume 198 of the same series contains the papers from the Third Conference (Altenberg, Germany, 1983). These volumes are intended to cover a broad spectrum of current research topics in physics that benefit from the application of many-body theories for their elucidation. At the same time there is a focus on the development and refinement of many-body methods. One of the major aims of the conference series has been to foster the ex change of ideas among physicists working in such diverse areas as nucleon-nucleon in teractions, nuclear physics, astronomy, atomic and molecular physics, quantum chem istry, quantum fluids, and condensed matter physics. The present volume contains contributions from all of these areas."

Charge transport through the transfer of protons between molecules has long been recognized as a fundamental process, which plays an important role in many chemical reactions. In particular, proton transfer through Hydrogen (H-) bonds has been identified as the main mechanism, via which many bio logical functions are performed and many properties of such basic substances as proteins and ice can be understood. In this volume, several of these important aspects of the H-bond are rep resented. As the division in different sections already indicates, present day research in proton teansfer in biochemistry, biology, and the physics of water and ice remains highly active and very exciting. Nearly a decade ago, a novel approach to the study of collective proton motion in H-bonded systems was proposed, in which this phenomenon was explained by the propagation of certain coherent structures called solitons. In the years that followed, the approach ofsoliton dynamics was further extended and developed by many researchers around the world, into a legitimate and useful method for the analysis of proton transfer in H-bonded systems. Dr. Stephanos Pnevmatikos, the original Director of this ARW, was one of the pioneers in the application ofsoliton ideas to the study ofcharge transport through H-bonds. Having used similar concepts himself in his research on 2D lattices) he was convinced energy transfer through molecular chains (and that solitons can play an important role in enhancing our understanding of protonic conductivity.

This monograph, which is the outcome of the ASI on High Pressure Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Materials Science, illustrates new developments in the field of high pressure science. In fact, for chemists, biochemists, and materials scientists, pressure as an experimental variable represents a tool which provides unique information about systems of materials studied. It is interesting to note how the growth of the high pressure field is also reflected in the content of the recent ASI's dealing with this field. The ASI High Pressure Chemistry held in 1977 was followed by the ASI High Pressure Chemistry and Biochemistry held in 1986, and the coverage of the present ASI also includes applications to materials science. In view of the teaching character of the ASI, it is natural that main contributions to this volume present overviews of the different subfields or applications of high pressure research. In contrast, contributed papers offer more specialized aspects of various high pressure studies. The various contributions to this volume make clear the impressive range of fundamental and applied problems that can be studied by high pressure techniques, and also point towards a major growth of high pressure science and technology in the near future. This ASI focused mainly on advances achieved in the six years since the previous ASI devoted to the high pressure field. The organization of this volume is as follows.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 17th Workshop of the INFN ELOISATRON Project on "QCD at 200 TeV", held at the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture, EMCSC, Erice, Trapani, Italy, in the period 11-17 June 1991. The new multi-Te V frontiers of Subnuclear Physics are no more beyond our imagination. A conceptual design of the highest energy (100+100 TeV) proton-proton collider -the ELOISA TRON -already exists. Intensive R&D studies are on the go to develop the most promising and innovative detector technologies for the highest energy and luminosity. QCD (Quantum Chromo-Dynamics) will be the theory to describe the expected Physics scenario of future S upercolliders. The purpose of the Workshop was therefore to review the recent status of QCD in High Energy interactions and to discuss the novel aspects of Perturbative and Non- Perturbative QCD with special emphasis on future experimental studies at Super-High Energy Colliders, up to the 200 Te V limit. The topics were: * Classical QCD: particle multiplication, multiplicities and spectra, jet profiles, coherence effects, etc. * Hadron interaction cross-sections and structure functions at Super-High Energies, small-x behaviour, QCD Pomeron, "hot spots". * QCD fragmentation models, present and future. * Artificial neural networks in High Energy Physics. * New theoretical aspects of QCD at Super-High Energies (instanton-induced large cross- sections, baryon number violation and peculiar multi-quark production events, etc.).

Volume 21 provides the basis of the MHD theory in two extended reviews. The first review deals with high-temperature plasma equilibrium and stability in conventional stellarators (the steady state three-dimensional magnetic confinement systems). The second review considers the processes in the stationary plasma thrusters (SPT) created by one of the authors, A.I Morozov. In spite of the three-dimensional nature of stellarators, the author of the review, V.D. Pustovitov, has been able to give a concise presentation of basic ideas and results of the rather complicated theory of stellarators, both for specialists and for students in this field. The results of experimental and theoretical investigations of a new type of discharge device, SPT, are presented in the second review. Plasma thrusters generate quasi-neutral multi-ampere streams of ions with particle energies of 50 - 1000eV. They are most widely known as electric propulsion thrusters for spacecraft, and have been mounted onboard more than 50 Russian satellites. In addition, the SPTs are now used in technological systems for processing the surface layers of various products.

This volume contains the lectures and communications presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (NATO ARW 900857) which was held May 5-10, 1991 at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A scientific commitee made up of P.P. Lambropoulos (USC & Crete), P.8. Corkum (NRC, Ottawa), and H. B. vL. van den Heuvell (FOM, Amsterdam) guided the organizers, A.D. Bandrauk (Sherbrooke) and S.C. Wallace (Toronto) in preparing a programme which would cover the latest advances in the field of atom and molecule laser interactions. Since the last meeting held in July 1987 on "Atomic and Molecular Processes with Short Intense Laser Pulses", NATO ASI vol 1718 (Plenum Press 1988), considerable progress has been made in understanding high intensity effects on atoms and the concomitant coherence effects. After four years, the emphasis is now shifting more to molecules. The present volume represents therefore this trend with four sections covering the main interests of research endeavours in this area: i) Atoms in Intense Laser-Fields ii) Molecules in Intense Laser Fields iii) Atomic Coherences iv) Molecular Coherences The experience developed over the years in multiphoton atomic processes has been very useful and is the main source of our understanding of similar processes in molecules. Thus ATI (above threshold ionization) has been found to occur in molecules as well as a new phenomenon, ATD (above-threshold dissociation). Laser-induced avoided crossings of molecular electronic surfaces is also now entering the current language of high intensity molecular processes.

The aim of Advances in Nuclear Physics is to provide review papers which chart the field of nuclear physics with some regularity and completeness. We define the field of nuclear physics as that which deals with the structure and behavior of atomic nuclei. Although many good books and reviews on nuclear physics are available, none attempts to provide a coverage which is at the same time continuing and reasonably complete. Many people have felt the need for a new series to fill this gap and this is the ambition of Advances in Nuclear Physics. The articles will be aimed at a wide audience, from research students to active research workers. The selection of topics and their treatment will be varied but the basic viewpoint will be pedagogical. In the past two decades the field of nuclear physics has achieved its own identity, occupying a central position between elementary particle physics on one side and atomic and solid state physics on the other. Nuclear physics is remarkable both by its unity, which it derives from its concise boundaries, and by its amazing diversity, which stems from the multiplicity of experimental approaches and from the complexity of the nucleon-nucleon force. Physicists specializing in one aspect of this strongly unified, yet very complex, field find it imperative to stay well-informed of the other aspects. This provides a strong motivation for a comprehensive series of reviews.

Following the pioneering discovery of alpha clustering and of molecular resonances, the field of nuclear clustering is today one of those domains of heavy-ion nuclear physics that faces the greatest challenges, yet also contains the greatest opportunities. After many summer schools and workshops, in particular over the last decade, the community of nuclear molecular physicists has decided to collaborate in producing a comprehensive collection of lectures and tutorial reviews covering the field. This third volume follows the successful Lect. Notes Phys. 818 (Vol. 1) and 848 (Vol. 2), and comprises six extensive lectures covering the following topics: - Gamma Rays and Molecular Structure - Faddeev Equation Approach for Three Cluster Nuclear Reactions - Tomography of the Cluster Structure of Light Nuclei Via Relativistic Dissociation - Clustering Effects Within the Dinuclear Model : From Light to Hyper-heavy Molecules in Dynamical Mean-field Approach - Clusterization in Ternary Fission - Clusters in Light Neutron-rich Isotopes By promoting new ideas and developments while retaining a pedagogical style of presentation throughout, these lectures will serve as both a reference and an advanced teaching manual for future courses and schools in the fields of nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics.

Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Diagnostics for Magnetic and Inertial Fusion, held September 3-7, 2001 at Villa Monastero, Varenna, Italy. This volume focuses on future diagnostic requirements for fusion energy research emphasizing advanced diagnostics, new techniques and areas where further progress is required.

The first Asia-Pacific Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics took place from August 23 to August 28, 1999, at the Noda campus of the Sci ence University of Tokyo in Noda-city and Sawayaka Chiba Kenmin Plaza in Kashiwa-city, a suburb of Tokyo close to the Narita-Tokyo International Air port, with the Frontier Research Center for Computation Sciences (FRCCS) of the Science University of Tokyo as the host institute. The High Energy Accel erator Research Organization (KEK), the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP)-Osaka University, the Physical Society of Japan, and the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS) supported this conference. The conference was initiated in the Asia Pacific area as a counterpart to the successful European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (APFB99), in addition to the International Few-Body Conference Series and the Few Body Gordon Conference series in North America. The Physics of Few-Body Problems covers, as is well known, systems with finite numbers of particles in contrast to many-body systems with very large numbers of particles. Therefore, it covers such wide fields as mesoscopic, atom-molecular, exotic atom, nucleon, hyperon, and quark-gluon physics, plus their applications."

The Hiroshima Workshop on Transport and Thermal Properties of f-Electron Systems, T2PfS, was held in the hotel Greenpia Yasuura on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea near Hiroshima, Japan from August 30, to September 2, 1992, as a satellite meeting of the International Conference of Strongly Correlated Electron Systems in Sendai. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together those scientists who are actively involved in the research of 4f- and 5f-electron systems; particularly the transport and thermal properties such as electrical resistivity, Hall effect, thermoelectric power, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion and specific heat. Hence, the organizing committee limited the number of participants to 60; 25 from abroad and 35 from Japan. In the workshop, all the sessions consisted of oral presentations; 25 invited talks and 5 contributed talks, including at least 10 minutes of discussion for each presentation. The program was divided into the following five topics: [1] Kondo-lattice semiconductors, [2] superconductivity of f-electron systems, [3] anomalous transport and thermal properties of 4f- and 5f-compounds, [4] low-carrier heavy-electron systems and [5] theoretical investigation of heavy-electron and mixed-valence states. This division of topics has been retained in the organization of papers in this volume. Almost all of the invited and contributed papers are included. These papers include excellent reviews of both the recent advances and historical background of each topic. We believe this book would be a tutorial text for researchers working in the field of solid state physics.