This book contains important contributions from top international scientists on the-state-of-the-art of femtochemistry and femtobiology at the beginning of the new millennium. It consists of reviews and papers on ultrafast dynamics in molecular science.The coverage of topics highlights several important features of molecular science from the viewpoint of structure (space domain) and dynamics (time domain). First of all, the book presents the latest developments, such as experimental techniques for understanding ultrafast processes in gas, condensed and complex systems, including biological molecules, surfaces and nanostructures. At the same time it stresses the different ways to control the rates and pathways of reactive events in chemistry and biology. Particular emphasis is given to biological processes as an area where femtodynamics is becoming very useful for resolving the structural dynamics from techniques such as electron diffraction, and X-ray and IR spectroscopy. Finally, the latest developments in quantum control (in both theory and experiment) and the experimental pulse-shaping techniques are described.

The purpose of this text is to present the theory and mathematics of inverse scattering, in a simple way, to the many researchers and professionals who use it in their everyday research. While applications range across a broad spectrum of disciplines, examples in this text will focus primarly, but not exclusively, on acoustics. The text will be especially valuable for those applied workers who would like to delve more deeply into the fundamentally mathematical character of the subject matter.
Practitioners in this field comprise applied physicists, engineers, and technologists, whereas the theory is almost entirely in the domain of abstract mathematics. This gulf between the two, if bridged, can only lead to improvement in the level of scholarship in this highly important discipline. This is the book's primary focus.

This book is an interdisciplinary introduction to optical collapse of laser beams, which is modelled by singular (blow-up) solutions of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. With great care and detail, it develops the subject including the mathematical and physical background and the history of the subject. It combines rigorous analysis, asymptotic analysis, informal arguments, numerical simulations, physical modelling, and physical experiments. It repeatedly emphasizes the relations between these approaches, and the intuition behind the results. The Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation will be useful to graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics who are interested in singular solutions of partial differential equations, nonlinear optics and nonlinear waves, and to graduate students and researchers in physics and engineering who are interested in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensates. It can be used for courses on partial differential equations, nonlinear waves, and nonlinear optics. Gadi Fibich is a Professor of Applied Mathematics at Tel Aviv University. "This book provides a clear presentation of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation and its applications from various perspectives (rigorous analysis, informal analysis, and physics). It will be extremely useful for students and researchers who enter this field." Frank Merle, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise and Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, France

Dynamics of an open system interacting with theenvironment considered as a thermostate may be formulatedin terms of a master equation with an integral operator allowing for the relaxation process, [Zwanzig 1960]. In some part- ular cases this operator hasashort-lastingkernel that enables one to consider therelaxation as a Markovian process and to obtainthe master equation inthe Lindblad form, [Lindblad 1976 (a)]. In some situations the memory effects become, however, important and the dynamics of thesystem gets much more involved, [Barnett 2001]. A similar situation arises inthe case where a set of consecutive or continuous measurements is performed. The purpose of this article is to consider a situation where some simplification of the generalform of the master equation with memory isstill possibleand the result isasimpler master equation. In particular, we consider the case of a dynamic system c- pled to a measured ancilla via a nondemolition interaction, [Caves 1980]. This simplifies the consideration essentiallywhereas providing an important special case inwhich the energy of the dynamic part is conserved. We consider a composite quantum system consisting of a dynamic part - teracting with an ancillary part, the latter being subject to repeated projective measurements. The entire quantum system is assumed to evolve unitarily d- ing time ? t between the measurements. As a specific example, we analyze a harmonic oscillator coupledtoatwo-level ancillathat issubject to measu- ments.

This volume is a compilation of significant papers by leading scientists exploring exciting frontiers of physics. It presents the latest results in well-defined fields as well as fields represented by the interfaces between mainstream sciences.G 't Hooft is the 1999 Nobel Laureate in Physics and A Richter is the Stern-Gerlach prize recipient of 2000.

Atomic Physics is certainly the oldest field in which Quantum Mechanics has been used and has provided the most significant proofs of this new theory. Most of the basic concepts, except those more recently developed in field quantization, have been understood for quite a time. Atomic Physics began to serve as a basis for other fields such as molecu lar, solid state or nuclear physics. A renewal of interest in Atomic Physics began in the sixties, after the discovery of Quantum Electro dynamics, and later when it provided some basic tests of fundamental questions like parity violation, time reversal or Dirac theory. More recently the development of new technologies led to the ex ploration of very extreme cases in which the most secrete aspects of atoms have been observed. - Rydberg states where the atoms are so big that they can be described by classical theories; - Heavy or super-heavy ions or exotic atoms where unknown QED or relativistic effects can be observed (very heavy hydrogenlike or helium like ions, positron production in very violent collisions **. ); - Huge external perturbations as those appearing in super-dense plasmas or ultra-high fields. The aim of this school was to gather atomic physicists from all over the world working in all these areas of Atomic Physics.

Soon after she became involved in the didactics of physics, the author of this book realized that the transfer of new discoveries in physics into schools and to undergraduate programs is almost non-existent.

Hardbound. The proceedings of this workshop focus on recent developments in and research on heavy ion collisions. Furthermore it covers the physics which can be carried out by radioactive beams and with heavy ion storage rings. It contains review articles which examine in depth the latest research results and presents a state-of-art view of this fast exanding field. All the chapters are written by leading experts active in the field today.

Although introduced30 years ago, the J-matrix method has witnessed a resurgence of interest in the last few years. In fact, the interest never ceased, as some authors have found in this method an effective way of handling the continuous spectrum of scattering operators, in addition to other operators. The motivation behind the introduction of the J-matrix method will be presented in brief. The introduction of fast computing machines enabled theorists to perform cal- lations, although approximate, in a conveniently short period of time. This made it possible to study varied scenarios and models, and the effects that different possible parameters have on the ?nal results of such calculations. The ?rst area of research that bene?ted from this opportunity was the structural calculation of atomic and nuclear systems. The Hamiltonian element of the system was set up as a matrix in a convenient, ?nite, bound-state-like basis. A matrix of larger size resulted in a better con?guration interaction matrix that was subsequently diagonalized. The discrete energy eigenvalues thus obtained approximated the spectrum of the system, while the eigenfunctions approximated the wave function of the resulting discrete state. Structural theorists were delighted because they were able to obtain very accurate values for the lowest energy states of interest.

This monograph assimilates new research in the field of low-dimensional metals. It provides a detailed overview of the current status of research on quasi-one- and two-dimensional molecular metals, describing normal-state properties, magnetic field effects, superconductivity, and the phenomena of interacting p and d electrons. It includes a number of findings likely to become standard material in future textbooks on solid-state physics.

This book covers high-transition temperature (Tc) s-wave superconductivity and the neighboring Mott insulating phase in alkali-doped fullerides. The author presents (1) a unified theoretical description of the phase diagram and (2) a nonempirical calculation of Tc. For these purposes, the author employs an extension of the DFT+DMFT (density-functional theory + dynamical mean-field theory). He constructs a realistic electron-phonon-coupled Hamiltonian with a newly formulated downfolding method. The Hamiltonian is analyzed by means of the extended DMFT. A notable aspect of the approach is that it requires only the crystal structure as a priori knowledge. Remarkably, the nonempirical calculation achieves for the first time a quantitative reproduction of the experimental phase diagram including the superconductivity and the Mott phase. The calculated Tc agrees well with the experimental data, with the difference within 10 K. The book provides details of the computational scheme, which can also be applied to other superconductors and other phonon-related topics. The author clearly describes a superconducting mechanism where the Coulomb and electron -phonon interactions show an unusual cooperation in the superconductivity thanks to the Jahn-Teller nature of the phonons.

Lattice field theory is the most reliable tool for investigating non-perturbative phenomena in particle physics. It has also become a cross-discipline, overlapping with other physical sciences and computer science. This book covers new developments in the area of algorithms, statistical physics, parallel computers and quantum computation, as well as recent advances concerning the standard model and beyond, the QCD vacuum, the glueball, hadron and quark masses, finite temperature and density, chiral fermions, SUSY, and heavy quark effective theory.

Seven review articles and original papers provide a representative overview of the research work done in hydrogen bond research at Austrian universities. The topics covered by the contributions are: state-of-the-art of understanding hydrogen bonding in biopolymers; recent NMR techniques for studying hydrogen bonding in aqueous solutions; intramolecular hydrogen bonding and proton transfer in a class of Mannich bases derived from substituted phenols and naphthols; competition between intramolecular hydrogen bonds in ortho-disubstituted phenols; molecular dynamic simulations on proton transfer in 5,8-dihydroxynaphthoquinone and in the formic acid dimer; accurate calculations of the intermolecular interactions in cyanoacetylen dimers; correlation between OH...O bond distances and OH stretching frequencies as derived from structural and spectroscopic data of minerals.

This book contains the proceedings of the Gregory Breit Centennial Symposium. The legacy of Breit to atomic, nuclear and particle physics is discussed vis-a-vis modern developments in these fields. Among other subjects, the present status of the Breit interaction in atomic physics and of the nucleon-nucleon interaction are reviewed. The second part of the book contains a more in-depth presentation of the status of modern nuclear physics, from relativistic heavy ion physics to nuclear structure physics and nuclear astrophysics. The recently confirmed discovery of supersymmetry in nuclei is also discussed.

Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute gases is an exciting new field of interdisciplinary physics. The eight chapters in this volume introduce its theoretical and experimental foundations. The authors are lucid expositors who have also made outstanding contributions to the field. They include theorists Tony Leggett, Allan Griffin and Keith Burnett, and Nobel-Prize-winning experimentalist Bill Phillips. In addition to the introductory material, there are articles treating topics at the forefront of research, such as experimental quantum phase engineering of condensates, the "superchemistry" of interacting atomic and molecular condensates, and atom laser theory.

A comprehensive review of ion beam application in modern materials research is provided, including the basics of ion beam physics and technology. The physics of ion-solid interactions for ion implantation, ion beam synthesis, sputtering and nano-patterning is treated in detail. Its applications in materials research, development and analysis, developments of special techniques and interaction mechanisms of ion beams with solid state matter result in the optimization of new material properties, which are discussed thoroughly. Solid-state properties optimization for functional materials such as doped semiconductors and metal layers for nano-electronics, metal alloys, and nano-patterned surfaces is demonstrated. The ion beam is an important tool for both materials processing and analysis. Researchers engaged in solid-state physics and materials research, engineers and technologists in the field of modern functional materials will welcome this text.

This book ushers in a new era of experimental and theoretical investigations into collective processes, structure formation, and self-organization of nuclear matter. It reports the results of experiments wherein for the first time the nuclei constituting our world (those displayed in Mendeleev's table as well as the super-heavy ones) have been artificially created. Pioneering breakthroughs are described, achieved at the Proton-21 Laboratory, Kiev, Ukraine, in a variety of new physical and technological directions.A detailed description of the main experiments, their analyses, and the interpretation of copious experimental data are given, along with the methodology governing key measurements and the processing algorithms of the data that empirically confirm the occurrence of macroscopic self-organizing processes leading to the nuclear transformations of various materials.

Fullerene Polymers and Fullerene Polymer Composites is an in-depth experimental and theoretical account of polymers and composites whose unusual properties, such as, photophysical phenomena, electrical transport, phase transitions and magnetic properties, stem from the incorporation of C60 in the material. Each chapter is written by an internationally renowned expert who has published extensively in this sub-field of fullerene materials. Introductory chapters on the fundamental properties of fullerenes (C60, C70) and photophysical phenomena in fullerenes and polymers are also included.

Highly charged ions are the most chemically reactive species known to mankind. This reactivity is due to the extremely large potential energy they posses. This textbook deals with the wide range of interactions which occur when such ions interact with other forms of matter, especially solid surfaces and gasses. Particular emphasis is placed on situations where the kinetic energy associated with the interactions is small so that the effects of the high potential energy are most apparent. Experimental and theoretical techniques of investigation are covered in addition to the findings they produce.
The treatment aims to be instructive to the beginner while leading on to a level where the newest findings are reviewed. As such the text is suitable for final year undergraduates, postgraduates or experienced researchers.

This book provides a coherent and comprehensive overview of the generation and application of mono-energetic positron beams. It has been written by acknowledged experts, at a level accessible to graduate students working, or planning to work, with positron beams, and to scientists in other areas who want to know something about the field.

The book begins with a brief historical introduction and an overview of how positron beams are generated and transported. A description of the fate of slow positrons in gaseous and condensed matter, with reference to many of the fundamental measurements made possible by the advent of positron beams, is followed by a discussion on applications in the study of solid surfaces, defect profiling in subsurface regions, interfaces and thin films, and the probing of bulk properties in novel ways. The book ends with a look at the future, considering the prospects for intense positron beams and their potential for further research.

The first presentation of the novel interdisciplinary optical remote sensing technique for various ionized diluted media, based on the collisional polarization of the spectoral emission. The book provides a methodology of the impact spectropolarimetic sensing of many solutions to many practical diagnostic problems.

Since the early days of modem physics spectroscopic techniques have been employed as a powerful tool to assess existing theoretical models and to uncover novel phenomena that promote the development of new concepts. Conventionally, the system to be probed is prepared in a well-defined state. Upon a controlled perturbation one measures then the spectrum of a single particle (electron, photon, etc.) emitted from the probe. The analysis of this single particle spectrum yields a wealth of important information on the properties of the system, such as optical and magnetic behaviour. Therefore, such analysis is nowadays a standard tool to investigate and characterize a variety of materials. However, it was clear at a very early stage that real physical compounds consist of many coupled particles that may be excited simultaneously in response to an external perturbation. Yet, the simultaneous (coincident) detection of two or more excited species proved to be a serious technical obstacle, in particular for extended electronic systems such as surfaces. In recent years, however, coincidence techniques have progressed so far as to image the multi-particle excitation spectrum in an impressive detail. Correspondingly, many-body theoretical concepts have been put forward to interpret the experimental findings and to direct future experimental research. This book gives a snapshot of the present status of multi-particle coincidence studies both from a theoretical and an experimental point of view. It also includes selected topical review articles that highlight the achievements and the power of coincident techniques.

Molecular Materials with Specific Interactions: Modeling and Design has a very interdisciplinary character and is intended to provide basic information as well as the details of theory and examples of its application to experimentalists and theoreticians interested in modeling molecular properties and putting into practice rational design of new materials. One of the first requirements to initiate the molecular modeling of molecular materials is an accurate and realistic description of the electronic structure, intermolecular interactions and chemical reactions at microscopic and macroscopic scale. Therefore the first four chapters contain an extensive introduction into the latest theories of intermolecular interactions, functional density techniques, microscopic and mezoscopic modeling techniques as well as first-principle molecular dynamics.

The latest developments in quantum and classical molecular dynamics, related techniques, and their applications to several fields of science and engineering. Molecular simulations include a broad range of methodologies such as Monte Carlo, Brownian dynamics, lattice dynamics, and molecular dynamics (MD).

Features of this book:

- Presents advances in methodologies, introduces quantum methods and lists new techniques for classical MD

- Deals with complex systems: biomolecules, aqueous solutions, ice and clathrates, liquid crystals, polymers

- Provides chemical reactions, interfaces, catalysis, surface phenomena and solids

Although the book is not formally divided into methods and applications, the chapters are arranged starting with those that discuss new algorithms, methods and techniques, followed by several important applications.

A collection of infrared and Raman spectra of 500 natural and synthetic polymers of industrial importance is presented in this book. A large variety of compounds are included, starting with linear polyolefins and finishing with complex biopolymers and related compounds. The spectra were registered using Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometers in the laboratory of the All-Russia Institute of Forensic Sciences. The IR and Raman spectra are presented together on the same sheet. The accompanying data include general and structure formulae, CAS register numbers, and sample preparation conditions.

Features of this book:

Continues the long tradition of publishing specific and standard data of new chemical compounds.

For low-molecular weight substances, complementary IR and Raman spectra are featured on the same sample and printed on the same page. This "fingerprint" data allows the substance of the sample to be identified without doubt.

An important feature of this unique collection of data is the increase in the identification precision of unknown substances.

Peak tables are available in digital (ASCII) format, on a diskette delivered with the book. This allows the user to search for unknowns.

All the spectra in the collection are base-line corrected.

This book will be of interest to scientists involved in the synthesis of new polymeric materials, polymer identification, and quality control. Libraries of scientific institutes, research centers, and universities involved in vibrational spectroscopy will also find this collection invaluable."