This thesis presents neutron scattering data that contribute to the understanding of four distinct areas of condensed matter physics, including iso-compositional liquid-liquid phase transitions and the glass formation in rare earth doped BaTi2O5.

In situ aerodynamic levitation with laser heating was combined with neutron scattering in order to study both liquid-liquid phase transitions in (Y2O3)x(Al2O3)1-x and the atomic and magnetic ordering in liquid Invar. Among several significant results, obtained in this case from small angle neutron scattering, wasthe absence of a phase transition across a range of temperatures and compositions in the yttria aluminates.As these are a principal system in which liquid-liquid phase transitions have been hypothesized, this is an important contribution in a contentious area."

This book mainly focuses on the theoretical and experimental study of non-Fourier heat conduction behavior. A novel thermomass theory is used as the theoretical basis, which provides a general heat conduction equation for the accurate prediction of non-Fourier heat conduction. In order to prove the validity of this thermomass theory, a large current was used to heat the metallic nanofilm at the minimum temperature of 3 K. The measured average temperature of the nanofilm was notably higher than the prediction of Fourier's heat diffusion equation, while matching well with the general heat conduction equation. This is the first time that steady non-Fourier heat conduction has been observed. Moreover, this book concerns the role of electron-phonon interaction in metallic nanofilms, which involves the breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law at low temperatures and interfacial thermal resistance at femtosecond timescales. Readers will find useful information on non-Fourier heat conduction and the latest advances in the study of charge and heat transport in metallic nanofilms.

This book summarizes the actual state of the art and future trends of surface effects in solid mechanics. Surface effects are more and more important in the precise description of the behavior of advanced materials. One of the reasons for this is the well-known from the experiments fact that the mechanical properties are significantly influenced if the structural size is very small like, for example, nanostructures. In this book, various authors study the influence of surface effects in the elasticity, plasticity, viscoelasticity. In addition, the authors discuss all important different approaches to model such effects. These are based on various theoretical frameworks such as continuum theories or molecular modeling. The book also presents applications of the modeling approaches.

This book provides a systematic presentation of the principles and practices behind the synthesis and functionalization of graphene and grapheme oxide (GO), as well as the fabrication techniques for transparent conductors from these materials. Transparent conductors are used in a wide variety of photoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), solar cells, optical communication devices, and solid-state lighting. Thin films made from indium tin oxide (ITO) have thus far been the dominant source of transparent conductors, and now account for 50% of indium consumption. However, the price of Indium has increased 1000% in the last 10 years. Graphene, a two-dimensional monolayer of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, has attracted significant interest because of its unique transport properties. Because of their high optical transmittance and electrical conductivity, thin film electrodes made from graphene nanosheets have been considered an ideal candidate to replace expensive ITO films. Graphene for Transparent Conductors offers a systematic presentation of the principles, theories and technical practices behind the structure-property relationship of the thin films, which are the key to the successful development of high-performance transparent conductors. At the same time, the unique perspectives provided in the applications of graphene and GO as transparent conductors will serve as a general guide to the design and fabrication of thin film materials for specific applications.

Many technological applications exploit a variety of magnetic structures, or magnetic phases, to produce and optimise solid-state functionality. However, most research advances are restricted to a reduced number of phases owing to computational and resource constraints. This thesis presents an ab-initio theory to efficiently describe complex magnetic phases and their temperature-dependent properties. The central assumption is that magnetic phases evolve slowly compared with the underlying electronic structure from which they emerge. By describing how the electronic structure adapts to the type and extent of magnetic order, a theory able to describe multi-spin correlations and their effect on the magnetism at finite temperature is obtained. It is shown that multi-spin correlations are behind the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the diverse magnetism in the heavy rare earth elements. Magnetically frustrated Mn-based materials and the effect of strain are also investigated. These studies demonstrate that the performance of solid-state refrigeration can be enhanced by multi-spin effects.

This book addresses the application of methods used in statistical physics to complex systems-from simple phenomenological analogies to more complex aspects, such as correlations, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, the concept of free energy, renormalization group approach and scaling. Statistical physics contains a well-developed formalism that describes phase transitions. It is useful to apply this formalism for damage phenomena as well. Fractals, the Ising model, percolation, damage mechanics, fluctuations, free energy formalism, renormalization group, and scaling, are some of the topics covered in Statistical Physics of Phase Transitions.

Since its inception in 1966, the series of numbered volumes known as Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. The "Willardson and Beer" Series, as it is widely known, has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. Not only did many of these volumes make an impact at the time of their publication, but they continue to be well-cited years after their original release. Recently, Professor Eicke R. Weber of the University of California at Berkeley joined as a co-editor of the series. Professor Weber, a well-known expert in the field of semiconductor materials, will further contribute to continuing the series' tradition of publishing timely, highly relevant, and long-impacting volumes. Some of the recent volumes, such as Hydrogen in Semiconductors, Imperfections in III/V Materials, Epitaxial Microstructures, High-Speed Heterostructure Devices, Oxygen in Silicon, and others promise that this tradition will be maintained and even expanded.
Reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field that the series covers, the volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in modern industry.

This thesis presents first observations of superconductivity in one- or two-atomic-scale thin layer materials. The thesis begins with a historical overview of superconductivity and the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials, and mentions that these key ingredients lead to the possibility of the two-dimensional superconductor with high phase-transition temperature and critical magnetic field. Thereafter, the thesis moves its focus onto the implemented experiments, in which mainly two different materials thallium-deposited silicon surfaces and metal-intercalated bilayer graphenes, are used. The study of the first material is the first experimental demonstration of both a gigantic Rashba effect and superconductivity in the materials supposed to be superconductors without spatial inversion symmetry. The study of the latter material is relevant to superconductivity in a bilayer graphene, which was a big experimental challenge for a decade, and has been first achieved by the author. The description of the generic and innovative measurement technique, highly effective in probing electric resistivity of ultra-thin materials unstable in an ambient environment, makes this thesis a valuable source for researchers not only in surface physics but also in nano-materials science and other condensed-matter physics.

In the past decade, there has been a burst of new and fascinating physics associated to the unique properties of two-dimensional exciton polaritons, their recent demonstration of condensation under non-equilibrium conditions and all the related quantum phenomena, which have stimulated extensive research work. This monograph summarizes the current state of the art of research on exciton polaritons in microcavities: their interactions, fast dynamics, spin-dependent phenomena, temporal and spatial coherence, condensation under non-equilibrium conditions, related collective quantum phenomena and most advanced applications. The monograph is written by the most active authors who have strongly contributed to the advances in this area. It is of great interests to both physicists approaching this subject for the first time, as well as a wide audience of experts in other disciplines who want to be updated on this fast moving field.

This thesis offers a comprehensive introduction to surface acoustic waves in the quantum regime. It addresses two of the most significant technological challenges in developing a scalable quantum information processor based on spins in quantum dots: (i) decoherence of the electronic spin qubit due to the surrounding nuclear spin bath, and (ii) long-range spin-spin coupling between remote qubits. Electron spins confined in quantum dots (QDs) are among the leading contenders for implementing quantum information processing. To this end, the author pursues novel strategies that turn the unavoidable coupling to the solid-state environment (in particular, nuclear spins and phonons) into a valuable asset rather than a liability.

In-situ scattering and diffraction measurements using synchrotron and neutron beam lines have become a viable tool to look at the non-equilibrium processing of advanced materials. This volume presents the subject from the theoretical and experimental standpoint, in order to provide a closer insight into the different synchrotron and neutron diffraction techniques as well as innovative microscopy techniques.

It addresses the following items:

- Phase detection and quantification

- In-situ welding experiments

- Stress/strain build-up

- Model development and Simulation

- Analysis tools and programming

Since its inception in 1966, the series of numbered volumes known as Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. The "Willardson and Beer" Series, as it is widely known, has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. Not only did many of these volumes make an impact at the time of their publication, but they continue to be well-cited years after their original release. Recently, Professor Eicke R. Weber of the University of California at Berkeley joined as a co-editor of the series. Professor Weber, a well-known expert in the field of semiconductor materials, will further contribute to continuing the series' tradition of publishing timely, highly relevant, and long-impacting volumes. Some of the recent volumes, such as Hydrogen in Semiconductors, Imperfections in III/V Materials, Epitaxial Microstructures, High-Speed Heterostructure Devices, Oxygen in Silicon, and others promise indeed that this tradition will be maintained and even expanded.
Reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field that the series covers, the volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in modern industry.
Volumes 54 and 55 present contributions by leading researchers in the field of high pressure semiconductors. Edited by T. Suski and W. Paul, these volumes continue the tradition of well-known but outdated publications such as Brigman's The Physics of High Pressure (1931 and 1949) and High Pressure Physics and Chemistry edited by Bradley.
Volumes 54 and 55 reflectthe industrially important recent developments in research and applications of semiconductor properties and behavior under desirable risk-free conditions at high pressures. These developments include the advent of the diamond anvil cell technique and the availability of commercial piston-cylinder apparatus operating at high hydrostatic pressures. These much-needed books will be useful to both researchers and practitioners in applied physics, materials science, and engineering.

In his groundbreaking paper "Absence of diffusion in certain random lattices (1958)", Philip W Anderson originated, described and developed the physical principles underlying the phenomenon of the localization of quantum objects due to disorder. Anderson's 1977 Nobel Prize citation featured that paper, which was fundamental for many subsequent developments in condensed matter physics and technical applications. After more than a half century, the subject continues to be of fundamental importance. In particular, in the last 25 years, the phenomenon of localization has proved to be crucial for the understanding of the quantum Hall effect, mesoscopic fluctuations in small conductors, some aspects of quantum chaotic behavior, and the localization and collective modes of electromagnetic and matter waves.This unique and invaluable volume celebrates the five decades of the impact of Anderson localization on modern physics. In addition to the historical perspective on its origin, the volume provides a comprehensive description of the experimental and theoretical aspects of Anderson localization, together with its application in various areas, which include disordered metals and the metal-insulator transition, mesoscopic physics, classical systems and light, strongly-correlated systems, and mathematical models.The volume is edited by E Abrahams, who has been a contributor in the field of localization. A distinguished group of experts, each of whom has left his mark on the developments of this fascinating theory, contribute their personal insights in this volume. They are: A Amir (Weizmann Institute of Science), P W Anderson (Princeton University), G Bergmann (University of Southern California), M Buttiker (University of Geneva), K Byczuk (University of Warsaw & University of Augsburg), J Cardy (University of Oxford), S Chakravarty (University of California, Los Angeles), V Dobrosavljevic (Florida State University), R C Dynes (University of California, San Diego), K B Efetov (Ruhr University Bochum), F Evers (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), A M Finkel'stein (Weizmann Institute of Science & Texas A&M University), A Genack (Queens College, CUNY), N Giordano (Purdue University), I V Gornyi (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), W Hofstetter (Goethe University Frankfurt), Y Imry (Weizmann Institute of Science), B Kramer (Jacobs University Bremen), S V Kravchenko (Northeastern University), A MacKinnon (Imperial College London), A D Mirlin (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), M Moskalets (NTU "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute"), T Ohtsuki (Sophia University), P M Ostrovsky (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), A M M Pruisken (University of Amsterdam), T V Ramakrishnan (Indian Institute of Science), M P Sarachik (City College, CUNY), K Slevin (Osaka University), T Spencer (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), D J Thouless (University of Washington), D Vollhardt (University of Augsburg), J Wang (Queens College, CUNY), F J Wegner (Ruprecht-Karls-University) and P Woelfle (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).

Since its inception in 1966, the series of numbered volumes known as Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. The "Willardson and Beer" Series, as it is widely known, has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. Not only did many of these volumes make an impact at the time of their publication, but they continue to be well-cited years after their original release. Recently, Professor Eicke R. Weber of the University of California at Berkeley joined as a co-editor of the series. Professor Weber, a well-known expert in the field of semiconductor materials, will further contribute to continuing the series' tradition of publishing timely, highly relevant, and long-impacting volumes. Some of the recent volumes, such as Hydrogen in Semiconductors, Imperfections in III/V Materials, Epitaxial Microstructures, High-Speed Heterostructure Devices, Oxygen in Silicon, and others promise indeed that this tradition will be maintained and even expanded.
Reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field that the series covers, the volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in modern industry.
Volumes 54 and 55 present contributions by leading researchers in the field of high pressure semiconductors. Edited by T. Suski and W. Paul, these volumes continue the tradition of well-known but outdated publications such as Brigman's The Physics of High Pressure (1931 and 1949) and High Pressure Physics and Chemistry edited by Bradley.
Volumes 54 and 55 reflectthe industrially important recent developments in research and applications of semiconductor properties and behavior under desirable risk-free conditions at high pressures. These developments include the advent of the diamond anvil cell technique and the availability of commercial piston-cylinder apparatus operating at high hydrostatic pressures. These much-needed books will be useful to both researchers and practitioners in applied physics, materials science, and engineering.

Written by the inventor of Raman lasers, this reference describes their developments, fundamentals, operation characteristics and application methods. It is for optoelectronic researchers, system engineers and researchers in nonlinear optics, crystal optics and metrology.

The book covers recent advances and progress in understanding both the fundamental science of lasers interactions in materials science, as well as a special emphasis on emerging applications enabled by the irradiation of materials by pulsed laser systems. The different chapters illustrate how, by careful control of the processing conditions, laser irradiation can result in efficient material synthesis, characterization, and fabrication at various length scales from atomically-thin 2D materials to microstructured periodic surface structures. This book serves as an excellent resource for all who employ lasers in materials science, spanning such different disciplines as photonics, photovoltaics, and sensing, to biomedical applications.

The polycrystalline and nanocrystalline states play an increasingly important role in exploiting the properties of materials, encompassing applications as diverse as pharmaceuticals, catalysts, solar cells and energy storage. A knowledge of the three-dimensional atomic and molecular structure of materials is essential for understanding and controlling their properties, yet traditional single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods lose their power when only polycrystalline and nanocrystalline samples are available. It is here that powder diffraction and single-crystal electron diffraction techniques take over, substantially extending the range of applicability of the crystallographic principles of structure determination. This volume, a collection of teaching contributions presented at the Crystallographic Course in Erice in 2011, clearly describes the fundamentals and the state-of-the-art of powder diffraction and electron diffraction methods in materials characterisation, encompassing a diverse range of disciplines and materials stretching from archeometry to zeolites. As such, it is a comprehensive and valuable resource for those wishing to gain an understanding of the broad applicability of these two rapidly developing fields.

Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by F. Brommel, D. Kramer, H. Finkelmann Applications of Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by C. Ohm, M. Brehmer und R. Zentel Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Light, by Peter Palffy-Muhoray Electro-Opto-Mechanical Effects in Swollen Nematic Elastomers, by Kenji Urayama The Isotropic-to-Nematic Conversion in Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by Andrija Lebar, George Cordoyiannis, Zdravko Kutnjak und Bostjan Zalar Order and Disorder in Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers, by Wim H. de Jeu und Boris I. Ostrovskii"

While basic features of polarons were well recognized a long time ago and have been described in a number of review papers and textbooks, interest in the role of electron-phonon interactions and polaron dynamics in di?- ent materials has recently gone through a vigorous revival. Electron-phonon interactions have been shown to be relevant in many inorganic and organic semiconductors and polymers, colossal magnetoresistance oxides, and tra- port through nanowires and quantum dots also often depends on vibronic displacements of ions. These interactions presumably play a role in hi- temperature superconductors as well. The continued interest in polarons extends beyond the physical description of advanced materials. The ?eld has been a testing ground for analytical, semi-analytical, and numerical techniques, such as path integrals, strong-coupling perturbation expansion, advanced variational methods, exact diagonalization, Quantum Monte Carlo, and other techniques. This book reviews some recent developments in the ?eld of polarons, starting with the basics and covering a number of active directions of research. Single- and multipolaron theories have o?ered more insight into colossal magnetoresistance and in a broad spectrum of ph- ical properties of structures with reduced dimension and dimensionality such as transport, optical absorption, Raman scattering, photoluminescence, magneto-optics, etc. While nobody - at present - has a ?nal theory of hi- temperature superconductivity, we discuss one alternative (polaronic) route. We have bene?ted from discussions with many experts in the ?eld.

Since its inception in 1966, the series of numbered volumes known as Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. The "Willardson and Beer" Series, as it is widely known, has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. Not only did many of these volumes make an impact at the time of their publication, but they continue to be well-cited years after their original release. Recently, Professor Eicke R. Weber of the University of California at Berkeley joined as a co-editor of the series. Professor Weber, a well-known expert in the field of semiconductor materials, will further contribute to continuing the series' tradition of publishing timely, highly relevant, and long-impacting volumes. Some of the recent volumes, such as Hydrogen in Semiconductors, Imperfections in III/V Materials, Epitaxial Microstructures, High-Speed Heterostructure Devices, Oxygen in Silicon, and others promise indeed that this tradition will be maintained and even expanded.
Reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field that the series covers, the volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in modern industry.

The common belief is that light is completely reflected by metals. In reality they also exhibit an amazing property that is not so widely known: under some conditions light flows along a metallic surface as if it were glued to it. Physical phenomena related to these light waves, which are called Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP), have given rise to the research field of plasmonics. This thesis explores four interesting topics within plasmonics: extraordinary optical transmission, negative refractive index metamaterials, plasmonic devices for controlling SPPs, and field enhancement phenomena near metal nanoparticles.

Conformations and Solution Properties of Star-Branched Polyelectrolytes, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaterina B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers, Matthias Ballauff and Axel H. E. Muller; Self-Assembled Structures of Amphiphilic Ionic Block Copolymers: Theory, Self-Consistent Field Modeling and Experiment, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaternia B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers and Axel H. E. Muller; Interpolyelectrolyte Complexes Based on Polyionic Species of Branched Topology, by Dmitry V. Pergushov, Oleg V. Borisov, Alexander B. Zezin and Axel H. E. Muller; Co-assembly of Charged Copolymers as a Novel Pathway Towards Reversible Janus Micelles, by Ilja K. Voets, Frans A. Leermakers, Arie de Keizer, Marat Charlaganov and Martien A. Cohen Stuart; Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Tool for Investigating the Self-Organized Polyelectrolyte Systems, by Karel Prochazka, Zuzana Limpouchova, Filip Uhlik, Peter Ko ovan, Pavel Matejicek, Miroslav tepanek, Mariusz Uchman, Jitka Kuldova, Radek achl, Jana Humpolickova, and M. Hof

Advances in the Theory of Atomic and Molecular Systems, is a collection of contributions presenting recent theoretical and computational developments that provide new insights into the structure, properties, and behavior of a variety of atomic and molecular systems. This volume (subtitled: Conceptual and Computational Advances in Quantum Chemistry) focuses on electronic structure theory and its foundations.

This volume is an invaluable resource for faculty, graduate students, and researchers interested in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics, physical chemistry and chemical physics, molecular spectroscopy, and related areas of science and engineering.