Quantum mechanics is the set of laws of physics which, to the best of our knowledge, provides a complete account of the microworld. One of its chap ters, quantum electrodynamics (QED), is able to account for the quantal phenomena of relevance to daily life (electricity, light, liquids and solids, etc.) with great accuracy. The language of QED, field theory, has proved to be uni versal providing the theoretical basis to describe the behaviour of many-body systems. In particular finite many-body systems (FMBS) like atomic nuclei, metal clusters, fullerenes, atomic wires, etc. That is, systems made out of a small number of components. The properties of FMBS are expected to be quite different from those of bulk matter, being strongly conditioned by quantal size effects and by the dynamical properties of the surface of these systems. The study of the elec tronic and of the collective behaviour (plasmons and phonons) of FMBS and of their interweaving, making use of well established first principle quantum (field theoretical) techniques, is the main subject of the present monograph. The interest for the study of FMBS was clearly stated by Feynman in his address to the American Physical Society with the title "There is plenty of room at the bottom." On this occasion he said among other things: "When we get to the very, very small world - say circuits of seven atoms - we have a lot of new things that would happen that represent completely new opportunities for design" 1]."

Quantum and chaos, key concepts in contemporary science, are incompatible by nature. This volume presents an investigation into quantum transport in mesoscopic or nanoscale systems which are classically chaotic and shows the success and failure of quantal, semiclassical, and random matrix theories in dealing with questions emerging from the mesoscopic cosmos. These traditional theories are critically analysed, and this leads to a new direction. To reconcile quantum with chaos and to restore genuine temporal chaos in quantum systems, a time-discrete variant of quantum dynamics is proposed. Audience: This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics, chemistry and mathematics, whose work involves fundamental questions of quantum mechanics in chaotic systems.

Every reader interested in understanding the important problems in physics and astrophysics and their historic development over the past 60 years will enjoy this book immensely. The philosophy, history and the individual views of famous scientists of the 20th century known personally to the author, make this book fascinating for non-physicists, too.

Dry granular materials, such as sand, sugar and powders, can be poured into a container like a liquid and can also form a pile, resisting gravity like a solid, which is why they can be regarded as a fourth state of matter, neither solid nor liquid. This book focuses on defining the physics of dry granular media in a systematic way, providing a collection of articles written by recognised experts. The physics of this field is new and full of challenges, but many questions (such as kinetic theories, plasticity, continuum and discrete modelling) also require the strong participation of mechanical and chemical engineers, soil mechanists, geologists and astrophysicists. The book gathers into a single volume the relevant concepts from all these disciplines, enabling the reader to gain a rapid understanding of the foundations, as well as the open questions, of the physics of granular materials. The contributors have been chosen particularly for their ability to explain new concepts, making the book attractive to students or researchers contemplating a foray into the field. The breadth of the treatment, on the other hand, makes the book a useful reference for scientists who are already experienced in the subject.

Considering the high level of our knowledge concerning covalent bond formation in the organic chemistry of molecules, our understanding of the principles involved in organic solid design is almost in its infancy. While chemists today are able to synthesize organic molecules of very high complexity using sophisticated methods of preparation, they lack general approaches enabling them to reliably predict organic crystalline or solid structures from molecular descriptors - no matter how simple they are. On the other hand, nearly all the organic matter surrounding us is not in the single-molecule state but aggregated and condensed to form liquid or solid molecular assemblages and structural arrays giving rise to the appearances and properties of organic compounds we usually observe. Obviously, the electrical, optical or magnetic properties of solid organic materials that are important requirements for future technologies and high-tech applications, as well as the stability and solubility behavior of a medicament depend on the structure of the molecule and the intramolecular forces, but even more decisively on the intermolecular forces, i. e. the packing structure of the molecules to which a general approach is lacking. This situation concerned ]. Maddox some years ago to such a degree that he described it as "one of the continuing scandals in the physical sciences" [see (1998) Nature 335:201; see also Ball, P. (1996) Nature 381:648]. The problem of predicting organic solid and crystal structures is very dif- cult.

Supercritical fluids which are neither gas nor liquid, but can be compressed gradually from low to high density, are gaining increasing importance as tunable solvents and reaction media in the chemical process industry. By adjusting the pressure, or more strictly the density, the properties of these fluids are customized and manipulated for the particular process at hand, be it a physical transformation, such as separation or solvation, or a chemical transformation, such as a reaction or reactive extraction. Supercritical fluids, however, differ from both gases and liquids in many respects. In order to properly understand and describe their properties, it is necessary to know the implications of their nearness to criticality, to be aware of the complex types of phase separation (including solid phases) that occur when the components of the fluid mixture are very different from each other, and to develop theories that can cope with the large differences in molecular size and shape of the supercritical solvent and the solutes that are present.

The interaction of an electron beam with a solid target has been studied since the early part of the past century. Since 1960, the electron-solid interaction hasbecomethesubjectofanumberofinvestigators'workowingtoitsfun- mental role in scanning electron microscopy, in electron-probe microanalysis, in Auger electron spectroscopy, in electron-beam lithography and in radiation damage. The interaction of an electron beam with a solid target has often been investigated theoretically by using the Monte Carlo method, a nume- cal procedure involving random numbers that is able to solve mathematical problems. This method is very useful for the study of electron penetration in matter. The probabilistic laws of the interaction of an individual electron with the atoms constituting the target are well known. Consequently, it is possible to compute the macroscopic characteristics of interaction processes by simulating a large number of real trajectories, and then averaging them. The aim of this book is to study the probabilistic laws of the interaction of individual electrons with atoms (elastic and inelastic cross-sections); to - vestigate selected aspects of electron interaction with matter (backscattering coe?cients for bulk targets, absorption, backscattering and transmission for both supported and unsupported thin ?lms, implantation pro?les, seconda- electron emission, and so on); and to introduce the Monte Carlo method and its applications to compute the macroscopic characteristics of the inter- tion processes mentioned above. The book compares theory, computational simulations and experimental data in order to o?er a more global vision.

The future of information technology requires ultra-high speed processing and large data storage capacity. Since the electronics technology using semi-cond- tors and inorganic materials is about to reach its limits, much current research is focused on utilizing much faster photons than electrons, namely photonics. To achieve any significant effect on the actual use of the science of photonics, dev- opments of more efficient photonics materials, better optical property evaluations, manufacture of devices for system applications, etc. are the subjects which need to be explored. In particular, the development of photonics materials stands in the forefront of research as this constitutes the most pertinent factor with regard to the development of ultra-high speed and large capacity information processing. In this respect, there has been continuous research on photo-responsive materials through molecular structure design and architecture and the results so far are very promising as functions and performances are beginning to realize their high expectations. The two special volumes "Polymers for Photonics Applications"give authori- tive and critical reviews on up-to-date activities in various fields of photonic po- mers including their promising applications. Seven articles have been contributed by internationally recognized and they deal with, polymers for second- and thi- order nonlinear optics, quadratic parametric interactions in polymer waveguides, electroluminescent polymers as light sources, photoreflective polymers for ho- graphic information storage, and highly efficient two-photon absorbing organics and polymers.

Solid-State Imaging with Charge-Coupled Devices covers the complete imaging chain: from the CCD's fundamentals to the applications. The book is divided into four main parts: the first deals with the basics of the charge-coupled devices in general. The second explains the imaging concepts in close relation to the classical television application. Part three goes into detail on new developments in the solid-state imaging world (light sensitivity, noise, device architectures), and part four rounds off the discussion with a variety of applications and the imager technology. The book is a reference work intended for all who deal with one or more aspects of solid- state imaging: the educational, scientific and industrial world. Graduates, undergraduates, engineers and technicians interested in the physics of solid-state imagers will find the answers to their imaging questions. Since each chapter concludes with a short section Worth Memorizing', reading this short summary allows readers to continue their reading without missing the main message from the previous section.

In this volume we aim to introduce recent progress in the study of aperiodic materials, which include icosahedral clusters, amorphous metals, quasicrys- tals, glasses, and liquids. Quasicrystals, discovered in 1984, correspond to a kind of revolution in our understanding of crystallography, wherein the five-fold rotational symmetry was prohibited in long-range ordered systems. Various interesting physicochemical properties of these materials strongly depend on structural inhomogeneity at the microscopic level, and the small angle X-ray scattering method is widely used to analyze such structures. These new materials provide fundamental improvements to materials prop- erties, and are not only scientifically interesting but also industrially impor- tant for applications such as ultrafine magnetic recording media and future electronic devices. This book contains three chapters. The first chapter, written by H. Tanaka and T. Fujiwara, deals with 'Electronic Structure in Aperiodic Materials', and reviews the application of theoretical methods to determine the elec- tronic structures and resulting properties of amorphous metals, quasicrys- tals, and liquids. The second chapter, written by Y. Waseda, K. Sugiyama, and A. H. Shinohara, covers the recent topic of 'Anomalous Small Angle X- ray Scattering for Structural Inhomogeneity of Materials', starting with its fundamentals. The third chapter, 'Icosahedral Clusters in RE(TM - Al h3 1 x x Amorphous Alloys', by K. Fukamichi, A. Fujita, T. H. Chang, E. Matsubara, and Y.

This two-volume work provides a comprehensive study of the statistical mechanics of lattice models. It introduces readers to the main topics and the theory of phase transitions, building on a firm mathematical and physical basis. Volume 1 contains an account of mean-field and cluster variation methods successfully used in many applications in solid-state physics and theoretical chemistry, as well as an account of exact results for the Ising and six-vertex models and those derivable by transformation methods.

M. C. Roco and W.S. Bainbridge In the early decades of the 21st century, concentrated efforts can unify science based on the unity of nature, thereby advancing the combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, converging in human abilities, societal technologies could achieve a tremendous improvement outcomes, the nation's productivity, and the quality of life. This is a broad, cross cutting, emerging and timely opportunity of interest to individuals, society and humanity in the long term. The phrase "convergent technologies" refers to the synergistic combination of four major "NBIC" (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate: (a) nanoscience and nanotechnology; (b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering; (c) information technology, including advanced computing and communications; (d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience. Timely and Broad Opportunity. Convergence of diverse technologies is based on material unity at the nanoscale and on technology integration from that scale."

Flux quantization experiments indicate that the carriers, Cooper pairs (pairons), in the supercurrent have charge magnitude 2e, and that they move independently. Josephson interference in a Superconducting Quantum Int- ference Device (SQUID) shows that the centers of masses (CM) of pairons move as bosons with a linear dispersion relation. Based on this evidence we develop a theory of superconductivity in conventional and mate- als from a unified point of view. Following Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) we regard the phonon exchange attraction as the cause of superc- ductivity. For cuprate superconductors, however, we take account of both optical- and acoustic-phonon exchange. BCS started with a Hamiltonian containing "electron" and "hole" kinetic energies and a pairing interaction with the phonon variables eliminated. These "electrons" and "holes" were introduced formally in terms of a free-electron model, which we consider unsatisfactory. We define "electrons" and "holes" in terms of the cur- tures of the Fermi surface. "Electrons" (1) and "holes" (2) are different and so they are assigned with different effective masses: Blatt, Schafroth and Butler proposed to explain superconductivity in terms of a Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) of electron pairs, each having mass M and a size. The system of free massive bosons, having a quadratic dispersion relation: and moving in three dimensions (3D) undergoes a BEC transition at where is the pair density.

The rapidly-developing field of confined polymers is reviewed in this volume. Special emphasis is given to polymer aspects of this interdisciplinary problem. Taken together, the contributions offer ample evidence of how the field of polymer science continues to evolve with the passage of time. The topics revolve around the tendency of surfaces to impede chain relaxation and to stimulate new sorts of chain organization. These have been implicated in a variety of spectacular phenomena. Here is a listing of authors and affiliations: K. Binder (Johannes Gutenberg-Universit t Mainz, Germany); P.-G. de Gennes (College de France, France); E.P. Giannelis, R. Krishnamoorti, and E. Manias (Cornell University and University of Houston, USA); G.S. Grest (Exxon Research and Engineering Co., USA); L. Leger, E. Raphael, and H. Hervet (College de France, France); S.-Q. Wang (Case Western Reserve University, USA).

Springer-Verlag 2003 This issue is dedicated to Doctor Shuji Saito on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his ?rst paper published in the Journal of German Colloid Society. The paper entitled ''Die Solubilisation von Polyvinylazetat'' by N. Sata and S. Saito appeared in the Kolloid Zeitschrift (1952) 128: 154. According to the title, the paper dealt with the solubilization of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions. The authors observed that PVAc, a water-insoluble polymer, is c- pletely dissolved by micellar SDS solutions, a result that mostly intrigued them. One has to recall that at that time, the micellar solubilization was the only available theory to explain the dissolution of hydrophobic compounds in micellar systems. The theory worked well in the case of low molecular weight compounds like hydrocarbons, oleophilic dyes, etc., which are solubilized in the inner core of the micelle, but how can a small micelle accommodate a giant polymer molecule? To solve this problem Sata and Saito originally proposed a model consisting of surfactant aggregates formed along the polymer backbone. The model based on simple viscometric measurements was later in the eighties con?rmed by the advent of the more sophisticated neutron scattering technique and is nowadays called the ''necklace model''. During his career, Dr.

It is widely recognized that an understanding of the optical pro perties of matter will give a great deal of important information re levant to the fundamental physical properties. This is especially true in semiconductor physics for which, due to the intrinsic low screening of these materials, the optical response is quite rich. Their spectra reflect indeed as well electronic as spin or phonon transitions. This is also in the semiconductor field that artificial structures have been recently developed, showing for the first time specific physical properties related to the low dimentionality of the electronic and vi bronic properties: with this respect the quantum and fractional quan tum Hall effects are among the most well known aspects. The associated reduced screening is also a clear manifestation of these aspects and as such favors new optical properties or at least significantly enhan ces some of them. For all these reasons, it appeared necessary to try to review in a global way what the optical investigation has brought today about the understanding of the physics of semiconductors. This volume collects the papers presented at the NATO Advanced study Inst i tut e on "Optical Properties of Semiconductors" held at the Ettore Majorana Centre, Erice, Sicily on March 9th to 20th, 1992. This school brought together 70 scientists active in research related to optical properties of semiconductors. There were 12 lecturers who pro vided the main contributions ."

The classical view on polymer crystallization basically focused on the expla- tion of a few macroscopically observable parameters like the thickness of the resulting lamellar structure and the corresponding growth rates. However, the emerging paradigm for the description of chain crystals is too simple and cannot account for the complex non-equilibrium processes responsible for structure f- mation on various levels, ranging from the nanometer up to the millimeter scale. This complexity detected by several novel experimental results led to a renewed interest in this "old" topic of polymer crystallization. These new ?ndings c- cern the early stages of the crystallization process, crystal formation in con?ned geometries like ultra-thin ?lms and the competition between (micro)phase s- aration and crystallization in copolymers and blends. In particular, high spatial resolution techniques such as atomic force microscopy provided deeper insight into the molecular organization of crystallizable polymers. Computer simu- tions based on microscopic processes were used to improve our understanding of how polymer crystals are nucleated and how they grow. New ideas emerged about possible multistage pathways which are followed during the formation of polymer lamellae. The importance and the consequences of the non-equilibrium character of polymer crystals got signi?cantly more attention. Links and ana- gies to growth phenomena and pattern formation in general are being developed. However, these ideas are still subject of intensive and controversial discussions.

th Superconductivity occ upies as pecial, unique place in the 20 century physics. Just think ofi t: its microscopic mechanism was understood only in 1957-46years after the discovery of superconductivity in 1911. In contrast, thetheory ofnormal metals behavior (or, to be more precise, the theory of metals in normal state) wasformed as early as the twenties, immediately f ollowing the creation of quantum mechanics. Moreover, when I took up the theory of superconductivity in 1943, not only microscopic theory was non existent, but even macroscopic superconductivity theory was quiteincomplete. The problem is that the Londons equations, introduced in 1935, allow only aquantitative description ofsuperconductors in magneticf ields weak in comparison with the critical field. Also, even in weakfields, theLondons theory is strictly applicableonly to Type II superconductors-although the division ofsuperconductors into Type I and Type II materials was notsuggested until much later, in early 1950's. Asf ar as nonequilibrium phenomena are conc erned, then until 1943 the most remarkable, yet proved to be fault afterwards, implication was that ofa complete absence ofa ll thermoelectric effects in superconducting state.

A revolution is occurring in science and technology, based on the recently developed ability to measure, manipulate and organize matter on the nanoscale - 1 to 100 billionths of a meter. At the nanoscale, physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and engineering converge toward the same principles and tools. As a result, progress in nanoscience will have very far-reaching impact. The nanoscale is not just another step toward miniaturization, but a qualitatively new scale. The new behavior is dominated by quantum mechanics, material confinement in small structures, large interfacial volume fraction, and other unique properties, phenomena and processes. Many current theories of matter at the microscale have critical lengths of nanometer dimensions. These theories will be inadequate to describe the new phenomena at the nanoscale. As knowledge in nanoscience increases worldwide, there will likely be fundamental scientific advances. In tum, this will lead to dramatic changes in the ways materials, devices, and systems are understood and created. Innovative nanoscale properties and functions will be achieved through the control of matter at its building blocks: atom-by-atom, molecule-by molecule, and nanostructure-by-nanostructure. Nanotechnology will include the integration of these nanoscale structures into larger material components, systems, and architectures. However, within these larger scale systems the control and construction will remain at the nanoscale."

It has been more than 80 years since Valasek first recognized the existence of a dielectric analogue to ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, in Rochelle salt. Much as with semiconductor research, the initial studies of ferroelectric materials focused on homogeneous materials. Unlike semiconductor research, however, which rapidly expanded into n- homogeneous structures and devices, investigations of compositionally graded and layered ferroelectrics have been relatively recent endeavors. Indeed, many of the most significant results and analysis pertaining to polarization-graded ferroelectrics have only appeared in publication within the last ten years. Further extensions of these concepts to the general class of order-parameter graded ferroic materials, as depicted on the cover of this book, have (with one exception) been totally lacking. It was thus with a great deal of excitement that we assembled the manuscript for this book. The primary focus of this study is directed toward polarization-graded ferroelectrics and their active components, transpacitors; however, the findings presented here are quite general. The theory of graded 2 and 5; whereas, much of the ferroics is put on a solid foundation in chapters introductory material relies more heavily upon analogy. This was done so as to provide the reader with an intuitive approach to graded ferroics, thereby enabling them to see heterogeneous ferroics as clearly logical extensions of passive semiconductor junction devices such as p-n and n-p diodes and their active manifestations, transistors, to: transpacitors, transductors, translastics, and ultimately to the general active ferroic elements, transponents.

Segregation is a pervasive phenomenon whereby a flowing granular mass consisting of particles with diverse physical properties becomes spatially inhomogeneous. In the industrial sector that deals with the handling and processing of bulk solids, this non-uniformity is highly undesirable since blend homogeneity is generally a stringent requirement of most products. In the arena of geophysical flows, segregation can enhance the destructive capabilities of natural events such as avalanches and landslides. During the last 15 years, these issues have provided motivation and fostered collaborations between the communities of mathematicians, engineers, industrial researchers, and physicists to develop predictive models of segregation by integrating the perspectives and approaches of each. The collection of unique papers brings to light many of the perplexing scientific and technical issues in our current understanding of this complex phenomenon. It addresses advances in experiment, computational modeling and theory. This volume is one of the very few books devoted entirely to problems of segregation of particulate solids.

A totally new concept for clean surface processing of Si wafers is introduced in this book. Some fifty distinguished researchers and engineers from the leading Japanese semiconductor companies, such as NEC, Hitachi, Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic as well as from several universities reveal to us for the first time the secrets of these highly productive institutions. They describe the techniques and equipment necessary for the preparation of clean high-quality semiconductor surfaces as a first step in high-yield/high-quality device production. This book thus opens the door to the manufacturing of reliable nanoscale devices and will be extremely useful for every engineer, physicist and technician involved in the production of silicon semiconductor devices.

Topics include the theory of atom tunneling reactions, conclusive evidence and controlling factors for such reactions in solid hydrogen, tunneling dislocation motion, coherent tunneling diffusion, the production of interstellar molecules and semiconductors using tunneling reactions, the effect of atom tunneling on molecular structure and crystalline structure, the suppression of mutation and cancer by an atom tunneling reaction of vitamin C, and atom tunneling reactions of vitamin E and of enzymes.

This book presents an account of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Energy Transfer Processes in Condensed Matter," held in Erice, Italy, from June 16 to June 30, 1983. This meeting was organized by the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture. The objective of the Institute was to present a comprehensive treatment of the basic mechanisms by which electronic excitation energy, initially localized in a particular constituent or region of a condensed material, transfers itself to the other parts of the system. Energy transfer processes are important to such varied .fields as spectroscopy, lasers, phosphor technology, artificial solar energy conversion, and photobiology. This meeting was the first encounter of this sort entirely dedicated to this important topic. A total of 65 participants came from 47 laboratories and 16 nations (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, F.R. of Germany, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States of A America). The secretaries of the course were: Ms. Aliki Karipidou for the scientific aspects and Mr. Massimo Minella for the admini strative aspects of the meeting."

While the discovery that heating oxygen-rich silicon to around 450 C produces electrically active defects dates back to 1954, the details of the processes by which the donors and other defects are generated remain obscure today. The fact that there is only one oxygen atom in about ten thousand silicon atoms means that it is difficult to devise experiments to see what happens during the early stages of oxygen precipitation when complexes of two, three or four oxygen atoms are formed. But important new findings are emerging from the careful monitoring of the changes in IR lattice absorption spectra over long time periods, observation of the growth of new bands that are correlated with electronic IR data, and high resolution ENDOR studies. Better samples are also becoming available for study, and great advances have been made in modelling techniques. The emphasis of the present book is on the fundamental issues of oxygen diffusion, the properties of small oxygen aggregates, and the effects of H, N, and C on oxygen precipitation. With extended reviews by G.D. Watkins, R.C. Newman, J.L. Lindstrom, C.A.J. Amerlaan, M. Spaeth, V. Merkevich, J. Weber, R. Jones, P. Deak, S.K. Estreicher, S.T. Pantelides, M. Suezawa, U. Gosele, K. Sumino, B. Pajot and E.C. Lightowlers in addition to 26 contributed papers, the proceedings contain the latest results on the vibrational spectroscopy of thermal donors, the enhanced diffusion of oxygen dimers, magnetic resonance, theoretical modelling, and the influence of H on oxygen diffusion. Audience: All researchers working in the field of silicon technology, especially those dealing with defects and defect control in Czochralski silicon."