Phase transitions in which crystalline solids undergo structural changes present an interesting problem in the interplay between the crystal structure and the ordering process. This text, intended for readers with some prior knowledge of condensed-matter physics, emphasizes the basic physics behind such spontaneous structural changes in crystals. Starting with the relevant thermodynamic principles, the book discusses the nature of order variables and their collective motion in a crystal lattice; in a structural phase transition a singularity in such a collective mode is responsible for the lattice instability, as revealed by soft phonons. This mechanism is analogous to the interplay of a charge-density wave and a periodically deformed lattice in low-dimensional conductors. The text also describes experimental methods for modulated crystal structures and gives examples of structural changes in representative systems. The book is divided into two parts. The first, theoretical, part includes such topics as: the Landau theory of phase transitions; statistics, correlations and the mean-field approximation; pseudospins and their collective modes; soft lattice modes and pseudospin condensates; lattice imperfections and their role in the phase transitions of real crystals. The second part discusses experimental studies of modulated crystals using x-ray diffraction, neutron inelastic scattering, light scattering, dielectric measurements, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Almost 50 years after the launch of Sputnik, the diversity and criticality of the technology and applications already in place to exploit the high-frontier is impressive. And it is no exaggeration to state that a precondition for meeting human needs, coping with environmental problems, and maintaining security is the successful exploitation of space. Yet no one overview exists to document what we have so far done, and soon plan to accomplish, to utilize the near-Earth space environment. Utilization of Space aims to serve as an authoritative overview for professionals and interested laymen by explaining scientific space utilisation, commercial and entrepreneurial issues, and technological applications. The chapters are written by leading specialists in the respective fields and on a level comprehensible to an educated, but not necessarily technically-trained, reader. Enhanced by informative color illustrations, it is intended not only to transmit useful and timely information to readers, but also to share with them the fascination attached to space activities experienced by those actively engaged in them.

This volume provides a detailed account of bosonization. This important technique represents one of the most powerful nonperturbative approaches to many-body systems currently available. The first part of the book examines the technical aspects of bosonization. Topics include one-dimensional fermions, the Gaussian model, the structure of Hilbert space in conformal theories, Bose-Einstein condensation in two dimensions, non-Abelian bosonization, and the Ising and WZNW models. The second part presents applications of the bosonization technique to realistic models including the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid, spin liquids in one dimension and the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with alternating exchange. The third part addresses the problems of quantum impurities. Chapters cover potential scattering, the X-ray edge problem, impurities in Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids and the multi-channel Kondo problem. This book will be an excellent reference for researchers and graduate students working in theoretical physics, condensed matter physics and field theory.

Physical Acoustics in the Solid State reviews the modern aspects in the field, including many experimental results, especially those involving ultrasonics. It covers practically all fields of solid-state physics. After a review of the relevant experimental techniques and an introduction to the theory of elasticity, the book details applications in the various fields of condensed matter physics.

Granular matter displays a variety of peculiarities that distinguish it from other appearances studied in condensed matter physics and renders its overall mathematical modelling somewhat arduous. Prominent directions in the modelling granular flows are analyzed from various points of view. Foundational issues, numerical schemes and experimental results are discussed. The volume furnishes a rather complete overview of the current research trends in the mechanics of granular matter. Various chapters introduce the reader to different points of view and related techniques. New models describing granular bodies as complex bodies are presented. Results on the analysis of the inelastic Boltzmann equations are collected in different chapters. Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry is also discussed.

This book lays out a vision for a coherent framework for understanding complex systems. By developing the genuine idea of Brownian agents, the author combines concepts from informatics, such as multiagent systems, with approaches of statistical many-particle physics. It demonstrates that Brownian agent models can be successfully applied in many different contexts, ranging from physicochemical pattern formation to swarming in biological systems.

The recent dramatic increase in computational power available for mathematical modeling and simulation promotes the significant role of modern numerical methods in the analysis of heterogeneous microstructures. In its second corrected printing, this book presents a comprehensive introduction to computational micromechanics, including basic homogenization theory, microstructural optimization and multifield analysis of heterogeneous materials. a oeAn Introduction to Computational Micromechanicsa is valuable for researchers, engineers and for use in a first year graduate course for students in the applied sciences, mechanics and mathematics with an interest in the computational micromechanical analysis of new materials.

The problem of determining the location of an object (usually called ranging) attracts at present much attention in different areas of applications, among them in ecological and safety devices. Electromagnetic waves along with sound waves are widely used for these purposes. Different aspects of materials with specific magnetic, electric and elastic properties are considered in view of potential application in the design and manufacturing of smart materials. Progress is reported in the fabrication and understanding of in-situ formation and characterization of solid state structures with specified properties. Attention is paid to the observation and study of the mobility of magnetic structures and of the kinetics of magnetic ordering transitions. Looking from a different perspective, one of the outcomes of the ARW is the emphasis on the important role that collective phenomena (like spin waves in systems with a magnetically ordered ground state, or critical currents in superconductors) could play at the design of magnetic-field sensitive sensor materials.

Orbiting spacecraft provide a valuable laboratory for experiments on physical and biological systems in a reduced gravity environment. In these experiments, fluid masses containing bubbles and drops are encountered routinely. This original work provides a clear, thorough review of the motion of bubbles and drops in reduced gravity, particularly motion caused by variations in interfacial tension arising from temperature gradients on their surfaces. The emphasis is on theoretical analysis from first principles; experimental results are discussed and compared with predictions where appropriate. Students and researchers interested in fluid mechanics in reduced gravity will welcome this state-of-the-art reference.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 2004 University of Miami Workshop on Unconventional Superconductivity. The workshop was the fourth in a series of successful meetings on High-T Superconductivity and C related topics, which took place at the James L. Knight Physics Building on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida, in January 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2004. The workshop consisted of two consecutive events: 1. NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on New Challenges in Superconductivity: Experimental Advances and Emerging Theories, held on January 11-14, 2004; 2. Symposium on Emerging Mechanisms for High Temperature Superconductivity (SEMHTS), held on January 15-16, 2004. It is hard to write a balanced preface to a volume like this one, yet at least we try to offer the reader a taste of what was happening in this workshop. There were close to a hundred scientists from around the world, albeit fewer Russians than we had originally hoped for. Nevertheless, the workshop was very lively and we trust that this is demonstrated in this volume. The workshop included high-quality presentations on state of the art works, yet a key issue, discussed by many, was how homogeneous the cuprates are. STM data, as well as other reports, showed that the cuprate superconductors (SC's) studied were inhomogeneous, especially in the underdoped regime; while experiments, like ARPES and magnetoresistance have established the existence of a Fermi Surface (FS), at least above some doping level, in the cuprates.

The field of matter transport is central to understanding the processing of materials and their subsequent mechanical properties. This text gives a solid grounding in the principles of matter transport and their application to a range of engineering problems. The author develops a unified treatment of mass transport applicable to both solids and liquids. Traditionally, matter transport in fluids is considered as an extension of heat transfer and can appear to have little relationship to diffusion in solids. This unified approach clearly makes the connection between these important fields. Aimed at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of materials science and engineering and related disciplines, the book contains numerous worked examples and unsolved problems.

The principal aim of this NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Applications in Sensor, Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Technology" was to present a contemporary overview of the field of nanostructured and advanced electronic materials. Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific field receiving significant worldwide attention. On a nanometer scale, materials or structures may possess new and unique physical properties. Some of these are now known to the scientific community, but there may well be many properties not yet known to us, rendering it as a fascinating area of research and a suitable subject for a NATO ASI. Yet another aspect of the field is the possibility for creating meta-stable phases with unconventional properties and the ultra-miniaturization of current devices, sensors, and machines. Such nanotechnological and related advanced materials have an extremely wide range of potential applications, viz. nanoscale electronics, sensors, optoelectronics, photonics, nano-biological systems, na- medicine, energy storage systems, etc. This is a wide-ranging subject area and therefore requires the formation of multi-disciplinary teams of physicists, chemists, materials scientists, engineers, molecular biologists, pharmacologists, and others to work together on the synthesis and processing of materials and structures, the understanding of their physical properties, the design and fabrication of devices, etc. Hence, in formulating our ASI, we adopted an int- disciplinary approach, bringing together recognised experts in the various fields while retaining a level of treatment accessible to those active in specific individual areas of research and development.

This completely revised edition features new sections on glass-ceramic applications and their performance, CDC-grinding, and laser gyroscopes containing Zerodur(r)., providing an overview of Schott's activities for scientists, engineers, and managers.

The morphology that results during the growth of a material on the substrate of a different material is central to the fabrication of all quantum heterostructures. This morphology is determined by several factors, including the manner in which strain is accommodated if the materials have different lattice constants. One of the most topical manifestations of lattice mis't is the formation of coherent thr- dimensional(3D)islandsduringtheStranski-Krastanovgrowthofahighly-strained system. The prototypical cases are InAs on GaAs(001) and Ge on Si(001), though other materials combinations also exhibit this phenomenon. When the 3D islands are embedded within epitaxiallayers of a material that has a wider band gap, the carriers within the islands are con?ned by the potential barriers that surround each island, forming an array of quantum dots (QDs). Such structures have been produced for both basic physics studies and device fab- cation, including QD lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) operating at the c- mercially important wavelengths of 1.3 u m and 1.55 u m. On a more speculative level, QD ensembles have been suggested as a possible pathway for the solid-state implementation of a quantum computer. Although some of the principles of qu- tum computing have been veri?ed by other means, the practical utilization of this new computingparadigmmay warrant some sort of solid state architecture. QDs are seen as possible components of such a computer, as evidenced by a number of papersappearingintheliteratureproposingQD-basedarchitecturesandworkshops that are being organized to explore these possibilities."

As the characteristic dimensions of electronic devices continue to shrink, the ability to characterize their electronic properties at the nanometer scale has come to be of outstanding importance. In this sense, Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) is becoming an indispensable tool, playing a key role in nanoscience and nanotechnology. SPM is opening new opportunities to measure semiconductor electronic properties with unprecedented spatial resolution. SPM is being successfully applied for nanoscale characterization of ferroelectric thin films. In the area of functional molecular materials it is being used as a probe to contact molecular structures in order to characterize their electrical properties, as a manipulator to assemble nanoparticles and nanotubes into simple devices, and as a tool to pattern molecular nanostructures. This book provides in-depth information on new and emerging applications of SPM to the field of materials science, namely in the areas of characterisation, device application and nanofabrication of functional materials. Starting with the general properties of functional materials the authors present an updated overview of the fundamentals of Scanning Probe Techniques and the application of SPM techniques to the characterization of specified functional materials such as piezoelectric and ferroelectric and to the fabrication of some nano electronic devices. Its uniqueness is in the combination of the fundamental nanoscale research with the progress in fabrication of realistic nanodevices. By bringing together the contribution of leading researchers from the materials science and SPM communities, relevant information is conveyed that allows researchers to learn more about the actual developments in SPM applied to functional materials. This book will contribute to the continuous education and development in the field of nanotechnology.

Liquid crystals, polymers and polymer liquid crystals are soft condensed matter systems of major technological and scientific interest. An understanding of the macroscopic properties of these complex systems and of their many and interesting peculiarities at the molecular level can nowadays only be attained using computer simulations and statistical mechanical theories. Both in the Liquid Crystal and Polymer fields a considerable amount of simulation work has been done in the last few years with various classes of models at different special resolutions, ranging from atomistic to molecular and coarse-grained lattice models. Each of the two fields has developed its own set of tools and specialized procedures and the book aims to provide a state of the art review of the computer simulation studies of polymers and liquid crystals. This is of great importance in view of a potential cross-fertilization between these connected areas which is particularly apparent for a number of experimental systems like, e.g. polymer liquid crystals and anisotropic gels where the different fields necessarily merge. An effort has been made to assess the possibilities of a coherent description of the themes that have developed independently, and to compare and extend the theoretical and computational techniques put forward in the different areas.

Critical regimes of two-phase flows with a polydisperse solid phase form the basis of such widespread industrial processes as separation of various powdery materials and minerals dressing. It is impossible to describe such complicated flows analytically. Therefore, this study concentrates on invariants experimentally revealed and theoretically grounded for such flows.

This approach can be compared with the situation in gases, where in order to determine principal parameters of their state, one does not need to measure the kinetic energy and velocity of each molecule and find its contribution to the temperature and pressure. These parameters are determined in a simple way for the system on the whole.

A novel conception of two-phase flows allowing the formulation of their statistical parameters is physically substantiated. On the basis of the invariants and these parameters, a comprehensive method of estimating and predicting mass transfer in such flows is developed.

It is noteworthy that the presented results are mostly phenomenological. Such an approach can be successfully extended to the separation of liquids, gases and isotopes.

The book is intended for students and specialists engaged in chemical technology, mineral dressing, ceramics, microelectronics, pharmacology, power generation, thermal engineering and other fields in which flows carrying solid particles are used in the technological process.

Most recent publications on spin-related phenomena focus on technological aspects of spin-dependent transport, with emphasis on the specific needs of spintronics. The present publication targets rather fundamental problems related to the physics of spin in solids, such as: (1) manifestation of spin and orbital polarization in spectroscopy, including valence and X-ray photoemission, magneto-optics, low-energy electron scattering on the surface; (2) application of new methods for interpretation and determination of magnetic low-lying excitations in the bulk and on the surface; (3) recent progress in evaluation of different type of magnetic forces including spin-orbit and exchange interaction, with subsequent determination of anisotropy and spin-ordering structure; (4) general problems of spin-dependent transport in semiconductors and metals, such as current-caused torque effect on spins at interfaces and spin injection in quantum dot systems; (5) problems in understanding the spin-dependent trends in unconventional superconductors; (6) many-body problems in solid state physics and recent progress in evaluation of self-energy effects; (7) fabrication of new magnetic materials with pre-programmed properties based on assembly from nano-particles, etc.

This book provides an introduction to nonequilibrium statistical physics via lattice models. Beginning with an introduction to the basic driven lattice gas, the early chapters discuss the relevance of this lattice model to certain natural phenomena, examining simulation results in detail. Later chapters discuss absorbing-state transitions, and examine a variety of systems subject to dynamic disorder. The book discusses the effects of multiparticle rules, nonunique absorbing-states and conservation laws, as well as the use of methods such as mean-field theory, Monte Carlo simulation and the concept of universality. It also includes detailed references and examples using simple respresentations of nature to describe real systems.

Mesoscopic physics deals with effects at submicron and nanoscales where the conventional wisdom of macroscopic averaging is no longer applicable. A wide variety of new devices have recently evolved, all extremely promising for major novel directions in technology, including carbon nanotubes, ballistic quantum dots, hybrid mesoscopic junctions made of different type of normal, superconducting and ferromagnetic materials. This, in turn, demands a profound understanding of fundamental physical phenomena on mesoscopic scales. As a result, the forefront of fundamental research in condensed matter has been moved to the areas where the interplay between electron-electron interactions and quantum interference of phase-coherent electrons scattered by impurities and/or boundaries is the key to such understanding. An understanding of decoherence as well as other effects of the interactions is crucial for developing future electronic, photonic and spintronic devices, including the element base for quantum computation.

Leading scientists discuss the most recent physical and experimental results in the physics of Bose-Einstein condensate theory, the theory of nonlinear lattices (including quantum and nonlinear lattices), and nonlinear optics and photonics. Classical and quantum aspects of the dynamics of nonlinear waves are considered. The contributions focus on the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and on the quantum nonlinear Schr dinger equation. Recent experimental results on atomic condensates and hydrogen bonded systems are reviewed. Particular attention is given to nonlinear matter waves in periodic potential.

Fuel Cells have become a potentially highly efficient sustainable source of energy and electricity for an ever-demanding power hungry world. The two main types of fuel cells ripe for commercialisation are the high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and the low temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM). The commercial uses of which include, but are not limited to, military, stand-by power, commercial and industrial, and remoter power. However, all aspects of the electricity market are being considered.

This book has brought together a team of world-renowned experts in all aspects of fuel cell development for both SOFC and PEM in a workshop environment. The workshop held between June 6-10, 2004 was held in the capital city of the Ukraine, Kiev. The reason for the venue was that Ukraine is the third largest resource of zircon sands, a major source of material for the solid oxide fuel cell. Ukraine is looking at undertaking a very large effort in the solid oxide fuel cell arena, and hopes, one day, to be an international player in this market, and this book is an outcome from the workshop. The book focuses on the issues related to fuel cells, particularly the state-of-the-art internationally, the issues that were of particular interest for getting fuel cells fully commercialized, and advances in fuel cell materials and technology. The focus was on all types of fuel cells, but the emphasis was particularly on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), due to their importance to the host country. The book is an essential reference to researchers, academics and industrialists interested in up-to-date information on SOFC and PEM development.

Solid-State Physics, Superconductivity: Electronic Structure of Highly Correlated Systems; L.M. Falicov, J.K. Freericks. Quantum Fluids: Unusual One-Electron States on the Surface of Liquid Helium; E. Baskin. Nuclear Physics: Nucleonic Superfluid; J.W. Clark, et al. Atoms and Molecules: Fock-Space Coupled Cluster Method; S.R. Hughes, U. Kaldor. Classical Fluids, Polymers, Plasmas: Fluids of Hard Convex Molecules; M.S. Wertheim. Lattice Theories, Phase Transitions: Line Tension at Wetting and Prewetting Transitions; B. Widom. Cellular Automata: Cellular Automata and Spread of Damage; C. Tsallis. Fundamental Quantum Mechanics: Hannay Angle in Classical Mechanics and its Gauge-Invariant Generalization; D. Kobe. 51 additional articles. Index.

Colloidal systems and dispersions are of great importance in oil recovery, waist water treatment, coating, food and beverage industry, pharmaceutical industry, medicine, environmental protection etc. Colloidal systems and dispersions are always multi-component and multiphase systems. In these systems at least one dimension is in a range of colloidal forces action: colloidal dispersions/emulsions are examples of three dimensional colloidal systems, while thin liquid films are examples of one dimensional colloidal systems. The contribution presented in this issue deals with flow, distribution and redistribution, coating and deposition of surfactant and polymer molecules in colloidal systems. The book presents reviews of recent advances and trends by well-know scientists and engineers in this area.

Semiconductor power devices are the heart of power electronics. They determine the performance of power converters and allow topologies with high efficiency. Semiconductor properties, pn-junctions and the physical phenomena for understanding power devices are discussed in depth. Working principles of state-of-the-art power diodes, thyristors, MOSFETs and IGBTs are explained in detail, as well as key aspects of semiconductor device production technology. In practice, not only the semiconductor, but also the thermal and mechanical properties of packaging and interconnection technologies are essential to predict device behavior in circuits. Wear and aging mechanisms are identified and reliability analyses principles are developed. Unique information on destructive mechanisms, including typical failure pictures, allows assessment of the ruggedness of power devices. Also parasitic effects, such as device induced electromagnetic interference problems, are addressed. The book concludes with modern power electronic system integration techniques and trends.