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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Quantum physics (quantum mechanics) > General
Classical Mechanics teaches readers how to solve physics problems;
in other words, how to put math and physics together to obtain a
numerical or algebraic result and then interpret these results
physically. These skills are important and will be needed in more
advanced science and engineering courses. However, more important
than developing problem-solving skills and physical-interpretation
skills, the main purpose of this multi-volume series is to survey
the basic concepts of classical mechanics and to provide the reader
with a solid understanding of the foundational content knowledge of
classical mechanics. Classical Mechanics: Conservation laws and
rotational motion covers the conservation of energy and the
conservation of momentum, which are crucial concepts in any physics
course. It also introduces the concepts of center-of-mass and
rotational motion.
A deeper understanding of neutrinos, with the goal to reveal their
nature and exact role within particle physics, is at the frontier
of current research. This book reviews the field in a concise
fashion and highlights the most pressing issues and areas of
strongest topical interest. It provides a clear, self-contained,
and logical treatment of the fundamental physics aspects,
appropriate for graduate students. Starting with the relevant
basics of the SM, neutrinos are introduced, and the quantum
mechanical effect of oscillations is explained in detail. A strong
focus is then set on the phenomenon of lepton number violation,
especially in 0nbb decay, as the crucial probe to understand the
nature of neutrinos. The role of neutrinos in astrophysics,
expected to be of increasing importance for future research, is
then described. Finally, models to explain the neutrino properties
are outlined. The central theme of the book is the nature of
neutrino masses and the above topics will revolve around this
issue.
Recent work in quantum information science has produced a
revolution in our understanding of quantum entanglement. Scientists
now view entanglement as a physical resource with many important
applications. These range from quantum computers, which would be
able to compute exponentially faster than classical computers, to
quantum cryptographic techniques, which could provide unbreakable
codes for the transfer of secret information over public channels.
These important advances in the study of quantum entanglement and
information touch on deep foundational issues in both physics and
philosophy. This interdisciplinary volume brings together fourteen
of the world's leading physicists and philosophers of physics to
address the most important developments and debates in this
exciting area of research. It offers a broad spectrum of approaches
to resolving deep foundational challenges - philosophical,
mathematical, and physical - raised by quantum information, quantum
processing, and entanglement. This book is ideal for historians,
philosophers of science and physicists.
This book reports new findings in the fields of nonlinear optics,
quantum optics and optical microscopy. It presents the first
experimental device able to transform an input Gaussian beam into a
non-diffracting Bessel-like beam. The modulation mechanism, i.e.
electro-optic effect, allows the device to be fast, miniaturizable
and integrable into solid state arrays. Also presented is an
extensive study of the superposition of Bessel beams and their
propagation in turbid media, with the aim of realizing field that
is both localized and non-diffracting. These findings have been
implemented in a light-sheet microscope to improve the optical
sectioning. From a more theoretical point of view this work also
tackles the problem of whether and how a single particle is able to
entangle two distant systems. The results obtained introduce
fundamental limitations on the use of linear optics for quantum
technology. Other chapters are dedicated to a number of experiments
carried out on disordered ferroelectrics including negative
intrinsic mass dynamics, ferroelectric supercrystals, rogue wave
dynamics driven by enhanced disorder and first evidence of spatial
optical turbulence.
Atomic Physics provides a concise treatment of atomic physics and a
basis to prepare for work in other disciplines that are underpinned
by atomic physics, such as chemistry, biology and several aspects
of engineering science. The focus is mainly on atomic structure
since this is what is primarily responsible for the physical
properties of atoms. After a brief introduction to some basic
concepts, the perturbation theory approach follows the hierarchy of
interactions starting with the largest. The other interactions of
spin, and angular momentum of the outermost electrons with each
other, the nucleus and external magnetic fields are treated in
order of descending strength. A spectroscopic perspective is
generally taken by relating the observations of atomic radiation
emitted or absorbed to the internal energy levels involved. X-ray
spectra are then discussed in relation to the energy levels of the
innermost electrons. Finally, a brief description is given of some
modern, laser-based, spectroscopic methods for the high-resolution
study of the details of atomic structure.
Physical Relativity explores the nature of the distinction at the
heart of Einstein's 1905 formulation of his special theory of
relativity: that between kinematics and dynamics. Einstein himself
became increasingly uncomfortable with this distinction, and with
the limitations of what he called the 'principle theory' approach
inspired by the logic of thermodynamics. A handful of physicists
and philosophers have over the last century likewise expressed
doubts about Einstein's treatment of the relativistic behaviour of
rigid bodies and clocks in motion in the kinematical part of his
great paper, and suggested that the dynamical understanding of
length contraction and time dilation intimated by the immediate
precursors of Einstein is more fundamental. Harvey Brown both
examines and extends these arguments (which support a more
'constructive' approach to relativistic effects in Einstein's
terminology), after giving a careful analysis of key features of
the pre-history of relativity theory. He argues furthermore that
the geometrization of the theory by Minkowski in 1908 brought
illumination, but not a causal explanation of relativistic effects.
Finally, Brown tries to show that the dynamical interpretation of
special relativity defended in the book is consistent with the role
this theory must play as a limiting case of Einstein's 1915 theory
of gravity: the general theory of relativity. Appearing in the
centennial year of Einstein's celebrated paper on special
relativity, Physical Relativity is an unusual, critical examination
of the way Einstein formulated his theory. It also examines in
detail certain specific historical and conceptual issues that have
long given rise to debate in both special and general relativity
theory, such as the conventionality of simultaneity, the principle
of general covariance, and the consistency or otherwise of the
special theory with quantum mechanics. Harvey Brown' s new
interpretation of relativity theory will interest anyone working on
these central topics in modern physics.
What on earth do bananas have to do with quantum mechanics? From a
modern perspective, quantum mechanics is about strangely
counterintuitive correlations between separated systems, which can
be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable
cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced
computing power. Schro?dinger coined the term "entanglement" to
describe these bizarre correlations. Bananaworld - an imaginary
island with "entangled" bananas - brings to life the fascinating
discoveries of the new field of quantum information without the
mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. The connection with
quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the
non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the
mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but
entertaining book that is accessible and interesting to a wide
range of readers, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is
about the structure of information. What we have discovered is that
the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating
information are very different than we thought.
This book studies the dynamics of fundamental collective
excitations in quantum materials, focusing on the use of
state-of-the-art ultrafast broadband optical spectroscopy.
Collective behaviour in solids lies at the origin of several
cooperative phenomena that can lead to profound transformations,
instabilities and phase transitions. Revealing the dynamics of
collective excitations is a topic of pivotal importance in
contemporary condensed matter physics, as it provides information
on the strength and spatial distribution of interactions and
correlation. The experimental framework explored in this book
relies on setting a material out-of-equilibrium by an ultrashort
laser pulse and monitoring the photo-induced changes in its optical
properties over a broad spectral region in the visible or
deep-ultraviolet. Collective excitations (e.g. plasmons, excitons,
phonons...) emerge either in the frequency domain as spectral
features across the probed range, or in the time domain as coherent
modes triggered by the pump pulse. Mapping the temporal evolution
of these collective excitations provides access to the hierarchy of
low-energy phenomena occurring in the solid during its path towards
thermodynamic equilibrium. This methodology is used to investigate
a number of strongly interacting and correlated materials with an
increasing degree of internal complexity beyond conventional band
theory.
Domain theory is a subject that emerged as a response to natural
concerns in the semantics of computation, and it involves the study
of ordered sets that possess an unusual amount of mathematical
structure. Disorder in Domain Theory explores the connection
between domain theory and quantum information science and the
concept that relates them: disorder.
This thesis describes the structures of six-dimensional (6d)
superconformal field theories and its torus compactifications. The
first half summarizes various aspects of 6d field theories, while
the latter half investigates torus compactifications of these
theories, and relates them to four-dimensional superconformal field
theories in the class, called class S. It is known that
compactifications of 6d conformal field theories with maximal
supersymmetries provide numerous insights into four-dimensional
superconformal field theories. This thesis generalizes the story to
the theories with smaller supersymmetry, constructing those
six-dimensional theories as brane configurations in the M-theory,
and highlighting the importance of fractionalization of M5-branes.
This result establishes new dualities between the theories with
eight supercharges.
In the field of particle and astrophysics one of the major
unresolved problems is to understand the nature and properties of
dark matter, which constitutes almost 80% of the matter content of
the universe. This book gives a pedagogical introduction to the
field of dark matter in general, and in particular to the model
building perspective. This book focuses on teaching the basic tools
for model building of dark matter, and it aims to motivate the
reader to propose a new dark matter model.
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