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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Quantum physics (quantum mechanics) > General
This book presents quantum theory as a theory based on new relationships among matter, thought, and experimental technology, as against those previously found in physics, relationships that also redefine those between mathematics and physics in quantum theory. The argument of the book is based on its title concept, reality without realism (RWR), and in the corresponding view, the RWR view, of quantum theory. The book considers, from this perspective, the thinking of Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, and Dirac, with the aim of bringing together the philosophy and history of quantum theory. With quantum theory, the book argues, the architecture of thought in theoretical physics was radically changed by the irreducible role of experimental technology in the constitution of physical phenomena, accordingly, no longer defined independently by matter alone, as they were in classical physics or relativity. Or so it appeared. For, quantum theory, the book further argues, made us realize that experimental technology, beginning with that of our bodies, irreducibly shapes all physical phenomena, and thus makes us rethink the relationships among matter, thought, and technology in all of physics.
In spite of the impressive predictive power and strong mathematical structure of quantum mechanics, the theory has always suffered from important conceptual problems. Some of these have never been solved. Motivated by this state of affairs, a number of physicists have worked together for over thirty years to develop stochastic electrodynamics, a physical theory aimed at finding a conceptually satisfactory, realistic explanation of quantum phenomena. This is the first book to present a comprehensive review of stochastic electrodynamics, from its origins to present-day developments. After a general introduction for the non-specialist, a critical discussion is presented of the main results of the theory as well as of the major problems encountered. A chapter on stochastic optics and some interesting consequences for local realism and the Bell inequalities is included. In the final chapters the authors propose and develop a new version of the theory that brings it in closer correspondence with quantum mechanics and sheds some light on the wave aspects of matter and the linkage with quantum electrodynamics. Audience: The volume will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students of theoretical and mathematical physics, foundations and philosophy of physics, and teachers of theoretical physics and quantum mechanics, electromagnetic theory, and statistical physics (stochastic processes).
This book has grown out of my research interests in the theory of oper- ator algebras, orthomodular structures and mathematical foundations of quantum theory. It is based on a series of lectures on measure theory on nonboolean operator structures which I prepared for Ph. D. students in Workshops on Measure Theory and Real Analysis in Italy (Gorizia 1999, Grado 2001) and which I have delivered at the conferences of the Interna- tional Quantum Structures Association in Berlin 1996, Cesena 2001, and Vienna 2002. I have worked on these subjects in the framework of Prague's Semi- nar on Mathematical Formalism of Quantum Theory founded by P. Ptak. Many results presented in the book were also obtained during my longer research stays abroad, in particular at the Department of Mathematics, Reading University, U. K. (1993) and at the Mathematical Institute of Er- langen University, Germany (1996-1997, 2000 and 2003). Both the research activity and the work on the book was supported by a few international projects I participated in. I would like to acknowledge the support of European Community that supported my research stay in Reading University (Grant COST, Noncommutative Measure Theory and von Neumann Algebras, 1993). I am also very much grateful to the Alexan- der von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, for long-term support of my research and for awarding me the grants that enabled me work at Erlangen Uni- versity in 1996-1997, 2000 and 2003.
This book is the first comprehensive book about reservoir computing (RC). RC is a powerful and broadly applicable computational framework based on recurrent neural networks. Its advantages lie in small training data set requirements, fast training, inherent memory and high flexibility for various hardware implementations. It originated from computational neuroscience and machine learning but has, in recent years, spread dramatically, and has been introduced into a wide variety of fields, including complex systems science, physics, material science, biological science, quantum machine learning, optical communication systems, and robotics. Reviewing the current state of the art and providing a concise guide to the field, this book introduces readers to its basic concepts, theory, techniques, physical implementations and applications. The book is sub-structured into two major parts: theory and physical implementations. Both parts consist of a compilation of chapters, authored by leading experts in their respective fields. The first part is devoted to theoretical developments of RC, extending the framework from the conventional recurrent neural network context to a more general dynamical systems context. With this broadened perspective, RC is not restricted to the area of machine learning but is being connected to a much wider class of systems. The second part of the book focuses on the utilization of physical dynamical systems as reservoirs, a framework referred to as physical reservoir computing. A variety of physical systems and substrates have already been suggested and used for the implementation of reservoir computing. Among these physical systems which cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, are mechanical and optical systems, nanomaterials, spintronics, and quantum many body systems. This book offers a valuable resource for researchers (Ph.D. students and experts alike) and practitioners working in the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, neuromorphic computing, complex systems, and physics.
Clusters and nanoscale materials give rise to properties and behaviour that are governed by size restrictions, and hence display features directly attributable to quantum confinement. Thus they represent ideal media for observing and studying quantum phenomena. This book presents and evaluates some of the latest developments in this area of basic research. Each of the chapters focuses on selected aspects of the field, and the authors endeavour to display the breadth of the subject by presenting some of the important recent advances that have been made through the use of new experimental techniques and theoretical approaches.
Physics on Your Feet gives a collection of physics problems covering the broad range of topics in classical and modern physics that were, or could have been, asked at oral PhD exams at Berkeley. The questions are easy to formulate, but some of them can only be answered using an out-of-the-box approach. Detailed solutions are provided, from which the reader is guaranteed to learn a lot about the physicists' way of thinking. The book is also packed full of cartoons and dry humour to help take the edge off the stress and anxiety surrounding exams. This is a helpful guide to students preparing for their exams, as well as to University lecturers looking for good instructive problems. No exams are necessary to enjoy the book!
This book is a thoroughly modern and highly pedagogical graduate-level introduction to quantum optics, a subject which has witnessed stunning developments in recent years and has come to occupy a central role in the 'second quantum revolution'. The reader is invited to explore the fundamental role that quantum optics plays in the control and manipulation of quantum systems, leading to ultracold atoms, circuit QED, quantum information science, quantum optomechanics, and quantum metrology. The building blocks of the subject are presented in a sequential fashion, starting from the simplest physical situations before moving to increasingly complicated ones. This pedagogically appealing approach leads to quantum entanglement and measurement theory being introduced early on and before more specialized topics such as cavity QED or laser cooling. The final chapter illustrates the power of scientific cross-fertilization by surveying cutting-edge applications of quantum optics and optomechanics in gravitational wave detection, tests of fundamental physics, searches for dark matter, geophysical monitoring, and ultraprecise clocks. Complete with worked examples and exercises, this book provides the reader with enough background knowledge and understanding to follow the current journal literature and begin producing their own original research.
This volume is composed of invited expository articles by well-known mathematicians in differential geometry and mathematical physics that have been arranged in celebration of Hideki Omori's recent retirement from Tokyo University of Science and in honor of his fundamental contributions to these areas. The papers focus on recent trends and future directions in symplectic and Poisson geometry, global analysis, infinite-dimensional Lie group theory, quantizations and noncommutative geometry, as well as applications of partial differential equations and variational methods to geometry. These articles will appeal to graduate students in mathematics and quantum mechanics, as well as researchers, differential geometers, and mathematical physicists. Contributors include: M. Cahen, D. Elworthy, A. Fujioka, M. Goto, J. Grabowski, S. Gutt, J. Inoguchi, M. Karasev, O. Kobayashi, Y. Maeda, K. Mikami, N. Miyazaki, T. Mizutani, H. Moriyoshi, H. Omori, T. Sasai, D. Sternheimer, A. Weinstein, K. Yamaguchi, T. Yatsui, and A. Yoshioka.
Volume 2 of Novel Superfluids continues the presentation of recent results on superfluids, including novel metallic systems, superfluid liquids, and atomic/molecular gases of bosons and fermions, particularly when trapped in optical lattices. Since the discovery of superconductivity (Leyden, 1911), superfluid 4He (Moscow and Cambridge, 1937), superfluid 3He (Cornell, 1972), and observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) of a gas (Colorado and MIT, 1995), the phenomenon of superfluidity has remained one of the most important topics in physics. Again and again, novel superfluids yield surprising and interesting behaviors. The many classes of metallic superconductors, including the high temperature perovskite-based oxides, MgB2, organic systems, and Fe-based pnictides, continue to offer challenges. The technical applications grow steadily. What the temperature and field limits are remains illusive. Atomic nuclei, neutron stars and the Universe itself all involve various aspects of superfluidity, and the lessons learned have had a broad impact on physics as a whole.
This is a monograph on geometrical and topological features which arise in quantum field theory. It is well known that when a chiral fermion interacts with a gauge field we have chiral anomaly which corresponds to the fact that divergence of the axial vector current does not vanish. It is observed that this is related to certain topological features associated with the fermion and leads to the realization of the topological origin of fermion number as well as the Berry phase. The role of gauge fields in the quantization procedure has its implications in these topological features of a fermion and helps us to consider a massive fermion as a soliton (skyrrnion). In this formalism chiral anomaly is found to be responsible for mass generation. This has its relevance in electroweak theory where it is observed that weak interaction gauge bosons attain mass topologically. The geometrical feature of a skyrmion also helps us to realize the internal symmetry of hadrons from reflection group. Finally it has been shown that noncommutative geometry where the space time manifold is taken to be X = M x Zz has its relevance in the description of a massive 4 fermion as a skyrmion when the discrete space is considered as the internal space and the symmetry breaking leads to chiral anomaly. In chap. l preliminary mathematical formulations related to the spinor structure have been discussed. In chap.
Recent experimental progress has enabled cold atomic gases to be studied at nano-kelvin temperatures, creating new states of matter where quantum degeneracy occurs - Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases. Such quantum states are of macroscopic dimensions. This book presents the phase space theory approach for treating the physics of degenerate quantum gases, an approach already widely used in quantum optics. However, degenerate quantum gases involve massive bosonic and fermionic atoms, not massless photons. The book begins with a review of Fock states for systems of identical atoms, where large numbers of atoms occupy the various single particle states or modes. First, separate modes are considered, and here the quantum density operator is represented by a phase space distribution function of phase space variables which replace mode annihilation, creation operators, the dynamical equation for the density operator determines a Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution function, and measurable quantities such as quantum correlation functions are given as phase space integrals. Finally, the phase space variables are replaced by time dependent stochastic variables satisfying Langevin stochastic equations obtained from the Fokker-Planck equation, with stochastic averages giving the measurable quantities. Second, a quantum field approach is treated, the density operator being represented by a distribution functional of field functions which replace field annihilation, creation operators, the distribution functional satisfying a functional FPE, etc. A novel feature of this book is that the phase space variables for fermions are Grassmann variables, not c-numbers. However, we show that Grassmann distribution functions and functionals still provide equations for obtaining both analytic and numerical solutions. The book includes the necessary mathematics for Grassmann calculus and functional calculus, and detailed derivations of key results are provided.
This book presents a multidisciplinary guide to gauge theory and gravity, with chapters by the world's leading theoretical physicists, mathematicians, historians and philosophers of science. The contributions from theoretical physics explore e.g. the consistency of the unification of gravitation and quantum theory, the underpinnings of experimental tests of gauge theory and its role in shedding light on the relationship between mathematics and physics. In turn, historians and philosophers of science assess the impact of Weyl's view on the philosophy of science. Graduate students, lecturers and researchers in the fields of history of science, theoretical physics and philosophy of science will benefit from this book by learning about the role played by Weyl's Raum-Zeit-Materie in shaping several modern research fields, and by gaining insights into the future prospects of gauge theory in both theoretical and experimental physics. Furthermore, the book facilitates interdisciplinary exchange and conceptual innovation in tackling fundamental questions about our deepest theories of physics. Chapter "Weyl's Raum-Zeit-Materie and the Philosophy of Science" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com
This thesis presents a search for long-lived particles decaying into displaced electrons and/or muons with large impact parameters. This signature provides unique sensitivity to the production of theoretical lepton-partners, sleptons. These particles are a feature of supersymmetric theories, which seek to address unanswered questions in nature. The signature searched for in this thesis is difficult to identify, and in fact, this is the first time it has been probed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It covers a long-standing gap in coverage of possible new physics signatures. This thesis describes the special reconstruction and identification algorithms used to select leptons with large impact parameters and the details of the background estimation. The results are consistent with background, so limits on slepton masses and lifetimes in this model are calculated at 95% CL, drastically improving on the previous best limits from the Large Electron Positron Collider (LEP).
This book provides comprehensive coverage of various Cryptography topics, while highlighting the most recent trends such as quantum, blockchain, lightweight, Chaotic and DNA cryptography. Moreover, this book covers cryptography primitives and its usage and applications and focuses on the fundamental principles of modern cryptography such as Stream Ciphers, block ciphers, public key algorithms and digital signatures. Readers will gain a solid foundation in cryptography and security. This book presents the fundamental mathematical concepts of cryptography. Moreover, this book presents hiding data techniques such as steganography and watermarking. The author also provides a comparative study of the different cryptographic methods, which can be used to solve security problems.
The book shows how classical field theory, quantum mechanics, and quantum field theory are related. The description is global from the outset. Quantization is explained using the Peierls bracket rather than the Poisson bracket. This allows one to deal immediately with observables, bypassing the canonical formalism of constrained Hamiltonian systems and bigger-than-physical Hilbert (or Fock) spaces. The Peierls bracket leads directly to the Schwinger variational principle and the Feynman functional integral, the latter of which is taken as defining the quantum theory. Also included are the theory of tree amplitudes and conservation laws, which are presented classically and later extended to the quantum level. The quantum theory is developed from the many-worlds viewpoint, and ordinary path integrals and the topological issues to which they give rise are studied in some detail. The theory of mode functions and Bogoliubov coefficients for linear fields is fully developed, and then the quantum theory of nonlinear fields is confronted. The effective action, correlation functions and counter terms all make their appearance at this point, and the S-matrix is constructed via the introduction of asymptotic fields and the LSZ theorem. Gauge theories and ghosts are studied in great detail. Many applications of the formalism are given: vacuum currents, anomalies, black holes, fourth-order systems, higher spin fields, the (lambda phi) to the fourth power model (and spontaneous symmetry breaking), quantum electrodynamics, the Yang-Mills field and its topology, the gravitational field, etc. Special chapters are devoted to Euclideanization and renormalization, space and time inversion, and the closed-time-path or "in-in" formalism. Emphasis is given throughout to the role of the functional-integral measure in the theory. Six helpful appendices, ranging from superanalysis to analytic continuation in dimension, are included at the end.
This eighteenth volume in the Poincare Seminar Series provides a thorough description of Information Theory and some of its most active areas, in particular, its relation to thermodynamics at the nanoscale and the Maxwell Demon, and the emergence of quantum computation and of its counterpart, quantum verification. It also includes two introductory tutorials, one on the fundamental relation between thermodynamics and information theory, and a primer on Shannon's entropy and information theory. The book offers a unique and manifold perspective on recent mathematical and physical developments in this field.
Polaritonic chemistry is an emergent interdisciplinary field in which the strong interaction of organic molecules with confined electromagnetic field modes is exploited in order to manipulate the chemical structure and reactions of the system. In the regime of strong light-matter coupling the interaction with the electromagnetic vacuum obliges us to redefine the concept of a molecule and consider the hybrid system as a whole. This thesis builds on the foundations of chemistry and quantum electrodynamics in order to provide a theoretical framework to describe these organic light-matter hybrids. By fully embracing the structural complexity of molecules, this theory allows us to employ long-established quantum chemistry methods to understand polaritonic chemistry. This leads to predictions of substantial structural changes in organic molecules and the possibility of significantly influencing chemical reactions both in the excited and ground states of the system.
The field of quantum computing has experienced rapid development and many different experimental and theoretical groups have emerged worldwide.This book presents the key elements of quantum computation and communication theories and their implementation in an easy-to-read manner for readers coming from physics, mathematics and computer science backgrounds. Integrating both theoretical aspects and experimental verifications of developing quantum computers, the author explains why particular mathematical methods, physical models and realistic implementations might provide critical steps towards achieving the final goal - constructing quantum computers and quantum networks. The book serves as an excellent introduction for new researchers and also provides a useful review for specialists in the field
The wealth of recent cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure data has transformed the field of cosmology. These observations have not only become precise enough to answer questions about the universe on the largest scales, but also to address puzzles in the microscopic description of Nature. This thesis investigates new ways of probing the early universe, the properties of neutrinos and the possible existence of other light particles. In particular, based on detailed theoretical insights and novel analyses, new evidence for the cosmic neutrino background is found in the distribution of galaxies and in cosmic microwave background data. This tests the Standard Model of particle physics and the universe back to a time when it was about one second old. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that future observations will be capable of probing physics beyond the Standard Model since they can achieve a particular target which would either allow the detection of any light particles that have ever been in thermal equilibrium or imply strong bounds on their properties.
Quantum Leap uses key events in the life of Polkinghorne to introduce the central ideas that make science and religion such a fascinating field of investigation. Sir John Polkinghorne is a British particle physicist who, after 25 years of research and discovery in academia, resigned his post to become an Anglican priest and theologian. He was a professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, and was elected to the Royal Society in 1974. As a physicist he participated in the research that led to the discovery of the quark, the smallest known particle. This cheerful biography-cum-appraisal of his life and work uses Polkinghorne's story to approach some of the most important questions: a scientist's view of God; why we pray, and what we expect; does the universe have a point?; moral and scientific laws; what happens next?
This thesis explores the physics of non-equilibrium quantum dynamics in homogeneous two-dimensional (2D) quantum gases. Ultracold quantum gases driven out of equilibrium have been prominent platforms for studying quantum many-body physics. However, probing non-equilibrium dynamics in conventionally trapped, inhomogeneous atomic quantum gases has been a challenging task because coexisting mass transport and spreading of quantum correlations often complicate experimental analyses. In this work, the author solves this technical hurdle by producing ultracold cesium atoms in a quasi-2D optical box potential. The exquisite optical trap allows one to remove density inhomogeneity in a degenerate quantum gas and control its dimensionality. The author also details the development of a high-resolution, in situ imaging technique to monitor the evolution of collective excitations and quantum transport down to atomic shot-noise, and at the length scale of elementary collective excitations. Meanwhile, tunable Feshbach resonances in ultracold cesium atoms permit precise and dynamical control of interactions with high temporal and even spatial resolutions. By employing these state-of-the-art techniques, the author performed interaction quenches to control the generation and evolution of quasiparticles in quantum gases, presenting the first direct measurement of quantum entanglement between interaction quench generated quasiparticle pairs in an atomic superfluid. Quenching to attractive interactions, this work shows stimulated emission of quasiparticles, leading to amplified density waves and fragmentation, forming 2D matter-wave Townes solitons that were previously considered impossible to form in equilibrium due to their instability. This thesis unveils a set of scale-invariant and universal quench dynamics and provides unprecedented tools to explore quantum entanglement transport in a homogenous quantum gas.
Absolute concepts of time and energy are integral to standard thermal physics, but background independent systems are devoid of them. This thesis explores the foundational question of generalising equilibrium statistical mechanics to background independent systems, and applies the resulting formulation to non-perturbative discrete quantum gravity. It offers a discussion of the rich interface of thermal physics and quantum gravity in this context, providing a broad contextualisation of such topics. This work details how standard tools from many-body physics can be generalised to discrete quantum gravity labelled with graph-based, or dual polyhedral, quanta that are common to various approaches like tensorial group field theory, loop quantum gravity, dynamical triangulations and lattice quantum gravity. It provides a systematic investigation, both conceptual and technical, of quantum gravitational Gibbs states, thermofield double vacuum states, and their application in condensate cosmology to probe questions of Big Bang singularity resolution and geometric inflation.
Nuclear spins are highly coherent quantum objects that were featured in early ideas and demonstrations of quantum information processing. In silicon, the high-fidelity coherent control of a single phosphorus (31-P) nuclear spin I=1/2 has demonstrated record-breaking coherence times, entanglement, and weak measurements. In this thesis, we demonstrate the coherent quantum control of a single antimony (123-Sb) donor atom, whose higher nuclear spin I = 7/2 corresponds to eight nuclear spin states. However, rather than conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we employ nuclear electric resonance (NER) to drive nuclear spin transitions using localized electric fields produced within a silicon nanoelectronic device. This method exploits an idea first proposed in 1961 but never realized experimentally with a single nucleus, nor in a non-polar crystal such as silicon. We then present a realistic proposal to construct a chaotic driven top from the nuclear spin of 123-Sb. Signatures of chaos are expected to arise for experimentally realizable parameters of the system, allowing the study of the relation between quantum decoherence and classical chaos, and the observation of dynamical tunneling. These results show that high-spin quadrupolar nuclei could be deployed as chaotic models, strain sensors, hybrid spin-mechanical quantum systems, and quantum-computing elements using all-electrical controls.
This book presents the proceedings of The International Workshop on Frontiers in High Energy Physics (FHEP 2019), held in Hyderabad, India. It highlights recent, exciting experimental findings from LHC, KEK, LIGO and several other facilities, and discusses new ideas for the unified treatment of cosmology and particle physics and in the light of new observations, which could pave the way for a better understanding of the universe we live in. As such, the book provides a platform to foster collaboration in order to provide insights into this important field of physics.
This book sets out the fundamental quantum processes that are important in the physics and technology of semiconductors in a relatively informal style that graduate students will find very attractive. The fifth edition includes new chapters that expand the coverage of semiconductor physics relevant to its accompanying technology. One of the problems encountered in high-power transistors is the excessive production of phonons and the first new chapter examines the hot-phonon phenomenon and the lifetime of polar optical phonons in the nitrides. In the burgeoning field of spintronics a crucial parameter is the lifetime of a spin-polarised electron gas, and this is treated in detail in the second of the new chapters. The third new chapter moves from the treatment of bulk properties to the unavoidable effects of the spatial limitation of the semiconductor, and to the influence of surface states and the pinning of the Fermi level. As with previous editions the text restricts its attention to bulk semiconductors. The account progresses from quantum processes describable by density matrices, through the semi-classical Boltzmann equation and its solutions, to the drift-diffusion description of space-charge waves, the latter appearing in the contexts of negative differential resistance, acoustoelectric and recombination instabilities. Besides being a useful reference for workers in the field, this book will be a valuable text for graduate courses. |
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