The PUILS series delivers up-to-date reviews of progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science, a newly emerging interdisciplinary research field spanning atomic and molecular physics, molecular science and optical science which has been stimulated by the recent developments in ultrafast laser technologies. Each volume compiles peer-reviewed articles authored by researchers at the forefront of each their own subfields of UILS. Every chapter opens with an overview of the topics to be discussed, so that researchers unfamiliar to the subfield as well as graduate students can grasp the importance and attractions of the research topic at hand. These are followed by reports of cutting-edge discoveries. This eighth volume covers a broad range of topics from this interdisciplinary research field, focusing on molecules interacting with ultrashort and intense laser fields, advanced technologies for the characterization of ultrashort laser pulses and their applications, laser plasma formation and laser acceleration.

The 2002 Spring Meeting of the "Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft" was held in Regensburg from March 25th to 29th, 2002. The number of conference attendees has remained remarkably stable at about 2800, despite the decreas ing number of German PhD students. This can be taken as an indication that the program of the meeting was very attractive. The present volume of the "Advances in Solid State Physics" contains the written versions of most of the invited talks, also those presented as part of the Symposia. Most of these Symposia were organized by several divisions in collaboration and they covered fascinating selection of topics of current interest. I trust that the book reflects this year's status of the field in Germany. In particular, one notes a slight change in paradigms: from quantum dots and wires to spin transport and soft matter systems in the broadest sense. This seems to reflect the present general trend in physics. Nevertheless, a large portion of the invited papers as well as the discussions at the meeting concentrated on nanostrnctured matter.

Sean Ashton's doctoral thesis, which he finished at the Technical University in Munich, describes the challenge of constructing a Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometer instrument (DEMS). DEMS combines an electrochemical cell with mass spectrometry via a membrane interface, allowing gaseous and volatile electrochemical reaction species to be monitored online. The thesis carefully introduces the fuel cell electrocatalyst development concerns before reviewing the pertinent literature on DEMS. This is followed by the presentation and discussion of the new extended design, including a thorough characterization of the instrument. The capabilities of the new setup are demonstrated in two research studies: The methanol oxidation reaction on Pt and PtRu catalysts, and the electrochemical corrosion of fuel cell catalyst supports. Despite both topics having long since been studied, new insights can be obtained through careful investigations with the new DEMS instrument that are of great, general interest. The thesis and the instrument thus show the way for future investigations in the field.

This book presents the current knowledge about superconductivity in high Tc cuprate superconductors. There is a large scientific interest and great potential for technological applications. The book discusses all the aspects related to all families of cuprate superconductors discovered so far. Beginning with the phenomenon of superconductivity, the book covers: the structure of cuprate HTSCs, critical currents, flux pinning, synthesis of HTSCs, proximity effect and SQUIDs, possible applications of high Tc superconductors and theories of superconductivity. Though a high Tc theory is still awaited, this book describes the present scenario and BCS and RVB theories. The second edition was significantly extended by including film-substrate lattice matching and buffer layer considerations in thin film HTSCs, brick-wall microstructure in the epitaxial films, electronic structure of the CuO2 layer in cuprates, s-wave and d-wave coupling in HTSCs and possible scenarios of theories of high Tc superconductivity.

Principles and Applications of ESR Spectroscopy fills the gap between the detailed monographs in ESR spectroscopy and the general textbooks in molecular physics, physical chemistry, biochemistry or spectroscopy. The latter only briefly explain the underlying theory and do not provide details about applications, while the currently available ESR textbooks are primarily focused on the technique as such. This text is based upon the authors' long experience of teaching the subject to a mixed audience, in the extreme case ranging from physics to biology. The potential of the method is illustrated with applications in fields such as molecular science, catalysis and environmental sciences, polymer and materials sciences, biochemistry and radiation chemistry/physics. Theoretical derivations have in general been omitted, as they have been presented repeatedly in previous works. The necessary theory is instead illustrated by practical examples from the literature.

The idea for this book arose out of the realization that, although excellent surveys and a phosphor handbook are available, there is no single source covering the area of phosphate based phosphors especially for lamp industry. Moreover, as this field gets only limited attention in most general books on luminescence, there is a clear need for a book in which attention is specifically directed toward this rapidly growing field of solid state lighting and its many applications. This book is aimed at providing a sound introduction to the synthesis and optical characterization of phosphate phosphor for undergraduate and graduate students as well as teachers and researchers. The book provides guidance through the multidisciplinary field of solid state lighting specially phosphate phosphors for beginners, scientists and engineers from universities, research organizations, and especially industry. In order to make it useful for a wide audience, both fundamentals and applications are discussed, together.

Clinical pharmacology plays an important role in today's medicine. Due to the high sensitivity, selectivity, and affordability of a mass spectrometer (MS), the high performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analytical technique is widely used in the determination of drugs in human biological matrixes for clinical pharmacology. Specifically, LC-MS is used to analyze: anticancer drugs antidementia drugs antidepressant drugs antiepileptic drugs antifundal drug antimicrobial drugs antipsychotic drugs antiretroviral drugs anxiolytic/hypnotic drugs cardiac drugs drugs for addiction immunosuppressant drugs mood stabilizer drugs This book will primarily cover the various methods of validation for LC-MS techniques and applications used in modern clinical pharmacology.

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

Rasmus Brogaard's thesis digs into the fundamental issue of how the shape of a molecule relates to its photochemical reactivity. This relation is drastically different from that of ground-state chemistry, since lifetimes of excited states are often comparable to or even shorter than the time scales of conformational changes. Combining theoretical and experimental efforts in femto-second time-resolved photoionization Rasmus Brogaard finds that a requirement for an efficient photochemical reaction is the prearrangement of the constituents in a reactive conformation. Furthermore, he is able to show that by exploiting a strong ionic interaction between two chromophores, a coherent molecular motion can be induced and probed in real-time. This way of using bichromophoric interactions provides a promising strategy for future research on conformational dynamics.

"Solid-State Theory - An Introduction" is a textbook for graduate students of physics and material sciences. Whilst covering the traditional topics of older textbooks, it also takes up new developments in theoretical concepts and materials that are connected with such breakthroughs as the quantum-Hall effects, the high-Tc superconductors, and the low-dimensional systems realized in solids. Thus besides providing the fundamental concepts to describe the physics of the electrons and ions comprising the solid, including their interactions, the book casts a bridge to the experimental facts and gives the reader an excellent insight into current research fields. A compilation of problems makes the book especially valuable to both students and teachers.

Common methods of local magnetic imaging display either a high spatial resolution and relatively poor field sensitivity (MFM, Lorentz microscopy), or a relatively high field sensitivity but limited spatial resolution (scanning SQUID microscopy). Since the magnetic field of a nanoparticle or nanostructure decays rapidly with distance from the structure, the achievable spatial resolution is ultimately limited by the probe-sample separation. This thesis presents a novel method for fabricating the smallest superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) that resides on the apex of a very sharp tip. The nanoSQUID-on-tip displays a characteristic size down to 100 nm and a field sensitivity of 10^-3 Gauss/Hz^(1/2). A scanning SQUID microsope was constructed by gluing the nanoSQUID-on-tip to a quartz tuning-fork. This enabled the nanoSQUID to be scanned within nanometers of the sample surface, providing simultaneous images of sample topography and the magnetic field distribution. This microscope represents a significant improvement over the existing scanning SQUID techniques and is expected to be able to image the spin of a single electron.

Atomic Spectroscopy provides a comprehensive discussion on the general approach to the theory of atomic spectra, based on the use of the Lagrangian canonical formalism. This approach is developed and applied to explain the hydrogenic hyperfine structure associated with the nucleus motion, its finite mass, and spin. The non-relativistic or relativistic, spin or spin-free particle approximations can be used as a starting point of general approach. The special attention is paid to the theory of Lamb shift formation. The formulae for hydrogenic spectrum including the account of Lamb shift are written in simple analytical form. The book is of interest to specialists, graduate and postgraduate students, who are involved into the experimental and theoretical research in the field of modern atomic spectroscopy.

NMR Spectroscopy in Liquids and Solids provides an introduction of the general concepts behind Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and its applications, including how to perform adequate NMR experiments and interpret data collected in liquids and solids to characterize molecule systems in terms of their structure and dynamics. The book is composed of ten chapters. The first three chapters consider the theoretical basis of NMR spectroscopy, the theory of NMR relaxation, and the practice of relaxation measurements. The middle chapters discuss the general aspects of molecular dynamics and their relationships to NMR, NMR spectroscopy and relaxation studies in solutions, and special issues related to NMR in solutions. The remaining chapters introduce general principles and strategies involved in solid-state NMR studies, provide examples of applications of relaxation for the determination of molecular dynamics in diamagnetic solids, and discuss special issues related to solid state NMR- including NMR relaxation in paramagnetic solids. All chapters are accompanied by references and recommended literature for further reading. Many practical examples of multinuclear NMR and relaxation experiments and their interpretations are also presented. The book is ideal for scientists new to NMR, students, and investigators working in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pharmaceutical sciences, or materials science.

This book introduces the fundamentals and applications of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property of noble metallic nanoparticles, with an emphasis on the biosensing applications of plasmonic nanoparticles, especially in living cell imaging and photothermal therapy. It provides an overview of the different operating principles of plasmonic sensors, particularly the single-nanoparticle-based detections, and a series of creative biosensors based on the modulation of different parameters of nanoparticles (particle size, shape, composition and surrounding medium) for label-free detection. The interparticle coupling effect, plasmon resonance energy transfer, electron transfer on plasmonics surface are also covered in this book.

This book is intended for graduate students and researchers working in the interdisciplinary field combining chemistry, biology, material science and nanophotonics.

Yi-Tao Long is a Professor at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, China.

Optics and Lasers is an introduction to engineering and applied optics, including not only elementary ray and wave optics, but also lasers, holography, copherence, fibers, and optical waveguides. It stresses physicalprinciples, applications, and instrumentation. It will be most usefull to the practicing engineer or experimental scientist, graduate student, or advanced undergraduate. It contains more than enough material from which to selelct the core of an introctory optics course and sufficientto form the bulk of a more advanced course.

This volume contains review articles which were written by the invited speak ers of the Sixth International Summer Institute in Surface Science (ISISS), held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in August 1983. The objective of ISISS is to bring together a group of internationally recognized experts on various aspects of surface science to present tutorial review lectures over a period of one week. Each speaker is asked, in addi tion, to write a review paper on his lecture topic. The collected articles from previous Institutes have been published under the following titles: Surface Science: Recent Progress and Perspectives, Crit. Rev. Solid State Sci. 4, 124-559 (1974). Chemistry and Physics of Solid Surfaces, Vol. I (1976), Vol. II (1979), Vol. III (1982) (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL), and Vol. IV (1982), Springer Ser. Chern. Phys., Vol. 20 (Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1982) No single collection of reviews (or one-week conference for that matter) can possibly cover the entire field of modern surface science, from heter ogeneous catalysis through semiconductor surface physics to metallurgy. It is intended, however, that the series Chemistry and Physics ofSolid Sur faces as a whole should provide experts and students alike with a comprehen ve set of reviews and literature references on as many aspects of the subject as possible, particular emphasis being placed on the gas-solid interface. Each volume is introduced with a historical review of the devel opment of one aspect of surface science by a distinguished participant in that development."

"Physics of Nanostructured Solid State Devices"introduces readers to theories and concepts such as semi-classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of electron transport, methods for calculations of band structures in solids with applications in calculation of optical constants, and other advanced concepts. The information presented here will equip readers with the necessary tools to carry out cutting edge research in modern solid state nanodevices."

This book reviews all the state-of-the-art simulation methods used to investigate the atomistic-scale properties of technologically important oxide materials. Previous and many recent results are carefully discussed.

The book describes the fundamentals, latest developments and use of key experimental techniques for semiconductor research. It explains the application potential of various analytical methods and discusses the opportunities to apply particular analytical techniques to study novel semiconductor compounds, such as dilute nitride alloys. The emphasis is on the technique rather than on the particular system studied.

The reader will find here a timely update on new THz sources and detection schemes as well as concrete applications to the detection of Explosives and CBRN. Included is a method to identify hidden RDX-based explosives (pure and plastic ones) in the frequency domain study by Fourier Transformation, which has been complemented by the demonstration of improvement of the quality of the images captured commercially available THz passive cameras. The presented examples show large potential for the detection of small hidden objects at long distances (6-10 m). Complementing the results in the short-wavelength range, laser spectroscopy with a mid-infrared, room temperature, continuous wave, DFB laser diode and high performance DFB QCL have been demonstrated to offer excellent enabling sensor technologies for environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, industrial and security applications. From the new source point of view a number of systems have been presented - From superconductors to semiconductors, e.g. Detection of Terahertz Waves from Superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ Intrinsic Josephson Junctions.The quest for a compact room temperature THz source and the recent advances in high power mid-IR QCLs lead to the development of a semiconductor THz source based on intracavity difference frequency generation. Furthermore, alternative electrically pumped THz sources based on the high emission efficiency predicted for polaritonic states in the ultra-strong coupling regime led to the demonstration of electroluminescent devices. Finally, antipolaritons in dispersive media were discussed and different aspects of the interaction of THz radiation with biomatter were presented."

Oxygen-Ozone therapy is a complementary approach less known than homeopathy and acupuncture because it has come of age only three decades ago. This book clarifies that, in the often nebulous field of natural medicine, the biological bases of ozone therapy are totally in line with classical biochemistry, physiological and pharmacological knowledge. Ozone is an oxidizing molecule, a sort of super active oxygen, which, by reacting with blood components generates a number of chemical messengers responsible for activating crucial biological functions such as oxygen delivery, immune activation, release of hormones and induction of antioxidant enzymes, which is an exceptional property for correcting the chronic oxidative stress present in atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer. Moreover, by inducing nitric oxide synthase, ozone therapy may mobilize endogenous stem cells, which will promote regeneration of ischemic tissues. The description of these phenomena offers the first comprehensive picture for understanding how ozone works and why. When properly used as a real drug within therapeutic range, ozone therapy does not only does not procure adverse effects but yields a feeling of wellness. Half the book describes the value of ozone treatment in several diseases, particularly cutanious infection and vascular diseases where ozone really behaves as a "wonder drug". The book has been written for clinical researchers, physicians and ozone therapists, but also for the layman or the patient interested in this therapy.

This work focuses on complementary crystallographic and spectroscopic areas of dynamic structural science, from papers presented at the 46th NATO sponsored course in Erice, Sicily 2013. These papers cover a range of material from background concepts to more advanced material and represent a fully inter-disciplinary collection of the latest ideas and results within the field. They will appeal to practising or novice crystallographers, both chemical and biological, who wish to learn more about modern spectroscopic methods and convergent advances and hence vice versa for experimental and computational spectroscopists.The chapters refer to the latest techniques, software and results and each chapter is fully referenced. The volume provides an excellent starting point for new comers in the emerging, multi-disciplinary area of time resolved science."

This is the sixth volume of a well-established and popular series in which expert practitioners discuss topical aspects of light scattering in solids. This volume discusses recent results of Raman spectroscopy of high Tc superconductors, organic polymers, rare earth compounds, semimagnetic superconductors, and silver halides, as well as developments in the rapidly growing field of time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. Emphasis is placed on obtaining information about elementary excitations, the basic properties of materials, and the use of Raman spectroscopy as an analytical tool. This volume may be regarded as an encyclopedia of condensed matter physics from the viewpoint of the Raman spectroscopist. It will be useful to advanced students and to all researchers who apply Raman spectroscopy in their work.