At a level accessible to advanced undergraduates, this textbook explains the fundamental role of quantum mechanics in determining the structure, dynamics, and other properties of molecules. Readers will come to understand the quantum-mechanical basis for harmonic oscillators, angular momenta and scattering processes. Exercises are provided to help readers deepen their grasp of the essential phenomena.

This book uses less strict yet still formal mathematical language to clarify a variety of concepts in Quantum Field Theory that remain somewhat "fuzzy" in many books designed for undergraduates and fresh graduates. The aim is not to replace formal books on Quantum Field Theory, but rather to offer a helpful complementary tool for beginners in the field. Features include a reader-friendly introduction to tensor calculus and the concept of manifolds; a simple and robust treatment for dimensional regularization; a consistent explanation of the renormalization procedure, step by step and in a transparent manner at all orders, using the QED Lagrangian; and extensive treatment of infrared as well as ultraviolet divergences. The most general (Lorentz invariant) form of Noether's theorem is presented and applied to a few simple yet relevant examples in Quantum Field Theory. These and further interesting topics are addressed in a way that will be accessible for the target readership. Some familiarity with basic notions of Quantum Field Theory and the basics of Special Relativity is assumed.

This is the seventh volume in a series on the general topics of supersymmetry, supergravity, black objects (including black holes) and the attractor mechanism. The present volume is based on lectures held in March 2013 at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati during the Breaking of supersymmetry and Ultraviolet Divergences in extended Supergravity Workshop (BUDS 2013), organized by Stefano Bellucci, with the participation of prestigious speakers including P. Aschieri, E. Bergshoeff, M. Cederwall, T. Dennen, P. Di Vecchia, S. Ferrara, R. Kallosh, A. Karlsson, M. Koehn, B. Ovrut, A. Van Proeyen, G. Ruppeiner. Special attention is devoted to discussing topics related to the cancellation of ultraviolet divergences in extended supergravity and Born-Infeld-like actions. All talks were followed by extensive discussions and subsequent reworking of the various contributions a feature which is reflected in the unique "flavor" of this volume.

With this thesis the author contributes to the development of a non-mainstream but long-standing approach to electroweak symmetry breaking based on an analogy with superconductivity. Electroweak symmetry breaking is assumed to be caused by dynamically generated masses of typical fermions, i.e., of quarks and leptons, which in turn assumes a new dynamics between quarks and leptons. Primarily it is designed to generate fermion masses and electroweak symmetry breaking is an automatic consequence.

After the summary of the topic, the first main part of the thesis addresses the question as to whether the masses of known quarks and leptons provide sufficiently strong sources of electroweak symmetry breaking. It is demonstrated that neutrino masses subject tothe seesaw mechanism are indispensable ingredients. The other two parts of the thesis are dedicated to the presentation of two particular models: The first model is based on the new strong Yukawa dynamics and serves as a platform for studying the ability to reproduce fermion masses. The second, more realistic model introduces a flavor gauge dynamics and its phenomenological consequences are studied.

Even though, in the past, this type of models has already been of some interest, following the discovery of the Standard-Model-like Higgs particle, it is regaining its relevance."

Quantum mechanics forms the foundation of all modern physics, including atomic, nuclear, and molecular physics, the physics of the elementary particles, condensed matter physics. Modern astrophysics also relies heavily on quantum mechanics. Quantum theory is needed to understand the basis for new materials, new devices, the nature of light coming from stars, the laws which govern the atomic nucleus, and the physics of biological systems. As a result the subject of this book is a required course for most physics graduate students. While there are many books on the subject, this book targets specifically graduate students and it is written with modern advances in various fields in mind. Many examples treated in the various chapters as well as the emphasis of the presentation in the book are designed from the perspective of such problems. For example, the book begins by putting the Schroedinger equation on a spatial discrete lattice and the continuum limit is also discussed, inspired by Hamiltonian lattice gauge theories. The latter and advances in quantum simulations motivated the inclusion of the path integral formulation. This formulation is applied to the imaginary-time evolution operator to project the exact ground state of the harmonic oscillator as is done in quantum simulations. As an example of how to take advantage of symmetry in quantum mechanics, one-dimensional periodic potentials are discussed, inspired by condensed matter physics. Atoms and molecules are discussed within mean-field like treatment (Hartree-Fock) and how to go beyond it. Motivated by the recent intense activity in condensed matter and atomic physics to study the Hubbard model, the electron correlations in the hydrogen molecule are taken into account by solving the two-site Hubbard model analytically. Using the canonical Hamiltonian quantization of quantum electrodynamics, the photons emerge as the quanta of the normal modes, in the same way as the phonons emerge in the treatment of the normal modes of the coupled array of atoms. This is used later to treat the interaction of radiation with atomic matter.

This thesis offers a comprehensive introduction to surface acoustic waves in the quantum regime. It addresses two of the most significant technological challenges in developing a scalable quantum information processor based on spins in quantum dots: (i) decoherence of the electronic spin qubit due to the surrounding nuclear spin bath, and (ii) long-range spin-spin coupling between remote qubits. Electron spins confined in quantum dots (QDs) are among the leading contenders for implementing quantum information processing. To this end, the author pursues novel strategies that turn the unavoidable coupling to the solid-state environment (in particular, nuclear spins and phonons) into a valuable asset rather than a liability.

Magnetic and spintronic materials are ubiquitous in modern technological applications, e.g. in electric motors, power generators, sensors and actuators, not to mention information storage and processing. Medical technology has also greatly benefited from magnetic materials - especially magnetic nanoparticles - for therapy and diagnostics methods. All of the above-mentioned applications rely on the properties of the materials used. These properties in turn depend on intrinsic and extrinsic material parameters. The former are related to the actual elements used and their properties, e.g. atomic magnetic moment and exchange interaction between atoms; the latter are related to the structural and microstructural properties of the materials used, e.g. their crystal structure, grain size, and grain boundary phases. Focusing on state-of-the-art magnetic and spintronic materials, this book will introduce readers to a range of related topics in Physics and Materials Science. Phenomena and processes at the nanoscale are of particular importance in this context; accordingly, much of the book addresses such topics.

Many technological applications exploit a variety of magnetic structures, or magnetic phases, to produce and optimise solid-state functionality. However, most research advances are restricted to a reduced number of phases owing to computational and resource constraints. This thesis presents an ab-initio theory to efficiently describe complex magnetic phases and their temperature-dependent properties. The central assumption is that magnetic phases evolve slowly compared with the underlying electronic structure from which they emerge. By describing how the electronic structure adapts to the type and extent of magnetic order, a theory able to describe multi-spin correlations and their effect on the magnetism at finite temperature is obtained. It is shown that multi-spin correlations are behind the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the diverse magnetism in the heavy rare earth elements. Magnetically frustrated Mn-based materials and the effect of strain are also investigated. These studies demonstrate that the performance of solid-state refrigeration can be enhanced by multi-spin effects.

This thesis sheds new light on the fascinating properties of composite quantum systems. Quantum systems of different sizes, ranging from small bipartite systems to large many-body ensembles, can be studied with the help of modern quantum optical experiments. These experiments make it possible to observe a broad variety of striking features, including nonclassical correlations, complex dynamics and quantum phase transitions. By adopting the complementary perspectives of quantum information theory, quantum chemistry and many-body theory, the thesis develops new methods for the efficient characterization and description of interacting, composite quantum systems.

A ground-breaking and practical treatment of probability and stochastic processes

"A Modern Theory of Random Variation" is a new and radical re-formulation of the mathematical underpinnings of subjects as diverse as investment, communication engineering, and quantum mechanics. Setting aside the classical theory of probability measure spaces, the book utilizes a mathematically rigorous version of the theory of random variation that bases itself exclusively on finitely additive probability distribution functions.

In place of twentieth century Lebesgue integration and measure theory, the author uses the simpler concept of Riemann sums, and the non-absolute Riemann-type integration of Henstock. Readers are supplied with an accessible approach to standard elements of probability theory such as the central limmit theorem and Brownian motion as well as remarkable, new results on Feynman diagrams and stochastic integrals.

Throughout the book, detailed numerical demonstrations accompany the discussions of abstract mathematical theory, from the simplest elements of the subject to the most complex. In addition, an array of numerical examples and vivid illustrations showcase how the presented methods and applications can be undertaken at various levels of complexity.

"A Modern Theory of Random Variation" is a suitable book for courses on mathematical analysis, probability theory, and mathematical finance at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book is also an indispensible resource for researchers and practitioners who are seeking new concepts, techniques and methodologies in data analysis, numerical calculation, and financial asset valuation.

Patrick Muldowney, PhD, served as lecturer at the Magee Business School of the UNiversity of Ulster for over twenty years. Dr. Muldowney has published extensively in his areas of research, including integration theory, financial mathematics, and random variation.

In his rich and varied career as a mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, Jacob T. Schwartz wrote seminal works in analysis, mathematical economics, programming languages, algorithmics, and computational geometry. In this volume of essays, his friends, students, and collaborators at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences present recent results in some of the fields that Schwartz explored: quantum theory, the theory and practice of programming, program correctness and decision procedures, dextrous manipulation in Robotics, motion planning, and genomics. In addition to presenting recent results in these fields, these essays illuminate the astonishingly productive trajectory of a brilliant and original scientist and thinker.

The production of heavy quarks in high-energy experiments offers a rich field to study, both experimentally and theoretically. Due to the additional quark mass, the description of these processes in the framework of perturbative QCD is much more demanding than it is for those involving only massless partons. In the last two decades, a large amount of precision data has been collected by the deep inelastic HERA experiment. In order to make full use of these data, a more precise theoretical description of charm quark production in deep inelastic scattering is needed. This work deals with the first calculation of fixed moments of the NNLO heavy flavor corrections to the proton structure function F2 in the limit of a small charm-quark mass. The correct treatment of these terms will allow not only a more precise analysis of the HERA data, but starting from there also a more precise determination of the parton distribution functions and the strong coupling constant, which is an essential input for LHC physics. The complexity of this calculation requires the application and development of technical and mathematical methods, which are also explained here in detail.

This book is aimed at those readers who already have some knowledge of mathematical methods and have also been introduced to the basic ideas of quantum optics. It should be attractive to students who have already explored one of the more introductory texts such as Loudon's The quantum theory of light (2/e, 1983, OUP) and are seeking to acquire the mathematical skills used in real problems. This book is not primarily about the physics of quantum optics but rather presents the mathematical methods widely used by workers in this field. There is no comparable book which covers either the range or the depth of mathematical techniques.

Quantum mechanics is one of the great success stories of modern physics, making sense of the very small just as Einstein's theory of relativity made sense of the very large. But, for most students, the ideas that make quantum mechanics powerful can be confusing and counterintuitive. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science series provides a history of quantum mechanics from the early breakthroughs of Planck and Einstein, at the beginning of the 20th century, to the present frontiers of quantum computing and quantum gravity. The approach is entirely non-technical, and is aimed at the general reader who may not have much mathematical background but who has a strong curiosity about some of the most important developments in modern science. Quantum Mechanics: A Historical Perspective traces the history of this powerful theory, including: BLThe early discoveries by Max Planck and Albert Einstein regarding the quantization of radiation BLThe "early quantum theory," including Neils Bohr's theory of the atom BLThe birth of modern quantum mechanics through the work of Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Born, Dirac and others BLApplications of quantum mechanics in chemistry, nuclear physics, electronics, and many other areas BLRecent work in quantum computation and quantum information theory The book emphasizes the fact that despite the great success of quantum mechanics, many exciting intellectual frontiers remain open for further researchers to explore. It includes a glossary, a timeline, and a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.

The fundamental concept of quantum coherence plays a central role in quantum physics, cutting across disciplines of quantum optics, atomic and condensed matter physics. Quantum coherence represents a universal property of the quantum s- tems that applies both to light and matter thereby tying together materials and p- nomena. Moreover, the optical coherence can be transferred to the medium through the light-matter interactions. Since the early days of quantum mechanics there has been a desire to control dynamics of quantum systems. The generation and c- trol of quantum coherence in matter by optical means, in particular, represents a viable way to achieve this longstanding goal and semiconductor nanostructures are the most promising candidates for controllable quantum systems. Optical generation and control of coherent light-matter states in semiconductor quantum nanostructures is precisely the scope of the present book. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in the subject of quantum coh- ence. We are currently witnessing parallel growth of activities in different physical systems that are all built around the central concept of manipulation of quantum coherence. The burgeoning activities in solid-state systems, and semiconductors in particular, have been strongly driven by the unprecedented control of coherence that previously has been demonstrated in quantum optics of atoms and molecules, and is now taking advantage of the remarkable advances in semiconductor fabrication technologies. A recent impetus to exploit the coherent quantum phenomena comes from the emergence of the quantum information paradigm.

This thesis exploits the ability of the linear-scaling quantum mechanical code ONETEP to analyze systems containing many thousands of atoms. By implementing an electron transport capability to the code, it also investigates a range of phenomena associated with electrical conduction by nanotubes and, in particular, the process of transport electrons between tubes. Extensive work has been done on the conductivity of single carbon nanotubes. However, any realistic wire made of nanotubes will consist of a large number of tubes of finite length. The conductance of the resulting wire is expected to be limited by the process of transferring electrons from one tube to another.These quantum mechanical calculations on very large systems have revealed a number of incorrect claims made previously in the literature. Conduction processes that have never before been studied at this level of theory are also investigated.

This book addresses electron spin-qubit based quantum computing and quantum information processing with a strong focus on the background and applications to EPR/ESR technique and spectroscopy. It explores a broad spectrum of topics including quantum computing, information processing, quantum effects in electron-nuclear coupled molecular spin systems, adiabatic quantum computing, heat bath algorithmic cooling with spins, and gateway schemes of quantum control for spin networks to NMR quantum information. The organization of the book places emphasis on relevant molecular qubit spectroscopy. These revolutionary concepts have never before been included in a comprehensive volume that covers theory, physical basis, technological basis, applications, and new advances in this emerging field. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Based Quantum Computing, co-edited by leading and renowned researchers Takeji Takui, Graeme Hanson and Lawrence J Berliner, is an ideal resource for students and researchers in the fields of EPR/ESR, NMR and quantum computing. This book also * Explores methods of harnessing quantum effects in electron-nuclear coupled molecular spin systems * Expertly discusses applications of optimal control theory in quantum computing * Broadens the readers' understanding of NMR quantum information processing

The essays in this volume concern the points of intersection between analytic philosophy and the philosophy of the exact sciences. More precisely, it concern connections between knowledge in mathematics and the exact sciences, on the one hand, and the conceptual foundations of knowledge in general. Its guiding idea is that, in contemporary philosophy of science, there are profound problems of theoretical interpretation-- problems that transcend both the methodological concerns of general philosophy of science, and the technical concerns of philosophers of particular sciences. A fruitful approach to these problems combines the study of scientific detail with the kind of conceptual analysis that is characteristic of the modern analytic tradition. Such an approach is shared by these contributors: some primarily known as analytic philosophers, some as philosophers of science, but all deeply aware that the problems of analysis and interpretation link these fields together.

This thesis presents a study of the scalar sector in the standard model (SM), as well as various searches for an extended scalar sector in theories beyond the SM (BSM). The first part of the thesis details the search for an SM Higgs boson decaying to taus, and produced by gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, or associated production with a vector boson, leading to evidence for decays of the Higgs boson to taus. In turn, the second part highlights several searches for an extended scalar sector, with scalar boson decays to taus. In all of the analyses presented, at least one scalar boson decays to a pair of taus. The results draw on data collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector during proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 7 or 8 TeV.

This work was nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the LPSC, Universite Grenoble Alpes, France. The LHC Run 1 was a milestone in particle physics, leading to the discovery of the Higgs boson, the last missing piece of the so-called "Standard Model" (SM), and to important constraints on new physics, which challenge popular theories like weak-scale supersymmetry. This thesis provides a detailed account of the legacy of the LHC Run 1 Yregarding these aspects. First, the SM and the need for its extension are presented in a concise yet revealing way. Subsequently, the impact of the LHC Higgs results on scenarios of new physics is assessed in detail, including a careful discussion of the relevant uncertainties. Two approaches are considered: generic modifications of the Higgs couplings, possibly arising from extended Higgs sectors or higher-dimensional operators; and tests of specific new physics models. Lastly, the implications of the null results of the searches for new physics are discussed with a particular focus on supersymmetric dark matter candidates. Here as well, two approaches are presented: the "simplified models" approach, and recasting by event simulation. This thesis stands out for its educational approach, its clear language and the depth of the physics discussion. The methods and tools presented offer readers essential practical tools for future research.

There are many approaches to noncommutative geometry and its use in physics, the ? operator algebra and C -algebra one, the deformation quantization one, the qu- tum group one, and the matrix algebra/fuzzy geometry one. This volume introduces and develops the subject by presenting in particular the ideas and methods recently pursued by Julius Wess and his group. These methods combine the deformation quantization approach based on the - tion of star product and the deformed (quantum) symmetries methods based on the theory of quantum groups. The merging of these two techniques has proven very fruitful in order to formulate ?eld theories on noncommutative spaces. The aim of the book is to give an introduction to these topics and to prepare the reader to enter the research ?eld himself/herself. This has developed from the constant interest of Prof. W. Beiglboeck, editor of LNP, in this project, and from the authors experience in conferences and schools on the subject, especially from their interaction with students and young researchers. In fact quite a few chapters in the book were written with a double purpose, on the one hand as contributions for school or conference proceedings and on the other handaschaptersforthepresentbook.Thesearenowharmonizedandcomplemented by a couple of contributions that have been written to provide a wider background, to widen the scope, and to underline the power of our methods.

The understanding in science implies insights from several different points of view. Alternative modern outlooks on electronic structure of atoms and molecules, all rooted in quantum mechanics, are presented in a single text. Together these complementary perspectives provide a deeper understanding of the localization of electrons and bonds, the origins of chemical interaction and reactivity behavior, the interaction between the geometric and electronic structure of molecules, etc. In the opening two parts the basic principles and techniques of the contemporary computational and conceptual quantum chemistry are presented, within both the wave-function and electron-density theories. This background material is followed by a discussion of chemical concepts, including stages of the bond-formation processes, chemical valence and bond-multiplicity indices, the hardness/softness descriptors of molecules and reactants, and general chemical reactivity/stability principles. The insights from Information Theory, the basic elements of which are briefly introduced, including the entropic origins and Orbital Communication Theory of the chemical bond, are the subject of Part IV. The importance of the non-additive (interference) information tools in exploring patterns of chemical bonds and their covalent and ionic components will be emphasized.

Towards Solid-State Quantum Repeaters: Ultrafast, Coherent Optical Control and Spin-Photon Entanglement in Charged InAs Quantum Dots summarizes several state-of-the-art coherent spin manipulation experiments in III-V quantum dots. Both high-fidelity optical manipulation, decoherence due to nuclear spins and the spin coherence extraction are discussed, as is the generation of entanglement between a single spin qubit and a photonic qubit. The experimental results are analyzed and discussed in the context of future quantum technologies, such as quantum repeaters. Single spins in optically active semiconductor host materials have emerged as leading candidates for quantum information processing (QIP). The quantum nature of the spin allows for encoding of stationary, memory quantum bits (qubits), and the relatively weak interaction with the host material preserves the spin coherence. On the other hand, optically active host materials permit direct interfacing with light, which can be used for all-optical qubit manipulation, and for efficiently mapping matter qubits into photonic qubits that are suited for long-distance quantum communication.

The introduction of spin is believed to be a necessary tool if one wishes to quantize general relativity. Then the main problem is to see if the introduction of spin generalizing the general relativity from a geometric point of view, i.e. through the concept of torsion, can be experimentally verified.

The reader can find in this book both theoretical and experimental arguments which show the necessity for the introduction of spin, and then of torsion, in gravity. In fact, torsion constitutes the more natural and simple way to introduce spin in general relativity. For that reason it is of fundamental importance to see if there are some experiences that indicate -- if not directly, then at least indirectly -- the presence of torsion. This book presents a discussion on experiments with a polarized-mass torsion pendulum, the search for galactic dark matter interacting with a spin pendulum, a description of a space-based method for determination of the gravitational constant and space-based measurements of spin in gravity, as well as a discussion on theoretical arguments, for instance the nature of torsion and nonmetricity, the viability of gravitational theories with spin -- torsion and spin-spin interaction, many-dimensional gravitational theories with torsion, spinors on curved spaces, the spinors in real space -- time, etc.

We know that until now there has been no evidence for torsion, but this fact cannot prevent us from considering in some detail this implement of research that seems to be important from both a geometrical and a physical point of view.

The aim of this book is to show that the probabilistic formalisms of classical statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics can be unified on the basis of a general contextual probabilistic model. By taking into account the dependence of (classical) probabilities on contexts (i.e. complexes of physical conditions), one can reproduce all distinct features of quantum probabilities such as the interference of probabilities and the violation of Bell's inequality. Moreover, by starting with a formula for the interference of probabilities (which generalizes the well known classical formula of total probability), one can construct the representation of contextual probabilities by complex probability amplitudes or, in the abstract formalism, by normalized vectors of the complex Hilbert space or its hyperbolic generalization. Thus the Hilbert space representation of probabilities can be naturally derived from classical probabilistic assumptions. An important chapter of the book critically reviews known no-go theorems: the impossibility to establish a finer description of micro-phenomena than provided by quantum mechanics; and, in particular, the commonly accepted consequences of Bell's theorem (including quantum non-locality). Also, possible applications of the contextual probabilistic model and its quantum-like representation in complex Hilbert spaces in other fields (e.g. in cognitive science and psychology) are discussed.