This thesis focuses on the study of the optical response of new atomically thin two-dimensional crystals, principally the family of transition metal dichalcogenides like MoS2. One central theme of the thesis is the precise treatment of the linear and second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. In addition to their significant scientific interest as fundamental material responses, these studies provide essential knowledge and convenient characterization tools for the application of these 2D materials in opto-electronic devices. Another important theme of the thesis is the valley physics of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. It is shown that the degeneracy in the valley degree of freedom can be lifted and a valley polarization can be created using a magnetic field, which breaks time reversal symmetry in these materials. These findings enhance our basic understanding of the valley electronic states and open up new opportunities for valleytronic applications using two-dimensional materials.

This volume provides an introduction to the state-of-the-art of controlled nanoscale motion in biological and artificial systems. Coverage includes the control and function of protein motors, the physics of non-equilibrium Brownian motion, and the physics and fabrication of synthetic molecular motors. The chapters in this book are based on selected contributions on the 2005 Nobel Symposium on Controlled Nanoscale Motion.

Solid State Physics emphasizes a few fundamental principles and extracts from them a wealth of information. This approach also unifies an enormous and diverse subject which seems to consist of too many disjoint pieces. The book starts with the absolutely minimum of formal tools, emphasizes the basic principles, and employs physical reasoning (" a little thinking and imagination" to quote R. Feynman) to obtain results. Continuous comparison with experimental data leads naturally to a gradual refinement of the concepts and to more sophisticated methods. After the initial overview with an emphasis on the physical concepts and the derivation of results by dimensional analysis, The Physics of Solids deals with the Jellium Model (JM) and the Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCAO) approaches to solids and introduces the basic concepts and information regarding metals and semiconductors.

This book presents an overview of material-specific factors that influence Tc and give rise to diverse Tc values for copper oxides and iron-based high- Tc superconductors on the basis of more than 25 years of experimental data, to most of which the author has made important contributions. The book then explains why both compounds are distinct from others with similar crystal structure and whether or not one can enhance Tc, which in turn gives a hint on the unresolved pairing mechanism. This is an unprecedented new approach to the problem of high-temperature superconductivity and thus will be inspiring to both specialists and non-specialists interested in this field. Readers will receive in-depth information on the past, present, and future of high-temperature superconductors, along with special, updated information on what the real highest Tc values are and particularly on the possibility of enhancing Tc for each member material, which is important for application. At this time, the highest Tc has not been improved for 20 years, and no new superconductors have been discovered for 5 years. This book will encourage researchers as well as graduate-course students not to give up on the challenges in the future of high- Tc superconductivity.

This book presents the theory of soft matter to students at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. It provides a basic introduction to theoretical physics as applied to soft matter, explaining the concepts of symmetry, broken symmetry, and order parameters; phases and phase transitions; mean-field theory; and the mathematics of variational calculus and tensors. It is written in an informal, conversational style, which is accessible to students from a diverse range of backgrounds. The book begins with a simple "toy model" to demonstrate the physical significance of free energy. It then introduces two standard theories of phase transitions-the Ising model for ferromagnetism and van der Waals theory of gases and liquids-and uses them to illustrate principles of statistical mechanics. From those examples, it moves on to discuss order, disorder, and broken symmetry in many states of matter, and to explain the theoretical methods that are used to model the phenomena. It concludes with a chapter on liquid crystals, which brings together all of these physical and mathematical concepts. The book is accompanied online by a set of "interactive figures"-some allow readers to change parameters and see what happens to a graph, some allow readers to rotate a plot or other graphics in 3D, and some do both. These interactive figures help students to develop their intuition for the physical meaning of equations. This book will prepare advanced undergraduate or early graduate students to go into more advanced theoretical studies. It will also equip students going into experimental soft matter science to be fully conversant with the theoretical aspects and have effective collaborations with theorists.

The book depicts comprehensive studies on thermal decomposition of Kaolinite by different physico-chemical methods carried out by various scientists in last 100 years and results of the studies conducted by author in past 33 years. It also provides a critical analysis of different views on Kaolinite–Mullite reaction series, characterization of controversial spinel phase in Kaolinite–Mullite reaction series and explanation of DTA events of Kaolinite. The book helps both researchers and students to realise the new mechanism of transformation of Kaolinite to Mullite. The new reaction processes discussed in the book also help ceramic experts to synthesize Mullite grains in commercial way for production of Mullite porcelain and Mullite refractory.

Advances in Polymer Science enjoys a longstanding tradition and good reputation in its community. Each volume is dedicated to a current topic and each review critically surveys one aspect of that topic, to place it within the context of the volume. The volumes typically summarize the significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years and discuss them critically, presenting selected examples, explaining and illustrating the important principles and bringing together many important references of primary literature. On that basis, future research directions in the area can be discussed. Advances in Polymer Science volumes thus are important references for every polymer scientist, as well as for other scientists interested in polymer science - as an introduction to a neighboring field, or as a compilation of detailed information for the specialist.

This thesis describes a proof-of-principle experiment demonstrating a technique for stable isotope enrichment called Magnetically Activated and Guided Isotope Separation (MAGIS). Over the past century many enriched isotopes have become available, thanks largely to electromagnetic separators called calutrons. Due to substantial maintenance and operating costs, the United States decommissioned the last of its calutrons in 1998, leading to demand for alternative methods of isotope separation. The work presented here suggests the promise for MAGIS as a viable alternative to the calutrons.The MAGIS technique combines optical pumping with a scalable magnetic field gradient to enrich atoms of a specific isotope in an atomic beam. Benchmarking this work against the calutron using lithium as a test case, the author demonstrated comparable enrichment in a manner that should scale to the production of similar quantities, while requiring vastly less energy input.

Chemists are used to the operational definition of symmetry, which crystallographers introduced long before the advent of quantum mechanics. The ball-and-stick models of molecules naturally exhibit the symmetrical properties of macroscopic objects. However, the practitioner of quantum chemistry and molecular modeling is not concerned with balls and sticks, but with subatomic particles: nuclei and electrons. This textbook introduces the subtle metaphors which relate our macroscopic understanding of symmetry to the molecular world. It gradually explains how bodily rotations and reflections, which leave all inter-particle distances unaltered, affect the study of molecular phenomena that depend only on these internal distances. It helps readers to acquire the skills to make use of the mathematical tools of group theory for whatever chemical problems they are confronted with in the course of their own research.

The study of fluctuations in statistical physics has a long history, and a general theory is well established, connecting fluctuations to response properties of equilibrium systems. Remarkably, this framework fails as soon as some current is flowing across the system, driving it out of equilibrium. The presence of currents is quite common in nature and produces rich phenomena which are far from being included in a general framework. This thesis focuses on this general problem by studying different models such as granular materials and systems exhibiting anomalous diffusion and shows how the generalized response techniques can be successfully used to catch the relevant degrees of freedom that drive the systems out of equilibrium. This study paves the way to the use of the generalized fluctuation relations in an operative way, in order to extract information from a non-equilibrium system and to build the corresponding phenomenological theory.

This comprehensive collection of lectures by leading experts in the field introduces and reviews all relevant computer simulation methods and their applications in condensed matter systems. Volume 1 is an in-depth introduction to a vast spectrum of computational techniques for statistical mechanical systems of condensed matter. Volume 2 is a collection of state-of-the-art surveys on numerical experiments carried out for a great number of systems.

1. N. Anantharaman, H. Koch, S. Nonnenmacher, Entropy of Eigenfunctions 2. G. Benfatto, Rigorous construction of Luttinger liquids through Ward identities 3. C. Bergbauer, D. Kreimer, New algebraic aspects of perturbative and non-perturbative Quantum Field Theory 4. P. Bleher, Exact solution of the Six-vertex model with domain wall boundary conditions 5. M. Bojowald, mathematical issues in loop quantum cosmology 6. L. Bertini, S. Brassesco, P. Butta, Boundary effects on the interface dynamics for the stochastic Allen-Cahn equation. 7. J. Buzzi, Dimensional entropies and semi-uniform hyperbolicity 8. F. Camia, The scaling limit of (Near-) critical 2D percolation 9. G.L. Cardoso, Black hole entropy function and duality 10. J. Colliander, Weak turbulence for periodic NLS 11. S. Dain, Angular momentum-mass inequality for axisymmetric black holes 12. D. Damanik, Almost everything about the Fibonacci operator 13. I. Davetak, T. Brun, M.-H. Hsieh, Entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes 14. G. Delfino, Particle decay in Ising field theory with magnetic field 15. B. Derrida, Fluctuations and large deviations in non-equilibrium systems 16. L. Diaz, Robust heterodimensional cycles and tame dynamics 17. B. Dubrovin, Hamiltonian perturbations of hyperbolic PDEs: from classification results to the properties of solutions 18. P. Fendley, K. Schoutens, Lattice supersymmetry from the ground up 19. L.R.G. Fontes, P.H.S. Lima, Convergence of symmetric trap models in the hypercube 20. F. Guerra, Spontaneous replica symmetry breaking in the mean field spin glass model 21. S. Gukov, Surface Operators and Knot Homologies 22. Y. Kawahigashi, Conformal Field Theory and Operator Algebras. 23. A. Kiselev, Diffusion and mixing in fluid flow: a review 24. F. Germinet, A. Klein, Random Schrodingeroperators: Localization and delocalization, and all that 25. A. Kleinschmidt, Unifying R-symmetry in M-theory 26. O. Kozlovski, S. van Strien, Stable maps are dense in dimension one 27. I. Krasovsky, large gap asymptotics for random matrices 28. G. Landi, Noncommutatiove manifolds and quantum groups 29. M. Marinho, Topological strings on local curves 30. M. Merkli, Repeated interaction quantum systems 31. J. Mund, String-localized quantum fields, modular localization, and gauge theories 32. G. Mussardo, Kinks and particles in non-integrable Quantum Field Theory 33. A. Jensen, G. Nenciu, Exponential decay laws in perturbation theory of threshold an embedded eigenvalues 34. S. Olla, Energy diffusion and superdiffusion in oscillators lattice networks 35. E.R. Pujals, Trying to characterize robust and generic dynamics 36. B. Schlein, Dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates 37. B. Nachtergaele, R. Sims, Locality estimates for quantum spin systems 38. A. Soshnikov, On reseolvent identities in Gaussian ensembles at the edge of the spectrum 39. H. Spohn, Energy current correlations for weakly anharmonic lattices 40. C.M. Newman, D.L. Stein, Metastates, translation ergodicity, and simplicity of thermodynamic states in disordered systems: an illustration 41. M.Sh. Birman, T.A. Suslina, Homogenization of periodic differential operators as a spectral threshold effect 42. P. Dorey, C. Dunning, D. Masoero, J. Suzuki, R. Tateo, ABCD and ODEs 43. J. Teschner, Nonrational conformal field theory 44. C. A. Tracy, H. Widom, The distributions of random matrix theory and their applications 45. J. Kappeli, S. Theisen, P. Vanhove, Hybrid formalism and topological amplitudes 46. M. Aizenman, E.H. Lieb, R. Seiringer, J.P. Solovej, J. Yngvason, Quantum phases of cold bosons in an optical lattice 47. O. Zeitouni, R

While the standard solid state topics are covered, the basic ones often have more detailed derivations than is customary (with an empasis on crystalline solids). Several recent topics are introduced, as are some subjects normally included only in condensed matter physics. Lattice vibrations, electrons, interactions, and spin effects (mostly in magnetism) are discussed the most comprehensively. Many problems are included whose level is from "fill in the steps" to long and challenging, and the text is equipped with references and several comments about experiments with figures and tables.

Excellent bridge between general solid-state physics textbook and research articles packed with providing detailed explanations of the electronic, vibrational, transport, and optical properties of semiconductors "The most striking feature of the book is its modern outlook ... provides a wonderful foundation. The most wonderful feature is its efficient style of exposition ... an excellent book." Physics Today "Presents the theoretical derivations carefully and in detail and gives thorough discussions of the experimental results it presents. This makes it an excellent textbook both for learners and for more experienced researchers wishing to check facts. I have enjoyed reading it and strongly recommend it as a text for anyone working with semiconductors ... I know of no better text ... I am sure most semiconductor physicists will find this book useful and I recommend it to them." Contemporary Physics Offers much new material: an extensive appendix about the important and by now well-established, deep center known as the DX center, additional problems and the solutions to over fifty of the problems at the end of the various chapters.

Mechanical Self-Assembly: Science and Applications introduces a novel category of self-assembly driven by mechanical forces. This book discusses self-assembly in various types of small material structures including thin films, surfaces, and micro- and nano-wires, as well as the practice's potential application in micro and nanoelectronics, MEMS/NEMS, and biomedical engineering. The mechanical self-assembly process is inherently quick, simple, and cost-effective, as well as accessible to a large number of materials, such as curved surfaces for forming three-dimensional small structures. Mechanical self-assembly is complementary to, and sometimes offer advantages over, the traditional micro- and nano-fabrication.

The function of a component part can be profoundly affected by its surface topography. There are many examples in nature of surfaces that have a well-controlled topography to affect their function. Examples include the hydrophobic effect of the lotus leaf, the reduction of fluid drag due to the riblet structure of shark skin, the directional adhesion of the gecko foot and the angular sensitivity of the multi-faceted fly eye. Surface structuring is also being used extensively in modern manufacturing. In this way many properties can be altered, for example optical, tribological, biological and fluidic. Previously, single line (profile) measurements were adequate to control manufacture of surfaces, but as the need to control the functionality of surfaces increases, there is a growing need for three-dimensional (areal) measurement and characterisation techniques. For this reason there has been considerable research, development and standardisation of areal techniques. This book will present the areal framework that is being adopted by the international community. Whereas previous books have concentrated on the measurement aspects, this book  concentrates on the characterisation techniques, i.e. how to interpret the measurement data to give the appropriate (functional) information for a given task. The first part of the book presents the characterisation methods and the second part case studies that highlight the use of areal methods in a broad range of subject areas - from automobile manufacture to archaeology. Contents Introduction to Surface Topography The Areal Field Parameters The Areal Feature Parameters Areal Filtering Methods Areal Form Removal Areal Fractal Methods Choosing the Appropriate Parameter Characterisation of Individual Areal Features Multi-Scale Signature of Surface Topography Correlation of Areal Surface Texture Parameters to Solar Cell Efficiency Characterisation of Cylinder Liner Honing Textures for Production Control Characterisation of the Mechanical Bond Strength for Copper on Glass Plating Applications Inspection of Laser Structured Cams and Conrods Road Surfaces

The usefulness of the book to the reader is exposure to many different classes of materials and relaxation phenomena. They are tied together by the universal relaxation and diffusion properties they share, and a consistent explanation of their origin. The readers can apply what they learn to solve their own problems and use it as a stepping-stone to make further advances in theoretical understanding of the origin of the universality.

This thesis targets molecular or organic spintronics and more particularly the spin polarization tailoring opportunities that arise from the ferromagnetic metal/molecule hybridization at interfaces: the new concept of spinterface. Molecular or organic spintronics is an emerging research field at the frontier between organic chemistry and spintronics. The manuscript is divided into three parts, the first of which introduces the basic concepts of spintronics and advantages that molecules can bring to this field. The state of the art on organic and molecular spintronics is also presented, with a special emphasis on the physics and experimental evidence for spinterfaces. The book's second and third parts are dedicated to the two main experimental topics investigated in the thesis: Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Organic Semiconductors (OSCs). The study of SAMs-based magnetic tunnel nanojunctions reveals the potential to modulate the properties of such devices "at will," since each part of the molecule can be tuned independently like a "LEGO" building block. The study of Alq3-based spin valves reveals magnetoresistance effects at room temperature and is aimed at understanding the respective roles played by the two interfaces. Through the development of these systems, we demonstrate their potential for spintronics and provide a solid foundation for spin polarization engineering at the molecular level.

This PhD thesis presents the latest findings on the tunable surface chemistry of graphene/graphene oxide by systematically investigating the tuning of oxygen and nitrogen containing functional groups using an innovative carbonization and ammonia treatment. In addition, novel macroscopic assemblies or hybrids of graphene were produced, laying the theoretical foundation for developing graphene-based energy storage devices. This work will be of interest to university researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students working with carbon materials, energy storage and nanotechnology.

This volume summarizes the recent results of the exploration of Venus, Mars and Titan in the field of space plasma physics. These are the only non-magnetic solar system bodies having dense atmospheres. A number of space missions investigated these objects; the past and the current missions are put in context with modern theoretical descriptions. The strength of the book is the comparison of the similarities and differences in the plasma interaction of Venus, Mars and Titan; such comparisons have not yet been published. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers working in planetary science and space physics. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 162/1-4, 2011.

This volume presents the current knowledge of magnetic fields in diffuse astrophysical media. Starting with an overview of 21st century instrumentation to observe astrophysical magnetic fields, the chapters cover observational techniques, origin of magnetic fields, magnetic turbulence, basic processes in magnetized fluids, the role of magnetic fields for cosmic rays, in the interstellar medium and for star formation. Written by a group of leading experts the book represents an excellent overview of the field. Nonspecialists will find sufficient background to enter the field and be able to appreciate the state of the art.

This thesis deals with the problem of ion confinement in thermonuclear fusion devices. It is a topic of general interest, as it helps to understand via numerical simulations the ion confinement properties in complex geometries, in order to predict their behavior and maximize the performance of future fusion reactors. The main work carried out in this thesis is the improvement and exploitation of an existing simulation code called ISDEP. This code solves the so-called ion collisional transport in arbitrary plasma geometry, improving in this sense other existing codes. Additionally, it presents outstanding portability and scalability in distributed computing architectures, such as Grid or Volunteer Computing. The main physical results can be divided into two blocks. First, the study of 3D ion transport in ITER is presented. ITER is the largest fusion reactor (under construction) and most of the simulations so far assume the axis-symmetry of the device. Unfortunately, this symmetry is only an approximation because of the discrete number of magnetic coils used. ISDEP has shown, using a simple model of the 3D magnetic field, how the ion confinement is affected by this symmetry breaking. Secondly, ISDEP has been applied successfully to the study of fast ion dynamics in fusion plasmas. The fast ions, with energies much larger than the thermal energy, are a product of the device's heating system. Thus, a numerical predictive tool can be used to improve the heating efficiency. ISDEP has been combined with the FAFNER2 code to study such ions in stellarator (TJ-II, LHD) and tokamak (ITER) geometries. It has also been validated by experimental results. In particular, comparisons with the CNPA diagnostic in the TJ-II stellarator are remarkable.

This dissertation focuses on the calculation of transport coefficients in the matter created in a relativistic heavy-ion collision after chemical freeze-out. This matter can be well approximated using a pion gas out of equilibrium. We describe the theoretical framework needed to obtain the shear and bulk viscosities, the thermal and electrical conductivities and the flavor diffusion coefficients of a meson gas at low temperatures. To describe the interactions of the degrees of freedom, we use effective field theories with chiral and heavy quark symmetries. We subsequently introduce the unitarization methods in order to obtain a scattering amplitude that satisfies the unitarity condition exactly, then go on to calculate the transport properties of the low-temperature phase of quantum chromodynamics - the hadronic medium - which can be used in hydrodynamic simulations of a relativistic heavy-ion collision and its subsequent evolution. We show that the shear viscosity over entropy density exhibits a minimum in a phase transition by studying this coefficient in atomic Argon (around the liquid-gas phase transition) and in the linear sigma model in the limit of a large number of scalar fields (which presents a chiral phase transition). Finally, we provide an experimental method for estimating the bulk viscosity in relativistic heavy-ion collisions by performing correlations of the fluctuating components of the stress-energy tensor.

Ellipsometry is the method of choice to determine the properties of surfaces and thin films. It provides comprehensive and sensitive characterization in contactless and non-invasive measurements. This book gives a state-of-the-art survey of ellipsometric investigations of organic films and surfaces, from laboratory to synchrotron applications, with a special focus on in-situ use in processing environments and at solid-liquid interfaces. In conjunction with the development of functional organic, meta- and hybrid materials for new optical, electronic, sensing and biotechnological devices and fabrication advances, the ellipsometric analysis of their optical and material properties has progressed rapidly in the recent years.

The importance of solid base catalysts has come to be recognized for their environmentally benign qualities, and much significant progress has been made over the past two decades in catalytic materials and solid base-catalyzed reactions. The book is focused on the solid base. Because of the advantages over liquid bases, the use of solid base catalysts in organic synthesis is expanding. Solid bases are easier to dispose than liquid bases, separation and recovery of products, catalysts and solvents are less difficult, and they are non-corrosive. Furthermore, base-catalyzed reactions can be performed without using solvents and even in the gas phase, opening up more possibilities for discovering novel reaction systems. Using numerous examples, the present volume describes the remarkable role solid base catalysis can play, given the ever increasing worldwide importance of "green" chemistry. The reader will obtain an overall view of solid base catalysis and gain insight into the versatility of the reactions to which solid base catalysts can be utilized. The concept and significance of solid base catalysis are discussed, followed by descriptions of various methods for the characterization of solid bases, including spectroscopic methods and test reactions. The preparation and properties of base materials are presented in detail, with the two final chapters devoted to surveying the variety of reactions catalyzed by solid bases.