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.

Over the course of nearly half a century, Sam Edwards has led the field of condensed matter physics into new directions, ranging from the electronic and statistical properties of disordered materials to the mechanical properties of granular materials. Along the way, he has provided seminal contributions to fluid mechanics, polymer science, surface science and statistical mechanics. This volume celebrates the immense scope of his influence by presenting a collection of original articles by recognized leaders in theoretical physics, including two Nobel Laureates and a Fields Medalist, which describe the genesis, evolution and future prospects of the various sub-fields of condensed matter theory, along with reprints of a selection of Edwards' seminal papers that helped give birth to the subject. 'Stealing the Gold', Edwards' favourite caricature of the relationship between theoretical physicists and Nature, will be of singular interest to graduate students looking for an overview of some of the most exciting areas of theoretical physics, as well as to researchers in condensed matter physics looking for a comprehensive, broad and uniquely incisive snapshot of their subject at the dawn of the 21st century.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) has firmly established itself as the workhorse for atomic-level simulations of condensed phases, pure or composite materials and quantum chemical systems. This work offers a rigorous and detailed introduction to the foundations of this theory, up to and including such advanced topics as orbital-dependent functionals as well as both time-dependent and relativistic DFT. Given the many ramifications of contemporary DFT, the text concentrates on the self-contained presentation of the basics of the most widely used DFT variants: this implies a thorough discussion of the corresponding existence theorems and effective single particle equations, as well as of key approximations utilized in implementations. The formal results are complemented by selected quantitative results, which primarily aim at illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of particular approaches or functionals. The structure and content of this book allow a tutorial and modular self-study approach: the reader will find that all concepts of many-body theory which are indispensable for the discussion of DFT - such as the single-particle Green's function or response functions - are introduced step by step, along with the actual DFT material. The same applies to basic notions of solid state theory, such as the Fermi surface of inhomogeneous, interacting systems. In fact, even the language of second quantization is introduced systematically in an Appendix for readers without formal training in many-body theory.

The polycrystalline and nanocrystalline states play an increasingly important role in exploiting the properties of materials, encompassing applications as diverse as pharmaceuticals, catalysts, solar cells and energy storage. A knowledge of the three-dimensional atomic and molecular structure of materials is essential for understanding and controlling their properties, yet traditional single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods lose their power when only polycrystalline and nanocrystalline samples are available. It is here that powder diffraction and single-crystal electron diffraction techniques take over, substantially extending the range of applicability of the crystallographic principles of structure determination. This volume, a collection of teaching contributions presented at the Crystallographic Course in Erice in 2011, clearly describes the fundamentals and the state-of-the-art of powder diffraction and electron diffraction methods in materials characterisation, encompassing a diverse range of disciplines and materials stretching from archeometry to zeolites. As such, it is a comprehensive and valuable resource for those wishing to gain an understanding of the broad applicability of these two rapidly developing fields.

This book introduces a new technology for environmental protection, namely plasma cleaning. It brings together technological advances and research on plasma generators and their application in environmental science and engineering, including contaminated soil remediation, waste water degradation, metal recovery from waste solution, sterilization and polluted air remediation. It provides a balanced and comprehensive discussion of the core principles, novel plasma reactors and diagnostics, and state-of-the-art environmental applications of plasma. As such, it represents a valuable reference guide for scientists, engineers and graduate students in the fields of environmental science and plasma physics.

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.

Advances in the Theory of Atomic and Molecular Systems, is a collection of contributions presenting recent theoretical and computational developments that provide new insights into the structure, properties, and behavior of a variety of atomic and molecular systems. This volume (subtitled: Conceptual and Computational Advances in Quantum Chemistry) focuses on electronic structure theory and its foundations.

This volume is an invaluable resource for faculty, graduate students, and researchers interested in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics, physical chemistry and chemical physics, molecular spectroscopy, and related areas of science and engineering.

Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by F. Brommel, D. Kramer, H. Finkelmann Applications of Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by C. Ohm, M. Brehmer und R. Zentel Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Light, by Peter Palffy-Muhoray Electro-Opto-Mechanical Effects in Swollen Nematic Elastomers, by Kenji Urayama The Isotropic-to-Nematic Conversion in Liquid Crystalline Elastomers, by Andrija Lebar, George Cordoyiannis, Zdravko Kutnjak und Bostjan Zalar Order and Disorder in Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers, by Wim H. de Jeu und Boris I. Ostrovskii"

Conformations and Solution Properties of Star-Branched Polyelectrolytes, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaterina B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers, Matthias Ballauff and Axel H. E. Muller; Self-Assembled Structures of Amphiphilic Ionic Block Copolymers: Theory, Self-Consistent Field Modeling and Experiment, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaternia B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers and Axel H. E. Muller; Interpolyelectrolyte Complexes Based on Polyionic Species of Branched Topology, by Dmitry V. Pergushov, Oleg V. Borisov, Alexander B. Zezin and Axel H. E. Muller; Co-assembly of Charged Copolymers as a Novel Pathway Towards Reversible Janus Micelles, by Ilja K. Voets, Frans A. Leermakers, Arie de Keizer, Marat Charlaganov and Martien A. Cohen Stuart; Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Tool for Investigating the Self-Organized Polyelectrolyte Systems, by Karel Prochazka, Zuzana Limpouchova, Filip Uhlik, Peter Ko ovan, Pavel Matejicek, Miroslav tepanek, Mariusz Uchman, Jitka Kuldova, Radek achl, Jana Humpolickova, and M. Hof

The common belief is that light is completely reflected by metals. In reality they also exhibit an amazing property that is not so widely known: under some conditions light flows along a metallic surface as if it were glued to it. Physical phenomena related to these light waves, which are called Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP), have given rise to the research field of plasmonics. This thesis explores four interesting topics within plasmonics: extraordinary optical transmission, negative refractive index metamaterials, plasmonic devices for controlling SPPs, and field enhancement phenomena near metal nanoparticles.

This volume contains the collected works of the eminent chemist and physicist Lars Onsager, one of the most influential scientists of the 20th Century. The volume includes Onsager's previously unpublished PhD thesis, a biography by H C Longuet-Higgins and M E Fisher, an autobiographical commentary, selected photographs, and a list of Onsager discussion remarks in print. Onsager's scientific achievements were characterized by deep insights into the natural sciences. His two best-known accomplishments are his reciprocal relations for irreversible processes, for which he received the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and his explicit solution of the two-dimensional Ising model, a mathematical tour de force that created a sensation when it appeared. In addition, he made significant theoretical contributions to other fields, including electrolytes, colloids, superconductivity, turbulence, ice, electrons in metals, and dielectrics. In this volume, Onsager's contributions are divided into the following fields: irreversible processes; the Ising model; electrolytes; colloids; helium II and vortex quantization; off-diagonal long-range order and flux quantization; electrons in metal; turbulence; ion recombination; fluctuation theory; dielectrics; ice and water; biology; Mathieu functions. The different fields are evaluated by leading experts. The commentators are P W Anderson, R Askey, A Chorin, C Domb, R J Donnelly, W Ebeling, J-C Justice, H N W Lekkerkerker, P Mazur, H P McKean, J F Nagle, T Odijk, A B Pippard, G Stell, G H Weiss, and C N Yang.

This book provides readers with an introductory understanding of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC), a type of fusion meant to retain plasma using an electrostatic field. IEC provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as it offers a number of spin-off applications, such as a small neutron source for Neutron Activity Analysis (NAA), that all work towards creating fusion power. The IEC has been identified in recent times as an ideal fusion power unit because of its ability to burn aneutronic fuels like p-B11 as a result of its non-Maxwellian plasma dominated by beam-like ions. This type of fusion also takes place in a simple mechanical structure small in size, which also contributes to its viability as a source of power. This book posits that the ability to study the physics of IEC in very small volume plasmas makes it possible to rapidly investigate a design to create a power-producing device on a much larger scale. Along with this hypothesis the book also includes a conceptual experiment proposed for demonstrating breakeven conditions for using p-B11 in a hydrogen plasma simulation. This book also: Offers an in-depth look, from introductory basics to experimental simulation, of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement, an emerging method for generating fusion power Discusses how the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement method can be applied to other applications besides fusion through theoretical experiments in the text Details the study of the physics of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement in small-volume plasmas and suggests that their rapid reproduction could lead to the creation of a large-scale power-producing device Perfect for researchers and students working with nuclear fusion, Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion: Fundamentals and Applications also offers the current experimental status of IEC research, details supporting theories in the field and introduces other potential applications that stem from IEC.

While basic features of polarons were well recognized a long time ago and have been described in a number of review papers and textbooks, interest in the role of electron-phonon interactions and polaron dynamics in di?- ent materials has recently gone through a vigorous revival. Electron-phonon interactions have been shown to be relevant in many inorganic and organic semiconductors and polymers, colossal magnetoresistance oxides, and tra- port through nanowires and quantum dots also often depends on vibronic displacements of ions. These interactions presumably play a role in hi- temperature superconductors as well. The continued interest in polarons extends beyond the physical description of advanced materials. The ?eld has been a testing ground for analytical, semi-analytical, and numerical techniques, such as path integrals, strong-coupling perturbation expansion, advanced variational methods, exact diagonalization, Quantum Monte Carlo, and other techniques. This book reviews some recent developments in the ?eld of polarons, starting with the basics and covering a number of active directions of research. Single- and multipolaron theories have o?ered more insight into colossal magnetoresistance and in a broad spectrum of ph- ical properties of structures with reduced dimension and dimensionality such as transport, optical absorption, Raman scattering, photoluminescence, magneto-optics, etc. While nobody - at present - has a ?nal theory of hi- temperature superconductivity, we discuss one alternative (polaronic) route. We have bene?ted from discussions with many experts in the ?eld.

This volume is the latest of the "Kirchberg-Proceedings". The previous 11 International Winterschools on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials, all held in Kirchberg, Austria, were devoted to conducting polymers, high temperature superconductors, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes. Fullerenes and nanotubes are still in the center of interest, but the topic of the school and the proceedings is molecular nanostructures in general. The organizers have attempted to treat carbon nanostructures as a special case of molecular nanostructures, which also include silicon clusters, gold clusters, vanadium oxide tubes, and many others. The Winterschool provides a platform for reviewing and discussing new developments in the field of molecular nanostructures and their applications. Materials discussed include fullerenes, fullerene-derived structures, carbonaceous nanotubes, non-carbonaceous nanotubes, layer by layer systems, molecular clusters, new phases of carbon, endohedral compounds and related materials. The book aims to give an overview of the current status of fullerenes, carbon-nanotubes and related molecular nanostructures. The majority of the contributions present the latest results of experiments and calculations conducted in the field. However, about a dozen contain some degree of instructional material which even newcomers will benefit from.

The purpose of this book is to convey to the worldwide scientific community the rapid and enthusiastic progress of state-of-the-art quantum chemistry. Quantum chemistry continues to grow with remarkable success particularly due to rapid progress in supercomputers. The usefulness of quantum chemistry is almost limitless. Its application covers not only physical chemistry but also organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, and life sciences. This book deals with all of these topics. Frontiers of Quantum Chemistry is closely related to the symposium of the same name held at Kwansei Gakuin University at Nishinomiya, Japan, in November 2015. The book's contributors, however, include not only invited speakers at the symposium but also many other distinguished scientists from wide areas of quantum chemistry around the world.

Since the original publication of Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy in 2002, the noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) has achieved remarkable progress. This second treatment deals with the following outstanding recent results obtained with atomic resolution since then: force spectroscopy and mapping with atomic resolution; tuning fork; atomic manipulation; magnetic exchange force microscopy; atomic and molecular imaging in liquids; and other new technologies. These results and technologies are now helping evolve NC-AFM toward practical tools for characterization and manipulation of individual atoms/molecules and nanostructures with atomic/subatomic resolution. Therefore, the book exemplifies how NC-AFM has become a crucial tool for the expanding fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Written for: Scientists, practitioners, graduate students

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.

Volume III/48A continues the compilation of nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy (NQRS) data of solid substances, covering the literarure from 1995 to the end of 2006. It provides 1270 NQRS data sets (measurement method, nucleus, temperature, quadrupole coupling constant, asymmetry parameter, resonance frequeny, remarks, references) for substances with Hill formulae ranging from Ag to C10H15. Included are the data for substances studied for the first time, as well as data for substances already present in previous volumes if the data published there could be completed or improved by the new studies.

The book covers recent advances and progress in understanding both the fundamental science of lasers interactions in materials science, as well as a special emphasis on emerging applications enabled by the irradiation of materials by pulsed laser systems. The different chapters illustrate how, by careful control of the processing conditions, laser irradiation can result in efficient material synthesis, characterization, and fabrication at various length scales from atomically-thin 2D materials to microstructured periodic surface structures. This book serves as an excellent resource for all who employ lasers in materials science, spanning such different disciplines as photonics, photovoltaics, and sensing, to biomedical applications.

The minimum temperature in the natural universe is 2.7 K. Laboratory refrigerators can reach temperatures in the microkelvin range. Modern industrial refrigerators cool foods at 200 K, whereas space mission payloads must be capable of working at temperatures as low as 20 K. Superconducting magnets used for NMR work at 4.2 K.
Hence the properties of materials must be accurately known also at cryogenic temperatures.

This book provides a guide for engineers, physicists, chemists, technicians who wish to approach the field of low-temperature material properties. The focus is on the thermal properties and a large spectrum of experimental cases is reported. The book presents updated tables of low-temperature data on materials and a thorough bibliography supplements any further research.
Key Features include:

Detailed technical description of experiments
Description of the newest cryogenic apparatus
Offers data on cryogenic properties of the latest new materials
Current reference review"

This book presents recent results on the modelling of space plasmas with Kappa distributions and their interpretation. Hot and dilute space plasmas most often do not reach thermal equilibrium, their dynamics being essentially conditioned by the kinetic effects of plasma particles, i.e., electrons, protons, and heavier ions. Deviations from thermal equilibrium shown by these plasma particles are often described by Kappa distributions. Although well-known, these distributions are still controversial in achieving a statistical characterization and a physical interpretation of non-equilibrium plasmas. The results of the Kappa modelling presented here mark a significant progress with respect to all these aspects and open perspectives to understanding the high-resolution data collected by the new generation of telescopes and spacecraft missions. The book is directed to the large community of plasma astrophysics, including graduate students and specialists from associated disciplines, given the palette of the proposed topics reaching from applications to the solar atmosphere and the solar wind, via linear and quasilinear modelling of multi-species plasmas and waves within, to the fundamental physics of nonequilibrium plasmas.

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 book covers advanced topics in dynamic modeling of soil-foundation interaction, as well as the response of elastic semi-infinite media from an applications viewpoint. Advanced concepts such as solutions for analysis of elastic semi-infinite mediums, fluid motion in porous media, and nonlinearities in dynamic behavior are explained in great detail. Related theories and numerical analysis for vertical vibration, and rocking vibration of a rigid rectangular mass-less plate, and horizontal vibration of a rigid mass-less plate are presented. Throughout the book, a strong emphasis is placed on applications, and a laboratory model for elastic half-space medium is provided.

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.

This thesis demonstrates that an ultralow temperature refrigeration technique called "demagnetisation refrigeration" can be miniaturised and incorporated onto millimeter-sized chips to cool nanoelectronic circuits, devices and materials. Until recently, the lowest temperature ever reached in such systems was around 4 millikelvin. Here, a temperature of 1.2mK is reported in a nanoelectronic device. The thesis introduces the idea that on-chip demagnetization refrigeration can be used to cool a wide variety of nanostructures and devices to microkelvin temperatures. This brings the exciting possibility of discovering new physics, such as exotic electronic phases, in an unexplored regime and the potential to improve the performance of existing applications, including solid-state quantum technologies. Since the first demonstration of on-chip demagnetization refrigeration, described here, the technique has been taken up by other research groups around the world. The lowest on-chip temperature is currently 0.4mK. Work is now underway to adapt the technique to cool other materials and devices, ultimately leading to a platform to study nanoscale materials, devices and circuits at microkelvin temperatures.