Quantum physics has, on the one hand, drastically changed our theoretical description of the physical world and has, on the other hand, revolutionized everyday life, by allowing us to build lasers, atomic clocks used in GPS, and semiconductor-based devices such as laptop computers and smartphones. The object of this book is to give a self-contained introduction to both aspects. It contains a detailed account of the foundational principles: superposition, entanglement, quantum non-locality, decoherence and measurement theory, and of some selected applications: quantum cryptography and quantum computers, cold atoms, light emitting and laser diodes, and atomic clocks. The book is aimed at a general audience and the only prerequisite is a high-school background in mathematics.

Quantum physics has, on the one hand, drastically changed our theoretical description of the physical world and has, on the other hand, revolutionized everyday life, by allowing us to build lasers, atomic clocks used in GPS, and semiconductor-based devices such as laptop computers and smartphones. The object of this book is to give a self-contained introduction to both aspects. It contains a detailed account of the foundational principles: superposition, entanglement, quantum non-locality, decoherence and measurement theory, and of some selected applications: quantum cryptography and quantum computers, cold atoms, light emitting and laser diodes, and atomic clocks. The book is aimed at a general audience and the only prerequisite is a high-school background in mathematics.

Quantum physics allows us to understand the nature of the physical phenomena which govern the behavior of solids, semi-conductors, lasers, atoms, nuclei, subnuclear particles and light. In Quantum Physics, Le Bellac provides a thoroughly modern approach to this fundamental theory. Throughout the book, Le Bellac teaches the fundamentals of quantum physics using an original approach which relies primarily on an algebraic treatment and on the systematic use of symmetry principles. In addition to the standard topics such as one-dimensional potentials, angular momentum and scattering theory, the reader is introduced to more recent developments at an early stage. These include a detailed account of entangled states and their applications, the optical Bloch equations, the theory of laser cooling and of magneto-optical traps, vacuum Rabi oscillations and an introduction to open quantum systems. This is a textbook for a modern course on quantum physics, written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

This graduate-level text gives a self-contained exposition of fundamental topics in equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics. The text follows a balanced approach between the macroscopic (thermodynamic) and microscopic (statistical) points of view. The first half of the book deals with equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. In addition to standard subjects, the reader will find a detailed account of broken symmetries, critical phenomena and the renormalization group, as well as an introduction to numerical methods. The second half of the book is devoted to nonequilibrium phenomena, first following a macroscopic approach, with hydrodynamics as an important example. Kinetic theory receives a thorough treatment through analysis of the Boltzmann-Lorentz model and the Boltzmann equation. The book concludes with general nonequilibrium methods such as linear response, projection method and the Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations, including numerical simulations. This advanced textbook will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics.

This graduate-level text gives a self-contained exposition of fundamental topics in modern equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics. The text follows a balanced approach between the macroscopic (thermodynamic) and microscopic (statistical) points of view. The first half of the book deals with equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. In addition to standard subjects, the reader will find a detailed account of broken symmetries, critical phenomena and the renormalization group, as well as an introduction to numerical methods. The second half of the book is devoted to nonequilibrium phenomena, first following a macroscopic approach, with hydrodynamics as an important example. Kinetic theory receives a thorough treatment through analysis of the Boltzmann-Lorentz model and the Boltzmann equation. The book concludes with general nonequilibrium methods such as linear response, projection method and the Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations, including numerical simulations. This advanced textbook will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics.

This text introduces the theoretical framework for describing the quark-gluon plasma, an important new state of matter. The first part of the book is a self-contained introduction to relativistic thermal field theory. Topics include the path integral approach, the real and imaginary time formalisms, fermion fields and gauge fields at finite temperature. The author illustrates useful techniques such as the evaluation of frequency sums and the use of cutting rules. The second part of the book is devoted to recent developments, and gives a detailed account of collective excitations (bosonic and fermionic), showing how they give rise to energy scales that imply a reorganization of perturbation theory. The author also explains the relation with kinetic theory. He works out in detail applications to processes that occur in heavy ion collisions and in astrophysics. Each chapter ends with exercises and a guide to the literature. Graduate students and researchers in nuclear, particle, and astrophysics will benefit from this book.

As a fundamental branch of theoretical physics, quantum field theory has led, in the last 20 years, to spectacular progress in our understanding of phase transitions and elementary particles. This textbook emphasizes the underlying unity of the concepts and methods used in both domains, and presents in clear language topics such as the perturbative expansion, Feynman diagrams, renormalization, and the renormalization group. It contains detailed applications of critical phenomena to condensed matter physics, such as the calculation of critical exponents and a discussion of the XY model. Applications to particle physics include quantum electrodynamics and chromodynamics, electroweak interactions, and lattice gauge theories. The book is based on courses given over several years on statistical mechanics and field theory, and is written at graduate level. It attempts to guide the reader through a somewhat difficult and sometimes intricate subject in as clear a manner as possible, leading to a level of understanding where more advanced textbooks and research articles will be accessible. The only textbook covering the subject at this level, the work is thus an ideal guide for graduate and postgraduate students in physics, researchers in quantum and statistical field theory, and those from other fields of physics seeking an introduction to quantum field theory. A large number of problems are given to test the reader's grasp of the ideas.

Quantum information and computation is a rapidly expanding and cross-disciplinary subject. This book, first published in 2006, gives a self-contained introduction to the field for physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists who want to know more about this exciting subject. After a step-by-step introduction to the quantum bit (qubit) and its main properties, the author presents the necessary background in quantum mechanics. The core of the subject, quantum computation, is illustrated by a detailed treatment of three quantum algorithms: Deutsch, Grover and Shor. The final chapters are devoted to the physical implementation of quantum computers, including the most recent aspects, such as superconducting qubits and quantum dots, and to a short account of quantum information. Written at a level suitable for undergraduates in physical sciences, no previous knowledge of quantum mechanics is assumed, and only elementary notions of physics are required. The book includes many short exercises, with solutions available to instructors through [email protected].