The 2008 Spring Meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkorperphysik was held in Berlin, Germany, between February 24 and February 29, 2008 in conjunction with the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The 2008 meeting was the largest physics meeting in Europe and among the largest physics meetings in the world in 2008."

This book presents written versions of selected invited lectures from the spring meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkorperphysik of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft which was held from 27 to 31 March 2006 in Dresden, Germany. Many topical talks given at the numerous symposia are included. Most of these were organized collaboratively by several of the divisions of the Arbeitskreis. The book presents, to some extent, the status of the field of solid-state physics in 2006 not only in Germany but also internationally.

The 2007 Spring Meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festk rperphysik was held in Regensburg, Germany, March 2007, in conjunction with the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. It was one of the largest physics meetings in Europe. The present volume 47 of the Advances in Solid State Physics contains written versions of a large number of the invited talks and gives an overview of the present status of solid state physics where low-dimensional systems are dominating.

The exciting field of nanostructured materials offers many challenging perspectives for fundamental research and technological applications. The combination of quantum mechanics, interaction, phase coherence, and magnetism are important for understanding many physical phenomena in these systems. This book provides an overview of many aspects of interacting electrons in nanostructures, including such interesting topics as quantum dots, quantum wires, molecular electronics, dephasing, spintronics, and nanomechanics. The content reflects the current research in this area and is written by leading experts in the field.

The 2008 Spring Meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festk rperphysik was held in Berlin, Germany, between February 24 and February 29, 2008 in conjunction with the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The 2008 meeting was the largest physics meeting in Europe and among the largest physics meetings in the world in 2008.

The 2007 Spring Meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkorperphysik was held in Regensburg, Germany, March 2007, in conjunction with the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. It was one of the largest physics meetings in Europe. The present volume 47 of the Advances in Solid State Physics contains written versions of a large number of the invited talks and gives an overview of the present status of solid state physics where low-dimensional systems are dominating."

Nanostructures are among the most actively studied systems in present day - search. Theoretical and experimental studies of these small systems have unc- ered remarkable phenomena due to fundamental interactions and the reduction in dimensionality. Such nanostructures can be made out of well known ma- rials such as metals or semiconductors by lithographic procedures. In addition, novel material systems, e.g. semiconducting heterostructures, or even molecul- like materials, e.g. carbon nanotubes, can represent nanostructures in which electron-electron interactions are of importance. The discoveries of quantum Hall e?ects o?ered an initial glimpse into the striking phenomena that may occur in these low-dimensional structures. - tensive research since then, made possible by enormous advances in fabrication technologies, have revealed a large class of unexpected behaviors in nanostr- tures. The rapid technological progress in the last two decades has led to great excitement among both applied and basic physicists. The hope that miniat- ization of such devices will lead to a new age of smaller and faster computers has motivated extensive work, trying to understand the basic physics involved, an imperative step towards any future application.

This book presents written versions of selected invited lectures from the spring meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkorperphysik of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft which was held from 27 to 31 March 2006 in Dresden, Germany. Many topical talks given at the numerous symposia are included. Most of these were organized collaboratively by several of the divisions of the Arbeitskreis. The book presents, to some extent, the status of the field of solid-state physics in 2006 not only in Germany but also internationally."