Bücher der Reihe Advanced Texts in Physics

Since the publication of the first edition of this book, there have been many im- portant new developments in the field of molecular physics. The new methods and results which are most significant for students are treated extensively in this second edition. Among these are in particular single-molecule spectroscopy and the field of molecular electronics, which is in a stage of rapid development, including the areas of electroluminescence and organic light-emitting diodes. In addition, we have ex- tended and corrected the earlier material in a number of places. We have also included exercises in this new edition; they will allow students to deepen their understanding and offer a basis for further individual study. The complete solutions to the exercises can be found on the Internet under www. springeronline. com/3-540-40792-S. We are grateful to Mr. C. -D. Bachem and Dr. Th. Schneider of the Springer- Verlag for their continuous and very agreeable cooperation during the preparation of the book. We thank our colleague Prof. W. D. Brewer for his competent translation. Stuttgart, February 2004 H. Haken . H. C. Wolf Preface to the First Edition This textbook is intended for use by students of physics, physical chemistry, and theoretical chemistry. The reader is presumed to have a basic knowledge of atomic and quantum physics at the level provided, for example, by the first few chapters in our book The Physics of Atoms and Quanta.

The Free Electron Laser (FEL) will be a crucial tool for research and industrial applications. This book describes the physical fundamentals of FELs on the basis of classical mechanics, electrodynamics, and the kinetic theory of charged particle beams, and will be suitable for graduate students and scientists alike. After a short introduction, the book discusses the theory of the FEL amplifier and oscillator, diffraction effects in the amplifier, and waveguide FEL.

By systematically covering both the Heisenberg and Schrodinger realizations, the book emphasizes the essential principles of quantum mechanics, which remain hidden within the usual derivations of the wave equation. Moreover, this presentation not only covers the material which is traditionally presented in textbooks, but also is especially suitable for introducing the spin, i.e., the most important quantum observable. This emphasis on spin paves the way for a presentation of recent quantum-mechanical concepts such as entanglement and decoherence, and to recent applications including cryptography, teleportation and quantum computation."e;I am very impressed with Dr. Bes' approach to the subject, the clarity of his exposition, and the timeliness of the examples, many of which are taken from the most recent developments of the "e;old-new"e; field of quantum mechanics"e; (Prof. J. Roederer)

This book, now in its ninth edition, still has the character of a textbook with the emphasis on "e;Physics"e;. The volume has increased somewhat because several improvements have been made and some new items have been included. In Sect. 13. 2 the new Quantum Cascade Laser which covers the far in- frared spectral range has been added. In Sect. 14. 4 the theory of the quantum Hall effect is now based on ballistic transport which in a more general respect without referring to the then still unknown quantum Hall effect was consid- ered already by Rudolf Peierls. In the same chapter, the recent discovery of a low-temperature resistance oscillation in a very pure semiconductor under the influence of combined dc and ac electric fields in addition to a magnetic field is presented. Furthermore, quantum Hall effect observations with an unprece- dented high precision are remarkable and may give a new impetus to theory. A new Sect. 15. 5 presents information about coaxial carbon tubes of nanometer size diameter and how they are integrated as the current transporting element in a field effect transistor. In another new addition Sect. 15. 6 with the title Molecular Electronics, the current-voltage rectifying characteristics of an or- ganic Langmuir-Blodgett film of nanometer thickness is shown. These efforts serve to demonstrate where the ever decreasing size of electronic circuits may come to its natural limits. The system of units preferred here is the SI system.

Coherent Optics presents, in a concise and lively overview, easy access to the fundamentals and modern aspects of this field. From text based on coherence and its measurement the reader gains access to the fields of interferometry, holography and Fourier optics while becoming acquainted with methods of coherent optical techniques of measurement. From the multitude of nonlinear optical phenomena the following topics are particularly discussed: the laser with its nonlinear dynamics, tree-wave interference, the optical parametric amplifier, and nonlinear fibre optics including solitons for signal transmission. Many examples and exercises with complete solutions make this book a valuable study text.

This is the second edition of this advanced textbook written for scientists who require further training in femtosecond science. Four years after pub- cation of the ?rst edition, femtosecond science has overcome new challenges and new application ?elds have become mature. It is necessary to take into account these new developments. Two main topics merged during this period that support important scienti?c activities: attosecond pulses are now gen- ated in the X-UV spectral domain, and coherent control of chemical events is now possible by tailoring the shape of femtosecond pulses. To update this advanced textbook, it was necessary to introduce these ?elds; two new ch- ters are in this second edition: "e;Coherent Control in Atoms, Molecules, and Solids"e;(Chap.11)and"e;AttosecondPulses"e;(Chap.12)withwell-documented references. Some changes, addenda, and new references are introduced in the ?rst edition's ten original chapters to take into account new developments and updatethisadvancedtextbookwhichistheresultofascienti?cadventurethat started in 1991. At that time, the French Ministry of Education decided that, in view of the growing importance of ultrashort laser pulses for the national scienti?c community, a Femtosecond Centre should be created in France and devoted to the further education of scientists who use femtosecond pulses as a research tool and who are not specialists in lasers or even in optics.

Nonlinearity is a fascinating element of nature whose importance has been appreciated for many years when considering large-amplitude wave motions observed in various fields ranging from fluids and plasmas to solid-state, chemical, biological, and geological systems. Localized large-amplitude waves called solitons, which propagate without spreading and have particle-like properties, represent one of the most striking aspects of nonlinear phenomena. Although a wealth of literature on the subject, including theoretical and numerical studies, is available in good recent books and research journals, very little material has found its way into introductory texbooks and curricula. This is perhaps due to a belief that nonlinear physics is difficult and cannot be taught at an introductory level to undergraduate students and practitioners. Consequently, there is considerable interest in developing practical material suitable for students, at the lowest introductory level. This book is intended to be an elementary introduction to the physics of solitons, for students, physicists, engineers and practitioners. We present the modeling of nonlinear phenomena where soliton-like waves are involved, together with applications to a wide variety of concrete systems and experiments. This book is designed as a book of physical ideas and basic methods and not as an up-to-the- minute book concerned with the latest research results. The background in physics and the amount of mathematical knowledge assumed of the reader is within that usually accumulated by junior or senior students in physics.

In addition to a deductive approach to equilibrium statistics and thermodynamics based on a single hypothesis - the form of the microcanonical density matrix - this book treats the most important elements of non-equilibrium phenomena. Intermediate calculations are presented in complete detail. Problems at the end of each chapter help students to consolidate their understanding of the material. Beyond the fundamentals, this text demonstrates the breadth of the field and its great variety of applications. Modern areas such as renormalization group theory, percolation, stochastic equations of motion and their applications to critical dynamics, as well as fundamental considerations of irreversibility, are discussed. The text will be useful for advanced students of physics and other natural sciences; a basic knowledge of quantum mechanics is presumed.

I had great pleasure in reading Philippe Refregier's book on the theory of noise and its applications in physics. The main aim of the book is to present the basic ideas used to characterize these unwanted random signals that obscure information content. To this end, the author devotes a sigificant part of his book to a detailed study of the probabilistic foundations of fluctuation theory. Following a concise and accurate account of the basics of probability the- ory, the author includes a detailed study of stochastic processes, emphasizing the idea of the correlation function, which plays a key role in many areas of physics. Physicists often assume that the noise perturbing a signal is Gaussian. This hypothesis is justified if one can consider that the noise results from the superposition of a great many independent random perturbations. It is this fact that brings the author to discuss the theory underlying the addition of random variables, accompanied by a wide range of illustrative examples. Since noise affects information, the author is naturally led to consider Shannon's information theory, which in turn brings him to the altogether fundamental idea of entropy. This chapter is completed with a study of com- plexity according to Kolmogorov. This idea is not commonly discussed in physics and the reader will certainly appreciate the clear presentation within these pages.

Space is a large natural plasma laboratory offering a wealth of phenomena which range from the simple to the highly complex and non-linear. This book begins with an introduction to basic principles such as single-particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics and plasma waves. It incorporates these concepts into an analysis of complex phenomena including the sun and solar activity, shocks, interplanetary space and magnetospheres, and finally the interaction between these entities in solar-terrestrial relationships. In all these subfields of space research, special attention is paid to energetic particles. The book concludes with a brief chapter on instrumentation. In this third edition, numerous examples have been added to illustrate the basic concepts and aid the reader in applying such concepts to real world physics. In addition, recent observations (ACE, TRACE, Wind) have been included. The chapter on solar-terrestrial relationships has been expanded to introduce the current research topic of Space Weather.

Choice Outstanding Title! (January 2006)Since the discovery of the lasers in 1960 and optical fibers in 1970, optics underwent deep changes which accentuated its multi-field character. This work covers essential concepts of comprehension and reports the great progress of current knowledge in optics. The method of presentation is inspired by Richard Feynman, with an emphasis on "e;telling"e; optics, rather than deducing it from fundamental laws. For its excellent teaching style, the book received the Arnulf-Francon Award by the French Optical Society. The concepts are formulated in a way such that the necessary mathematical tools do not hinder comprehension of the phenomena. Global in vision, the book can also be used as a reference. In addition to the traditional aspects of optics, it includes the tools and methods currently used by researchers and engineers as well as explanation and implications of the most recent developments.

A translation of the highly acclaimed text by Roberto Tenenbaum (originally published in Portuguese). Requiring no more than a basic course in calculus, the text employs an intuitive approach, from the point of view of Newtonian mechanics, that avoids the complications of Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalism.

Following the birth of the laser in 1960, the field of "nonlinear optics" rapidly emerged. Today, laser intensities and pulse durations are readily available, for which the concepts and approximations of traditional nonlinear optics no longer apply.

Koechner's well-known 'bible' on solid-state laser engineering is now available in an accessible format at the graduate level. Numerous exercises with hints for solution, new text and updated material where needed make this text very accessible.

From the reviews: "Haus' book provides numerous insights on topics of wide importance, and contains much material not available elsewhere in book form. [...] an indispensable resource for those working in quantum optics or electronics." Optics & Photonics News

This self-contained treatment covers all aspects of nonlinear dynamics, from fundamentals to recent developments, in a unified and comprehensive way. Numerous examples and exercises will help the student to assimilate and apply the techniques presented.

The new edition includes additional analytical methods in the classical theory of viscoelasticity. This leads to a new theory of finite linear viscoelasticity of incompressible isotropic materials.

Drawing on the author's wide experience, this book gives a comprehensive review of the state of the art in gyrotron technology, covering the theory, design and applications. The book includes an extensive references list which provides an excellent guide to the related literature.

Generalizes Gaussian error intervals to situations in which the data follow distributions other than Gaussian. This book - based on Bayes' theorem, symmetries and differential geometry - states that this usually occurs because the observed parameter is barely above the background or the histogram of multiparametric data contains many empty bins.