Bücher veröffentlicht von Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Historically, quasi-low-dimensional superconductors were considered as the main candidates to observe high-temperature superconductivity. For a disc- sion of the related exotic mechanisms of superconductivity, suggested by W.A. Little and V.L. Ginzburg, see a chapter by D. J¿ erome in this volume. Unf- tunately, high-temperature superconductivity has not been discovered yet in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) and quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) organic ma- rials. Nevertheless, very rich and, in many cases, unique physical properties of their metallic, superconducting, charge- and spin-density-wave phases allowed P.M. Chaikin to claim that the ?rst organic superconductors, (TMTSF) X, 2 are probably the most interesting electronic materials ever discovered. Our book welcomes a reader to a fascinating world of exotic condensed matter physics, low temperatures, and high and ultrahigh magnetic ?elds. It is written by leading experts in the area from USA, France, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Croatia, Hungary, and Switzerland. The book consists of six parts, subdivided into 27 chapters, which contain both the experimental results and their theoretical explanations. The majority of the chapters contain pedagogical introductions and all necessary illustrations to be read separately. Although we concentrate on physical p- nomena, in the most chapters related chemistry and structural aspects of Q1D and Q2D organic materials are also discussed.

The idea to write a new book in the ?eld of ferroelectric crystals arose from some considerationsreportedinthefollowing. Inthelast5years,severalgroupsallaround the world in the ?eld of engineering and characterization of ferroelectric crystals have published more than 300 papers. The motivation for such an intense research activity is referable to the fact that the ferroelectric crystals are a key element for the most attractive and useful photonic and optoelectronic devices. In fact, during the 60ies, the scientists realized that the ferroelectric crystals could have been - ?ciently used to generate new, unavailable frequencies, taking advantage of the freshly proposed birefringent phase-matching method. The synchronized rush for the development of novel coherent sources and for the discovery of the best-suited nonlinear crystals for mixing and generation had started. Consequently, the range of applications of ferroelectric crystals has enormously widened in the last years, es- cially based on the use of periodically poled structures (i. e. , PPLN, PPLT, PPKTP, or PPKTA) to quasi-phase-match optical interactions. A new generation of sources is ?nding increasing applications in various ?elds, including high sensitivity trace gas monitoring and any kind of advanced spectroscopic set-ups, thus replacing "e;old style"e; gas lasers like Argon-ion or dye lasers. New possibilities are also being - plored to engineer ferroelectric crystals with two- or three-dimensional geometries. Results from this ?eld will allow developing photonic devices combining photonic band-gap properties and nonlinear conversion processes, i. e. , nonlinear photonic crystals.

This textbook is a translation of the German textbook "e;Rechnen fUr Lagerstattenkundler und Rohstoffwirtschaftler, Teil 1"e; published by the Ellen Pilger Publishing Company. Those passages in the German edition which were especially written for the German readership were transform- ed for English speaking readers. Compared with the German edition many chapters have been slightly amended. The main new additions in this English version are the chapter on linear optimization in Chapter 10.2 and Chapter 12 on the comparison of ore deposits. The textbook is intended for the economic geologist who deals with the evaluation of deposits at an early stage of development. Once an ex- ploration project has reached the feasibility stage, the exact calculations of the deposit, the technical and economic assessment will be performed by a team of geologists, mining engineers, metallurgists, and economists. In the early stages of exploration, however, any evaluator of deposits has to be able to cover the whole spectrum himself. Since only order of magnitude parameters are available at this stage, the calculations can only yield order of magnitude results. Precise calculations would even be misleading, since the evaluation does not yet aim at accurate economic assessment but at making the right decision: should the investigation be abandoned or should it be continued at higher costs and with more detailed methods.

Since 1980 a considerable amount of scientific research dealing with geochemical processes in marine sediments has been carried out. This textbook summarizes the state of the art in this field of research. The topics comprise the examination of sedimentological and physical properties of the sedimentary solid phase, of pore water and pore water constituents, organic matter as the driving force of most microbiological processes, biotic and abiotic redox reactions, carbonates and stable isotopes as proxies for paleoclimate reconstruction, metal enrichments in ferromanganese nodules and crusts as well as in hot vents and cold seeps on the seafloor. A new chapter describes properties, occurrence and formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments. The textbook ends with a chapter on model conceptions and computer models to quantify processes of early diagenesis.

Dedicated to the eminent Russian mathematician Albert Shiryaev on the occasion of his 70th birthday, the Festschrift is a collection of papers, including several surveys, written by his former students, co-authors and colleagues. These reflect the wide range of scientific interests of the teacher and his Moscow school. The topics range from the disorder problems to stochastic calculus and their applications to mathematical economics and finance. A full biobibliography of Shiryaev's works is included.The book represents the modern state of art of many aspects of a quickly maturing theory and will be an essential source and reading for researchers in this area. The diversity of the topics and the comprehensive style of the papers make the book amenable and attractive for PhD students and young researchers.

"e;Astrophysics Updates"e; is intended to serve the information needs of professional astronomers and postgraduate students about areas of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology that are rich and active research spheres. Observational methods and the latest results of astronomical research are presented as well as their theoretical foundations and interrelations. The contributed commissioned articles are written by leading exponents in a format that will appeal to professional astronomers and astrophysicists who are interested in topics outside their own specific areas of research. This collection of timely reviews may also attract the interest of advanced amateur astronomers seeking scientifically rigorous coverage.

The algorithmic problems of real algebraic geometry such as real root counting, deciding the existence of solutions of systems of polynomial equations and inequalities, or deciding whether two points belong in the same connected component of a semi-algebraic set occur in many contexts. In this first-ever graduate textbook on the algorithmic aspects of real algebraic geometry, the main ideas and techniques presented form a coherent and rich body of knowledge, linked to many areas of mathematics and computing.Mathematicians already aware of real algebraic geometry will find relevant information about the algorithmic aspects, and researchers in computer science and engineering will find the required mathematical background.Being self-contained the book is accessible to graduate students and even, for invaluable parts of it, to undergraduate students.

We describe in this book, new methods for analysis and design of hybrid intelligent systems using soft computing techniques. Soft Computing (SC) consists of several computing paradigms, including fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms, which can be used to produce powerful hybrid intelligent systems for solving problems in pattern recognition, time series prediction, intelligent control, robotics and automation. Hybrid int- ligent systems that combine several SC techniques are needed due to the complexity and high dimensionality of real-world problems. Hybrid int- ligent systems can have different architectures, which have an impact on the efficiency and accuracy of these systems, for this reason it is very - portant to optimize architecture design. The architectures can combine, in different ways, neural networks, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms, to achieve the ultimate goal of pattern recognition, time series prediction, - telligent control, or other application areas. This book is intended to be a major reference for scientists and en- neers interested in applying new computational and mathematical tools to design hybrid intelligent systems. This book can also be used as a textbook or major reference for graduate courses like the following: soft computing, intelligent pattern recognition, computer vision, applied artificial intel- gence, and similar ones. We consider that this book can also be used to get novel ideas for new lines of research, or to continue the lines of research proposed by the authors of the book.

History is not what we were wearing, It is how we had been utterly ruined. B.Pasternak.¿Spektorsky¿ In the spring of 1999 the police found me lying unconscious with a broken forehead next to my bike in the outskirts of Paris, and delivered me to a hospital. It took a few weeks for French doctors to bring me to consciousness. But I did not recognize my son and said about my wife: ¿this woman says that she is my wife¿. A doctor asked me how many years we had been married. I answered correctly, ¿twenty four¿, and the doctor wrote down: ¿arithmetical abilities are preserved¿. Later, French doctors told me that with such a trauma any Frenchman would succumb immediately. But then they added: ¿Russians are very tough so you should live several months more¿. In a Western textbook I had read regarding effects of poisons: ¿as for alcohol the lethal dose for Russians is several times higher¿. Perhaps the same applies to traumas.