Recent developments in electronic structure theory have led to a new understanding of magnetic materials at the microscopic level. This enables a truly first-principles approach to investigations of technologically important magnetic materials. Among these advances have been practical schemes for handling non-collinear magnetic systems, including relativity, understanding of the origins and role of orbital magnetism within band structure formalisms, density functional approaches for magnons and low-lying spin excitations, understanding of the interplay of orbital, spin and lattice orderings in complex oxides, transport theories for layered systems, and the theory of magnetic interactions in doped semiconductors. The book covers these recent developments with review articles by some of the main originators of these advances.

Nanoscale science and technology is a young, promising field that encompasses a wide range of disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, and materials science. With rapid advances in areas such as molecular electronics, synthetic biomolecular motors, DNA-based self-assembly, and manipulation of individual atoms, nanotechnology has captured the attention and imagination of researchers and the general public.

This book intended as a guide for scientists and students who have just discovered the field as a new and attractive area of research, and for scientists who have worked in another field and want to join now the subject of laser plasmas. In the first chapter the plasma dynamics is described phenomenologically by a two fluid model and similarity relations from dimensional analysis. Chapter 2 is devoted to plasma optics and collisional absorption in the dielectric and ballistic model. Linear resonance absorption at the plasma frequency and its mild nonlinearities as well as the self-quenching of high amplitude electron plasma waves by wave breaking are discussed in Chapter 3. With increasing laser intensity the plasma dynamics is dominated by radiation pressure, at resonance producing all kinds of parametric instabilities and out of resonance leading to density steps, self-focusing and filamentation, described in Chapters 4 and 5. A self-contained treatment of field ionization of atoms and related phenomena are found in Chapter 6. The extension of laser interaction to the relativistic electron acceleration as well as the physics of collisionless absorption are the subject of Chapter 7. Throughout the book the main emphasis is on the various basic phenomena and on their underlying physics.

This new edition of the well-received introduction to solid-state physics provides a comprehensive overview of the basic theoretical and experimental concepts of materials science. Experimental aspects and laboratory details are highlighted in separate panels that enrich text and emphasize recent developments.

Volume 1, Metal and Semiconductor Nanowires covers a wide range of materials systems, from noble metals (such as Au, Ag, Cu), single element semiconductors (such as Si and Ge), compound semiconductors (such as InP, CdS and GaAs as well as heterostructures), nitrides (such as GaN and Si3N4) to carbides (such as SiC). The objective of this volume is to cover the synthesis, properties and device applications of nanowires based on metal and semiconductor materials. The volume starts with a review on novel electronic and optical nanodevices, nanosensors and logic circuits that have been built using individual nanowires as building blocks. Then, the theoretical background for electrical properties and mechanical properties of nanowires is given. The molecular nanowires, their quantized conductance, and metallic nanowires synthesized by chemical technique will be introduced next. Finally, the volume covers the synthesis and properties of semiconductor and nitrides nanowires.

Volume 2, Nanowires and Nanobelts of Functional Materials covers a wide range of materials systems, from functional oxides (such as ZnO, SnO2, and In2O3), structural ceramics (such as MgO, SiO2 and Al2O3), composite materials (such as Si-Ge, SiC- SiO2), to polymers. This volume focuses on the synthesis, properties and applications of nanowires and nanobelts based on functional materials. Novel devices and applications made from functional oxide nanowires and nanobelts will be presented first, showing their unique properties and applications. The majority of the text will be devoted to the synthesis and properties of nanowires and nanobelts of functional oxides. Finally, sulphide nanowires, composite nanowires and polymer nanowires will be covered.

The teaching of solid state physics essentially concerns focusing on crystals and their properties. We study crystals and their properties because of the simple and elegant results obtained from the analysis of a spatially periodic system; this is why the analysis can be made considering a small set of atoms that represent the whole system of many particles. In contrast to the formal neat approach to crystals, the study of str- turally disordered condensed systems is somewhat complicated and often leads to relatively imprecise results, not to mention the experimental and computational e?ort involved. As such, almost all university textbooks, - cluding the advanced course books, only brie?y touch on the physics of am- phous systems. In any case, both the fundamental aspect and the ever wider industrial applications have given structurally disordered matter a role that should not be overlooked.

This introduction to Atomic and Molecular Physics explains how our present model of atoms and molecules has been developed during the last two centuries by many experimental discoveries and from the theoretical side by the introduction of quantum physics to the adequate description of micro-particles. It illustrates the wave model of particles by many examples and shows the limits of classical description. The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms and molecules and its potential for spectroscopy is outlined in more detail and in particular lasers as modern spectroscopic tools are discussed more thoroughly. Many examples and problems with solutions should induce the reader to an intense active cooperation.

This volume is the outgrowth of a workshop held in October, 2000 at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA. The aim of this book (similar in theme to the workshop) is to present an overview of new directions in antimatter physics and chemistry research. The emphasis is on positron and positronium interactions both with themselves and with ordinary matter. The timeliness of this subject comes from several considerations. New concepts for intense positron sources and the development of positron accumulators and trap-based positron beams provide qualitatively new experimental capabilities. On the theoretical side, the ability to model complex systems and complex processes has increased dramatically in recent years, due in part to progress in computational physics.

Nuclei in their ground states behave as quantum fluids, Fermi liquids. When the density, or the temperature of that fluid increases, various phase transitions may occur. Thus, for moderate excitation energies, of the order of a few MeV per nucleon, nuclear matter behaves as an ordinary fluid with gaseous and liquid phases, and a coexistence region below a critical temperature. For higher excitation energies, of the order of a few Ge V per nucleon, the composition of nuclear matter changes, nucleons being gradually turned into baryonic resonances of various kinds. Finally, when 3 the energy density exceeds some few GeV /fm , nuclear matter turns into a gas of weakly interacting quarks and gluons. This new phase of matter has been called the quark-gluon plasma, and its existence is a prediction of Quantum Chromodynamics. Collisions of heavy ions produce nuclear matter with various degrees of excitation. In fact, by selecting the impact parameter and the bombarding energy, one can produce nuclear matter with specified baryonic density and excitation energy. Several major experimental programs are under way (for instance at GANIL, with the detector INDRA, at GSI with the detector ALADIN, at the CERN-SPS, at the AGS of Brookhaven, etc. ), or are in preparation (RRIC, LHC, etc. ). The goal of these experiments is to get evidence for the different phases of nuclear matter predicted by the theory, and to study their properties.

Properties of thin films depend strongly upon the deposition technique and conditions chosen. In order to achieve the desired film, optimum deposition conditions have to be found by carrying out experiments in a trial-and­ error fashion with varying parameters. The data obtained on one growth apparatus are often not transferable to another. This is especially true for film deposition processes using a cold plasma because of our poor under­ standing of the mechanisms. Relatively precise studies have been carried out on the role that physical effects play in film formation such as sputter deposition. However, there are many open questions regarding processes that involve chemical reactions, for example, reactive sputter deposition or plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Much further research is re­ quired in order to understand the fundamental deposition processes. A sys­ tematic collection of basic data, some of which may be readily available in other branches of science, for example, reaction cross sections for gases with energetic electrons, is also required. The need for pfasma deposition techniques is felt strongly in industrial applications because these techniques are superior to traditional thin-film deposition techniques in many ways. In fact, plasma deposition techniques have developed rapidly in the semiconductor and electronics industries. Fields of possible application are still expanding. A reliable plasma reactor with an adequate in situ system for monitoring the deposition conditions and film properties must be developed to improve reproducibility and pro­ ductivity at the industrial level.

The first edition of this book was written in 1961 when I was Morris Loeb Lecturer in Physics at Harvard. In the preface I wrote: "The problem faced by a beginner today is enormous. If he attempts to read a current article, he often finds that the first paragraph refers to an earlier paper on which the whole article is based, and with which the author naturally assumes familiarity. That reference in turn is based on another, so the hapless student finds himself in a seemingly endless retreat. I have felt that graduate students or others beginning research in magnetic resonance needed a book which really went into the details of calculations, yet was aimed at the beginner rather than the expert. " The original goal was to treat only those topics that are essential to an understanding of the literature. Thus the goal was to be selective rather than comprehensive. With the passage of time, important new concepts were becoming so all-pervasive that I felt the need to add them. That led to the second edition, which Dr. Lotsch, Physics Editor of Springer-Verlag, encouraged me to write and which helped launch the Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences. Now, ten years later, that book (and its 1980 revised printing) is no longer available. Meanwhile, workers in magnetic resonance have continued to develop startling new insights.

I would like to present to a wide circle of the readers working in quantum chem- istry and solid-state physics, as ,,·ell as in other fields of many-body physics and its interfaces, this book deyoted to density functional theory written by my colleagues Eugene S. Kryachko and Eduardo Y. Ludena. Their ways to this theory are rather different although basically both of them are quantum chemical. Eugene S. Kryachko came to energy density functional theory from the theory of reduced density matrices, and Eduardo \'. Ludena dewloped earlier the concept of loges in quantum chemistry. Neyertheless, their earlier interests giw the possibility to consolidate and formulate energy density functional theory in a unified and consistent way, in my opinion.

This book explores recent developments in electrically conducting graphene-containing polymer composites for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and flame-retardant applications. It emphasizes the exceptional performance of graphene and graphene-based materials in these composites. The comprehensive overview covers the fundamental principles of EMI shielding, flame retardancy, and polymer composite processing, addressing critical aspects related to the development of advanced graphene-containing materials. The book aims to fill the gap in reviews that specifically focus on EMI shielding and flame retardancy fundamentals, processing techniques, and application-specific developments.

This book introduces the concepts and methodologies related to the modelling of the complex phenomena occurring in materials processing. After a short reminder of conservation laws and constitutive relationships, the authors introduce the main numerical methods: finite differences, finite volumes and finite elements. These techniques are developed in three main chapters of the book that tackle more specific problems: phase transformation, solid mechanics and fluid flow. The two last chapters treat inverse methods to obtain the boundary conditions or the material properties and stochastic methods for microstructural simulation. This book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students in materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering and physics and for engineering professionals or researchers who want to get acquainted with numerical simulation to model and compute materials processing.