The seminar on Stochastic Analysis and Mathematical Physics of the Ca­ tholic University of Chile, started in Santiago in 1984, has being followed and enlarged since 1995 by a series of international workshops aimed at pro­ moting a wide-spectrum dialogue between experts on the fields of classical and quantum stochastic analysis, mathematical physics, and physics. This volume collects most of the contributions to the Fourth Interna­ tional Workshop on Stochastic Analysis and Mathematical Physics (whose Spanish abbreviation is "ANESTOC"; in English, "STAMP"), held in San­ tiago, Chile, from January 5 to 11, 2000. The workshop style stimulated a vivid exchange of ideas which finally led to a number of written con­ tributions which I am glad to introduce here. However, we are currently submitted to a sort of invasion of proceedings books, and we do not want to increase our own shelves with a new one of the like. On the other hand, the editors of conference proceedings have to use different exhausting and com­ pulsive strategies to persuade authors to write and provide texts in time, a task which terrifies us. As a result, this volume is aimed at smoothly start­ ing a new kind of publication. What we would like to have is a collection of books organized like our seminar.

Characterizing entanglement is an important issue in quantum information, as it is considered to be a resource for many applications such as quantum key distribution or quantum metrology. One useful tool to detect and quantify entanglement are witness operators. A standard way to construct them is based on the fidelity of pure states and mathematically relies on the Schmidt decomposition of vectors. In this book a method to build entanglement witnesses using the Schmidt decomposition of operators is presented. One can show that these are strictly stronger than the fidelity witnesses. Moreover, the concept can be generalized easily to the multipartite case, and one may use it to quantify the dimensionality of entanglement. Finally, this scheme will be used to provide two algorithms that can be combined to improve given witnesses for multiparticle entanglement.

Quantum information science is a rapidly developing field that not only promises a revolution in computer sciences but also touches deeply the very foundations of quantum physics. This book consists of a set of lectures by leading experts in the field that bridges the gap between standard textbook material and the research literature, thus providing the ne- cessary background for postgraduate students and non-specialist researchers wishing to familiarize themselves with the subject thoroughly and at a high level. This volume is ideally suited as a course book for postgraduate students, and lecturers will find in it a large choice of material for bringing their courses up to date.

This book, the first in a two-volume set, provides an introduction to the fundamentals of (mainly) non-relativistic quantum mechanics. This first volume chiefly focuses on the essential principles, while applications and extensions of the formalism can be found in volume 2. Including but also moving beyond material that is covered in traditional textbooks on quantum mechanics, the book discusses in detail current issues such as interaction-free quantum measurements or neutrino oscillations, as well as fundamental problems and epistemological questions, such as the measurement problem. A chapter on the postulates of quantum mechanics rounds off this first volume.

This issue contains contributions in different cutting edge topics within the field of open quantum systems. The theoretical work presented is focused, in particular, on quantum thermodynamics and quantum non-Markovianity and provides a window into current research in these fields. Different perspectives are considered that share a common root in the exploitation of open quantum systems and quantum information tools.

issues raised by quantum theory, a topic not very popular during his student days at Queen's University, Belfast. Apparently, John Bell, who had been interested in the Bohr-Einstein dialogue, always took the position of Albert Einstein on philosophical issues. He also felt that a completion of quantum mechanics using so-called "hidden variables" would be highly desired, as it would help to regain a realistic and objective picture of the world. That way, Bell hoped one would be able to arrive at a physics where "measurement" would not play such a central role as in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Quantum Information Processing is a young and rapidly growing field of research at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and computer science. Its ultimate goal is to harness quantum physics to conceive – and ultimately build – "quantum" computers that would dramatically overtake the capabilities of today's "classical" computers. One example of the power of a quantum computer is its ability to efficiently find the prime factors of a larger integer, thus shaking the supposedly secure foundations of standard encryption schemes.

In the quantum world, a particle can behave like a wave and accordingly seems to be in two places at the same time. This of course is contradictory to our daily experiences with classical particles. How then should this be understood? What happens in the transitional area between the classical world and quantum mechanics? The present book answers exciting questions like these in a way that is easy to follow and to understand and is shows that the link between these two worlds will have concrete and applied effects on our daily life in the near future. It will, for example, improve and change the conventional methods of information processing. With the help of quantum cryptography, it will be possible to communicate tap-proof. Using quantum computers we will be able to solve highly complicated problems in a very short time.

By the year 2020, the basic memory components of a computer will be the size of individual atoms. At such scales, the current theory of computation will become invalid. "Quantum computing" is reinventing the foundations of computer science and information theory in a way that is consistent with quantum physics - the most accurate model of reality currently known. Remarkably, this theory predicts that quantum computers can perform certain tasks breathtakingly faster than classical computers – and, better yet, can accomplish mind-boggling feats such as teleporting information, breaking supposedly "unbreakable" codes, generating true random numbers, and communicating with messages that betray the presence of eavesdropping.

Examines the intersection of quantum information and chemical physics
The Advances in Chemical Physics series is dedicated to reviewing new and emerging topics as well as the latest developments in traditional areas of study in the field of chemical physics. Each volume features detailed comprehensive analyses coupled with individual points of view that integrate the many disciplines of science that are needed for a full understanding of chemical physics.

This graduate textbook provides a unified view of quantum information theory. Clearly explaining the necessary mathematical basis, it merges key topics from both information-theoretic and quantum- mechanical viewpoints and provides lucid explanations of the basic results. Thanks to this unified approach, it makes accessible such advanced topics in quantum communication as quantum teleportation, superdense coding, quantum state transmission (quantum error-correction) and quantum encryption.

This concise and readable book addresses primarily readers with a background in classical statistical physics and introduces quantum mechanical notions as required. Conceived as a primer to bridge the gap between statistical physics and quantum information, it emphasizes concepts and thorough discussions of the fundamental notions and prepares the reader for deeper studies, not least through a selection of well chosen exercises.