Recent advances in the quantum theory of macroscopic systems have brightened up the field and brought it into the focus of a general community in natural sciences. The fundamental concepts, methods and applications including the most recent developments, previously covered for the most part only in the original literature, are presented here in a comprehensive treatment to an audience who is reasonably familiar with quantum-statistical mechanics and has had rudimentary contacts with the path integral formulation. This book deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence and dissipation in quantum mechanics that arise from the interaction with the environment. A general path integral description of equilibrium thermodynamics and non-equilibrium dynamics is developed. The approach can deal with weak and strong dissipation, and with all kinds of memory effects. Applications to numerous phenomenological and microscopic systems are presented, where emphasis is put on condensed matter and chemical physics. The basic principles and methods of preparation functions, propagating functions, and time correlation functions are described. Special attention is focused on quantum tunneling and quantum coherence phenomena of macroscopic variables. Many illustrative realistic examples are discussed in some detail. The book attempts to provide a broad perspective and to open up this rapidly developing field to interested researchers normally working in different fields. In this enlarged second edition, the nineteen chapters of the first edition have been expanded by about one-third to better meet both the requests of newcomers to the field and of advanced readers, and seven new chapters have beenadded that review the most recent important developments.
Major advances in the quantum theory of macroscopic systems, in combination with stunning experimental achievements, have brightened the field and brought it to the attention of the general community in natural sciences. Today, working knowledge of dissipative quantum mechanics is an essential tool for many physicists. This book — originally published in 1990 and republished in 1999 as an enlarged second edition — delves much deeper than ever before into the fundamental concepts, methods, and applications of quantum dissipative systems, including the most recent developments.In this third edition, 26 chapters from the second edition contain additional material and several chapters are completely rewritten. It deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence, relaxation, and dissipation in quantum mechanics that arise from the interaction with the environment. In so doing, a general path integral description of equilibrium thermodynamics and nonequilibrium dynamics is developed.
This comprehensive textbook provides the fundamental concepts and methods of dissipative quantum mechanics and related issues in condensed matter physics starting from first principles. It deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence, relaxation and dissipation in quantum mechanics that arise from the random exchange of energy with the environment. Major theoretical advances in combination with stunning experimental achievements and the arising perspective for quantum computing have brightened the field and brought it to the attention of the general community in natural sciences. Expertise in dissipative quantum mechanics is by now beneficial in a broad sphere.This book — originally published in 1992 and republished as enlarged and updated second, third and fourth edition in 1999, 2008, and 2012 — dives even deeper into the fundamental concepts, methods and applications of quantum dissipation. The fifth edition provides a self-contained and updated account of the quantum mechanics and quantum statistics of open systems. The subject matter of the book has been thoroughly revised to better comply with the needs of newcomers and the demands of the advanced readership. Most of the chapters are rewritten to enhance clarity and topicality. Four new chapters covering recent developments in the field have been added. There are about 600 references. This book is intended for use by advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, and for researchers active in the field. They will find the monograph as a rich and stimulating source.
Drawing on his own experiences and inspirations - from staging his first exhibition in his tiny Zurich kitchen in 1986 to encounters and conversations with artists, exhibition makers and thinkers alive and dead - Hans Ulrich Obrist's Ways of Curating looks to inspire all those engaged in the creation of culture. Moving from meetings with the artists who have inspired him (including Gerhard Richter and Gilbert and George) to the creation of the first public museums in the 18th century, recounting the practice of inspirational figures such as Diaghilev and Walter Hopps, skipping between exhibitions (his own and others), continents and centuries, Ways of Curating argues that curation is far from a static practice. Driven by curiosity, at its best it allows us to create the future.
This unusual collection of 49 essays gives an overview of the trends and accomplishments of synthetic organic chemistry in recent years. Unique in its approach, it deals with almost every aspect of modern synthesis. The first part of the book describes methods and reagents, with particular emphasis on rapidly developing organometallic and biooriented procedures. In the second part, these tools are applied to the syntheses of interesting target compounds and natural compounds with remarkable physiological properties. Mechanistic discussions and retrosynthetic analyses are included. More than 1000 up-to-date references help the reader to pursue the topics highlighted here. This book gives both the active researcher and the advanced student insight into the competitive atmosphere, creativity, and resourcefulness so characteristic of organic synthesis today.
Enlightened Monks investigates the social, cultural, philosophical, and theological challenges the German Benedictines had to face between 1740 and 1803, and how the Enlightenment process influenced the self-understanding and lifestyle of these religious communities. It had an impact on their forms of communication, their transfer of knowledge, their relationships to worldly authorities and to the academic world, and also their theology and philosophy. The multifaceted achievements of enlightened monks, which included a strong belief in individual freedom, tolerance, human rights, and non-violence, show that monasticism was on the way to becoming fully integrated into the Enlightenment. Ulrich L. Lehner refutes the widespread assumption that monks were reactionary enemies of Enlightenment ideas. On the contrary, he demonstrates that many Benedictines implemented the new ideas of the time into their own systems of thought. This revisionist account contributes to a better understanding not only of monastic culture in Central Europe, but also of Catholic religious culture in general.
This book provides a new understanding of the large amount of experimental results gained in solid state physics during the last seven decades. For more than 160 different materials, data analyses shown in terms of atomistic models (Hamiltonians) have not provided a quantitatively satisfactory description of either excitation spectra or dynamic properties. Instead, the experimental evidences have elaborated that field theories are necessary. However, most experimentalists are not familiar with field theories, and realistic field theories of magnetism are absent.The book illustrates in an empirical way the elements of future field theories of solid state physics with special emphasis on magnetic materials. In contrast to the many available textbooks on quantum field theories that emphasize more on algorithmic formalities rather than referring to the experimental facts, the approach in this book is pragmatic instead of abstract theoretic. This methodical concept considerably facilitates experimentalists to get acquainted with the basic ideas of field theories, even if a ready field theory is not provided by this experimental study.
Nanocatalysis is one of the most exciting subfields to have emerged from nanoscience. Its central aim is the control of chemical reactions by changing the size, dimensionality, chemical composition and morphology of the reaction center and by changing the kinetics using nanopatterning of the reaction centers. This approach opens up new avenues for atom-by-atom design of nanocatalysts with distinct and tunable chemical activity, specificity, and selectivity. This book is intended to give a pedagogical and methodological overview of this exciting and growing field and to highlight specific examples of current research. In this way, it serves both as an instructive introduction for graduate students who plan to enter the field and as a reference work for scientists already active in this and related areas.
Microsystem technology (MST) integrates very small (up to a few nanometers) mechanical, electronic, optical, and other components on a substrate to construct functional devices. These devices are used as intelligent sensors, actuators, and controllers for medical, automotive, household and many other purposes. This book is a basic introduction to MST for students, engineers, and scientists. It is the first of its kind to cover MST in its entirety. It gives a comprehensive treatment of all important parts of MST such as microfabrication technologies, microactuators, microsensors, development and testing of microsystems, and information processing in microsystems. It surveys products built to date and experimental products and gives a comprehensive view of all developments leading to MST devices and robots.
An Introduction to Redox Polymers for Energy-Storage Applications Presents a well-founded introduction to the field or Redox Polymers, with didactical features like summary boxes and a Q&A sections An Introduction to Redox Polymers for Energy-Storage Applications discusses fundamental aspects related to polymer-based batteries, such as types of batteries, their historic development, design and synthesis criteria of the active material, and summarizes the various types of redox polymers and their applications. Each chapter contains learning objectives, summary boxes, and questions to allow for efficient exam preparation. In An Introduction to Redox Polymers for Energy-Storage Applications, readers will find detailed information on: Fundamental aspects of redox-active polymers, along with their historical classification, taking the key applications of the materials into account Energy-storage devices, containing polymers as the electrode active materials, and specific material requirements for the desired applications Classification of redox-active polymers, e.g., according to the nature of the actual redox-active moieties, their backbone structure, or topology Electrical conductivity of conjugated polymers, covering their most prominent representatives (polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and polyacetylene) An Introduction to Redox Polymers for Energy-Storage Applications also covers the synthesis and applications of these materials, making it an excellent book for graduates, PhD students, and professionals who are starting in this field.
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