Drawing on the author’s forty-plus years of experience as a researcher in the interaction of charged particles with matter, this book emphasizes the theoretical description of fundamental phenomena. Special attention is given to classic topics such as Rutherford scattering; the theory of particle stopping; the statistical description of energy loss and multiple scattering and numerous more recent developments.

The aim of the book is to give a coherent and comprehensive account of quantum scattering theory with applications to atomic, molecular and nuclear systems. The motivation for this is to supply the necessary theoretical tools to calculate scattering observables of these many-body systems. Concepts which are seemingly different for atomic/molecular scattering from those of nuclear systems, are shown to be the same once physical units such as energy and length are diligently clarified. Many-body resonances excited in nuclear systems are the same as those in atomic systems and come under the name of Feshbach resonances. We also lean heavily on semi-classical methods to explain the physics of quantum scattering OCo especially the interference seen in the angle dependence of the cross section. Having in mind a wide readership, the book includes sections on scattering in two dimensions which is of use in surface physics. Several problems are also included at the end of each of the chapters.

Early in 1989, while most of us were gathered in the Mediterranean five-centuries-old city of Alacant, the idea of a school on stopping and particle penetration phenomena came to our minds. Later that year when discussing this plan with some of the participants in the 13th International Conference on Atomic Collisions in Solids in Aarhus, we were pleased to note that the proposal was warmly welcomed indeed by the community. An Advanced Study Institute on this or a related subject had not been organized in the last decade. Because of the progress made particularly in the interaction of high energy beams with matter, and the many applications which the general subject of the stopping of charged particles (ions and electrons) in matter enjoys, a Study Institute appeared a worthy enterprise. Even though several international conference series cover developments in these areas, they miss tutorial introductions to the field. The title chosen was Interaction of Charged Particles with Solids and Surfaces, and the objectives were stated as follows: "to cover theory and experiments, including selected applications and hot topics, of the stopping of charged particles (ions and electrons) in matter. The emphasis will be on outlining the areas where further effort is needed, and on specifying the basic needs in applications. Fundamental concepts will prevail over applications, and the character of the Institute as a school will be stressed. " The school was directed by Fernando Flores (Spain), Herbert M. Urbassek (Germany), Nestor R.

The last decade witnessed an increasing interest of mathematicians in prob lems originated in mathematical physics. As a result of this effort, the scope of traditional mathematical physics changed considerably. New problems es pecially those connected with quantum physics make use of new ideas and methods. Together with classical and functional analysis, methods from dif ferential geometry and Lie algebras, the theory of group representation, and even topology and algebraic geometry became efficient tools of mathematical physics. On the other hand, the problems tackled in mathematical physics helped to formulate new, purely mathematical, theorems. This important development must obviously influence the contemporary mathematical literature, especially the review articles and monographs. A considerable number of books and articles appeared, reflecting to some extend this trend. In our view, however, an adequate language and appropriate methodology has not been developed yet. Nowadays, the current literature includes either mathematical monographs occasionally using physical terms, or books on theoretical physics focused on the mathematical apparatus. We hold the opinion that the traditional mathematical language of lem mas and theorems is not appropriate for the contemporary writing on mathe matical physics. In such literature, in contrast to the standard approaches of theoretical physics, the mathematical ideology must be utmost emphasized and the reference to physical ideas must be supported by appropriate mathe matical statements. Of special importance are the results and methods that have been developed in this way for the first time.

This book presents a concise and modern coverage of scattering theory. It is motivated by the fact that experimental advances have shifted and broadened the scope of applications where concepts from scattering theory are used, e.g. to the field of ultracold atoms and molecules, which has been experiencing enormous growth in recent years, largely triggered by the successful realization of Bose-Einstein condensates of dilute atomic gases in 1995. In the present treatment, special attention is given to the role played by the long-range behaviour of the projectile-target interaction, and a theory is developed, which is well suited to describe near-threshold bound and continuum states in realistic binary systems such as diatomic molecules or molecular ions. The level of abstraction is kept as low as at all possible, and deeper questions related to mathematical foundations of scattering theory are passed by. The book should be understandable for anyone with a basic knowledge of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. It is intended for advanced students and researchers, and it is hoped that it will be useful for theorists and experimentalists alike.

This book discusses the interaction of light with atoms, concentrating on the semiclassical descriptions of the processes. It begins by discussing the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with a classical charged dipole oscillator. Then, in a pivotal chapter, the interaction with a free charge is described (the Compton effect); it is shown that, in order to give agreement with observation, certain quantum rules must be introduced. The book then proceeds to discuss the interaction from this point of view-light always being described classically, atoms described quantum-mechanically, with quantum rules for the interaction. Subsequent chapters deal with stimulated emission and absorption, spontaneous emission and decay, the general problem of light stimulating and being scattered from the two-state atom, the photoelectric effect, and photoelectric counting statistics. Finally the author gives a personal view on the nature of light and his own way of looking at certain paradoxes. The writing of this book was originally conceived as a collaboration between the present author and a colleague of former years, Alan V. Durrant. Indeed, some preliminary exchange of ideas took place in the mid-1970s. But the problems of joint-authorship from antipodean positions proved too difficult and the project was abandoned. I would like to record my indebted ness to him for the stimulation of this early association. I also acknowledge the encouragement of my colleagues at the Univer sity of Otago. Special reference must be made to D. M.