This new work presents an eclectic treatment of quantum optics, quantum measurements, and mesoscopic physics. Beginning with the fundamentals of quantum optics, the book then provides scientists and engineers with the latest experimental work in the area of optical measurements.

Remarkable recent progress in quantum optics has given rise to extremely precise quantum measurements that are used in the research into the fundamentals of quantum physics, and in different branches of physics such as optical spectroscopy. This progress stimulates new technologies in the field of optical communications, optical computation and information systems. This state-of-the-art volume presents work from a Summer School on Advances in Quantum Optics and Spectroscopy of Solids, held in Ankara, Turkey, in 1995. The various contributions written by leading scientists in the field cover a wide range of subjects in this exciting area of physics, and report new and important results and ideas. Topics dealt with include the interaction of quantum light with trapped atoms and condensed matter; quantum tomography and phase analysis; and many applications of quantum optics from mesoscopic physics to correlation spectroscopy of non-classical states, which are of major importance in understanding the nature of collective excitations in solids. Audience: This book will be of interest to postgraduate students and researchers whose work involves quantum optics, solid state spectroscopy and its applications.

An introduction and comprehensive survey of the main issues in mesosocopic physics. Topics covered include quantum Hall effects, transport through quantum wires and dots, coherence in mesoscopic systems, spintronics, disordered systems, and solid state quantum computation. Some contributions are dedicated to the connections between nanoscience and biophysics and quantum optics. Although the topics mentioned have many aspects in common, they span a wide area of physics. It is therefore especially important to provide a broad view of this rapidly expanding field. Thanks to the excellent presentations, the book will be found suitable both for young researchers who want to enter the field and stimulating for more experienced scientists.

Mesoscopic physics deals with systems larger than single atoms but small enough to retain their quantum properties. The possibility to create and manipulate conductors of the nanometer scale has given birth to a set of phenomena that have revolutionized physics: quantum Hall effects, persistent currents, weak localization, Coulomb blockade, etc. This Special Issue tackles the latest developments in the field. Contributors discuss time-dependent transport, quantum pumping, nanoscale heat engines and motors, molecular junctions, electron–electron correlations in confined systems, quantum thermo-electrics and current fluctuations. The works included herein represent an up-to-date account of exciting research with a broad impact in both fundamental and applied topics.

This book is written to conclude the NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Quantum Noise in Mesoscopic Physics" held in Delft, the Netherlands, on June 2-4, 2002. The workshop was co-directed by M. Reznikov of Israel Institute of Technology, and me. The members of the organizing committee were Yaroslav Blanter (Delft), Chirstopher Glattli (Saclay and ENS Paris) and R. Schoelkopf (Yale). The workshop was very successful, and we hope that the reader will be satisfied with the scientific level of the present book. Before addressing scientific issues I find it suitable to address several non-scientific ones. The workshop was attended by researchers from many countries. Most of them perform their activities in academic institutions, where one usually finds the necessary isolation from the problems and sores of the modem world. However, there was a large group of participants for which such isolation was far from perfect. War, hatred, and violence rage just several miles away of their campuses and laboratories, poisoning everyday life in the land of Israel.

The very fast progress registered during the last few decades in physics has clearly shown the great necessity to give an interdisciplinary character to the scientific programs. This has made the intersection between different branches of physics more and more important. This volume contains theoretical and experimental results concerning the relationships among quantum-like models, macroscopic coherence and stochastic mechanics. The wide range of topics, covering particle accelerator physics, plasma physics, quantum optics, superconductivities and mesoscopic gravitation, is presented from a cross-disciplinary point of view.

Quantum mesoscopic physics covers a whole class in interference effects related to the propagation of waves in complex and random media. These effects are ubiquitous in physics, from the behaviour of electrons in metals and semiconductors to the propagation of electromagnetic waves in suspensions such as colloids, and quantum systems like cold atomic gases. A solid introduction to quantum mesoscopic physics, this book is a modern account of the problem of coherent wave propagation in random media. It provides a unified account of the basic theoretical tools and methods, highlighting the common aspects of the various optical and electronic phenomena involved and presenting a large number of experimental results. With over 200 figures, and exercises throughout, the book was originally published in 2007 and is ideal for graduate students in physics, electrical engineering, applied physics, acoustics and astrophysics. It will also be an interesting reference for researchers.

Quantum mechanics was initially constructed to describe objects on atomic and subatomic scales. However, in the last decades, quantum mechanics has been revisited and its use extended to the study and description of macroscopic distinct states. This is accomplished by modeling basic objects of mesoscopic physics, such as superconducting quantum circuits and low-dimensional structures derived from a two-dimensional electronic gas. In recent years, these devices support the study of fundamental systems such as a two-level quantum system, or qubit, as an object for manipulations and applications. This book will provide an introduction to quantum computation and quantum information, based on quantum physics, solid-state theory, and theory of computing. We will become familiar with this important field and explore how it is inseparably linked to basic notions of physics such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum dynamics. Then we will consider superconducting and mesoscopic systems, as well as a series of phenomena, where important are the spectra quantization, interference, and charge discreteness.This book derives its content from a lecture course designed for graduate students and postdocs who are acquainted with quantum mechanics and statistical physics. In particular, it was developed together with the lecture series taught to 5th year students of the Department of Physics and Technology in V N Karazin Kharkiv National University.

Semiconductor technology has developed considerably during the past several decades. The exponential growth in microelectronic processing power has been achieved by a constant scaling down of integrated cir,cuits. Smaller fea ture sizes result in increased functional density, faster speed, and lower costs. One key ingredient of the LSI technology is the development of the lithog raphy and microfabrication. The current minimum feature size is already as small as 0.2 /tm, beyond the limit imposed by the wavelength of visible light and rapidly approaching fundamental limits. The next generation of devices is highly likely to show unexpected properties due to quantum effects and fluctuations. The device which plays an important role in LSIs is MOSFETs (metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors). In MOSFETs an inversion layer is formed at the interface of silicon and its insulating oxide. The inversion layer provides a unique two-dimensional (2D) system in which the electron concentration is controlled almost freely over a very wide range. Physics of such 2D systems was born in the mid-1960s together with the development of MOSFETs. The integer quantum Hall effect was first discovered in this system.

Quantum mechanical laws are well documented at the level of a single or a few atoms and are here extended to systems containing 102 to 1010 electrons - still much smaller than the usual macroscopic objects, but behaving in a manner similar to a single atom. Besides the purely theoretical interest, such systems pose a challenge to the achievement of the ultimate microelectronic applications. The present volume presents an up-to-date account of the physics, technology and expected applications of quantum effects in solid-state mesoscopic structures. Physical phenomena include the Aharonov-Bohm effect, persistent currents, Coulomb blockade and Coulomb oscillations in single electron devices, Andreev reflections and the Josephson effect in superconductor/normal/superconductor systems, shot noise suppression in microcontacts and contact resistance quantisation, and overall quantum coherence in mesoscopic and nanoscopic structures related to the emerging physics of quantum computation in the solid-state environment.