The use of standard and reliable measurements is essential in many areas of life, but nowhere is it of more crucial importance than in the world of science, and physics in particular. This book contains 20 contributions presented as part of Course 206 of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi on New Frontiers for Metrology: From Biology and Chemistry to Quantum and Data Science, held in Varenna, Italy, from 4 -13 July 2019. The Course was the 7th in the Enrico Fermi series devoted to metrology, and followed a milestone in the history of measurement: the adoption of new definitions for the base units of the SI. During the Course, participants reviewed the decision and discussed how the new foundation for metrology is opening new possibilities for physics, with several of the lecturers reflecting on the implications for an easier exploration of the unification of quantum mechanics and gravity. A wide range of other topics were covered, from measuring color and appearance to atomic weights and radiation, and including the application of metrological principles to the management and interpretation of very large sets of scientific data and the application of metrology to biology. The book also contains a selection of posters from the best of those presented by students at the Course. Offering a fascinating exploration of the latest thinking on the subject of metrology, this book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners from many fields.

Metrology is part of the essential but largely hidden infrastructure of the modern world. This book concentrates on the infrastructure aspects of metrology. It introduces the underlying concepts: International system of units, traceability and uncertainty; and describes the concepts that are implemented to assure the comparability, reliability and quantifiable trust of measurement results. It is shown what benefits the traditional metrological principles have in fields as medicine or in the evaluation of cyber physical systems.

The use of standard and reliable measurements is essential in many areas of life, but nowhere is it of more crucial importance than in the world of science, and physics in particular.This book contains 20 contributions presented as part of Course 206 of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi on New Frontiers for Metrology: From Biology and Chemistry to Quantum and Data Science, held in Varenna, Italy, from 4 -13 July 2019. The Course was the 7th in the Enrico Fermi series devoted to metrology, and followed a milestone in the history of measurement: the adoption of new definitions for the base units of the SI. During the Course, participants reviewed the decision and discussed how the new foundation for metrology is opening new possibilities for physics, with several of the lecturers reflecting on the implications for an easier exploration of the unification of quantum mechanics and gravity. A wide range of other topics were covered, from measuring color and appearance to atomic weights and radiation, and including the application of metrological principles to the management and interpretation of very large sets of scientific data and the application of metrology to biology. The book also contains a selection of posters from the best of those presented by students at the Course.Offering a fascinating exploration of the latest thinking on the subject of metrology, this book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners from many fields.

Metrology is a constantly evolving field, and one which has developed in many ways in the last four decades. This book presents the proceedings of the Enrico Fermi Summer School on the topic of Metrology, held in Varenna, Italy, from 26 June to 6 July 2017. This was the 6th Enrico Fermi summer school devoted to metrology, the first having been held in 1976. The 2017 program addressed two major new directions for metrology: the work done in preparation for a possible re-definition of four of the base units of the SI in 2018, and the impact of the application of metrology to issues addressing quality of life – such as global climate change and clinical and food analysis – on science, citizens and society. The lectures were grouped into three modules: metrology for quality of life; fundamentals of metrology; and physical metrology and fundamental constants, and topics covered included food supply and safety; biomarkers; monitoring climate and air quality; new IS units; measurement uncertainty; fundamental constants; electrical metrology; optical frequency standards; and photometry and light metrology. The book provides an overview of the topics and changes relevant to metrology today, and will be of interest to both academics and all those whose work involves any of the various aspects of this field.

The reliability and accuracy of systems of measurement continue to advance. We are about to enter a period of the most stable measurement system we can imagine with the anticipated new definitions of the SI units of measurement; a direct link between fundamental physics and metrology which will eliminate the current definition of the kilogram, until now based upon an artifact. This book presents selected papers from Course 185 of the Enrico Fermi International School of Physics, held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2012 and jointly organized with the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The papers delivered at the school covered some of the most advanced topics in the discipline of metrology, including nano-technologies; quantum information and quantum devices; biology and medicine; food; surface quality; ionising radiation for health, environment, art and archaeology; and climate. The continuous and striking advances in basic research concerning atomic frequency standards operating both in the visible range and at microwave levels and the applications to satellite systems are also considered, in the framework of a historical review of the international organization of metrology, as are the problems inherent in uncertainty statements and definitions. This book will be of interest to all those whose work involves scientific measurement at the highest levels of accuracy.

Many X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers (X-FELs) have been designed, built and commissioned since the first lasing of the Linac Coherent Light Source in the hard and soft X-ray regions, and great progress has been made in improving their performance and extending their capabilities. Meanwhile, experimental techniques to exploit the unique properties of X-FELs to explore atomic and molecular systems of interest to physics, chemistry, biology and the material sciences have also been developed. As a result, our knowledge of atomic and molecular science has been greatly extended. Nevertheless, there is still much to be accomplished, and the potential for discovery with X-FELs is still largely unexplored. The next generation of scientists will need to be well versed in both particle beams/FEL physics and X-ray photon science. This book presents material from the Enrico Fermi summer school: Physics of and Science with X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers, held at the Enrico Fermi International School of Physics in Varenna, Italy, from 26 June - 1 July 2017. The lectures presented at the school were aimed at introducing graduate students and young scientists to this fast growing and exciting scientific area, and subjects covered include basic accelerator and FEL physics, as well as an introduction to the main research topics in X-FEL-based biology, atomic molecular optical science, material sciences, high-energy density physics and chemistry. Bridging the gap between accelerator/FEL physicists and scientists from other disciplines, the book will be of interest to all those working in the field.

The field of thermoelectricity has continued to develop rapidly in recent years and remains one of the most exciting areas of research for a materials physicist. The need for sustainable energy has added a technological momentum to the challenge of devising materials with exceptional properties such as low thermal conductivity, high electrical conductivity and a large Seebeck coefficient, and has triggered a global, interdisciplinary effort. More recently, research on thermoelectric materials has promoted and motivated a major research endeavor to clarify the factors affecting thermal conductivity in nanostructures as part of a more general effort to apply nanotechnology to enhance the performance of thermoelectric materials for use in thermoelectric generators and coolers. This book contains the lectures presented as Course 207 of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi, Advances in Thermoelectricity: Foundational Issues, Materials, and Nanotechnology, held in Varenna, Italy from 15 – 20 July 2019. This comprehensive course aimed to provide students with a modern vision of the physics of thermoelectric phenomena, starting from the thermodynamics of thermoelectricity and from the physics of transport processes and demonstrating how material structure and nanostructure, together with defects, have been used to tailor the physical properties of advanced thermoelectrics. Special attention was also given to areas of current research – from spin-caloritronics to charge transport in polymers – and to a selected number of applications for heat recovery. Encompassing the full complexity of modern thermoelectricity and covering the most cogent themes relevant to current research, the book will be of interest to all those working in the field.

The Enrico Fermi summer school on Quantum Matter at Ultralow Temperatures held on 7-15 July 2014 at Varenna, Italy, featured important frontiers in the field of ultracold atoms. For the last 25 years, this field has undergone dramatic developments, which were chronicled by several Varenna summer schools, in 1991 on Laser Manipulation of Atoms, in 1998 on Bose-Einstein Condensation in Atomic Gases, and in 2006 on Ultra-cold Fermi Gases. The theme of the 2014 school demonstrates that the field has now branched out into many different directions, where the tools and precision of atomic physics are used to realise new quantum systems, or in other words, to quantum-engineer interesting Hamiltonians. The topics of the school identify major new directions: Quantum gases with long range interactions, either due to strong magnetic dipole forces, due to Rydberg excitations, or, for polar molecules, due to electric dipole interactions; quantum gases in lower dimensions; quantum gases with disorder; atoms in optical lattices, now with single-site optical resolution; systems with non-trivial topological properties, e.g. with spin-orbit coupling or in artificial gauge fields; quantum impurity problems (Bose and Fermi polarons); quantum magnetism. Fermi gases with strong interactions, spinor Bose-Einstein condensates and coupled multi-component Bose gases or Bose-Fermi mixtures continue to be active areas. The current status of several of these areas is systematically summarized in this volume.

The field of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) science underpins many technologies and continues to progress at an exciting pace for both scientific discoveries and technological innovations. AMO physics studies the fundamental building blocks of functioning matter to help advance the understanding of the universe. It is a foundational discipline within the physical sciences, relating to atoms and their constituents, to molecules, and to light at the quantum level. AMO physics combines fundamental research with practical application, coupling fundamental scientific discovery to rapidly evolving technological advances, innovation and commercialization. Due to the wide-reaching intellectual, societal, and economical impact of AMO, it is important to review recent advances and future opportunities in AMO physics. Manipulating Quantum Systems: An Assessment of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics in the United States assesses opportunities in AMO science and technology over the coming decade. Key topics in this report include tools made of light; emerging phenomena from few- to many-body systems; the foundations of quantum information science and technologies; quantum dynamics in the time and frequency domains; precision and the nature of the universe, and the broader impact of AMO science.

This book presents the theory of quantum effects used in metrology and results of the author’s own research in the field of quantum electronics. The book provides also quantum measurement standards used in many branches of metrology for electrical quantities, mass, length, time and frequency. This book represents the first comprehensive survey of quantum metrology problems. As a scientific survey, it propagates a new approach to metrology with more emphasis on its connection with physics. This is of importance for the constantly developing technologies and nanotechnologies in particular. Providing a presentation of practical applications of the effects used in quantum metrology for the construction of quantum standards and sensitive electronic components, the book is useful for a wide audience of physicists and metrologists in the broad sense of both terms. In 2014 a new system of units, the so called Quantum SI, is introduced. This book helps to understand and approve the new system to both technology and academic community.