This second edition, in the broadest sense, is an application of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to the field of magnetism. It can be used for parts of a specialised course on material properties or solid-state physics and magnetism.

This book, in the broadest sense, is an application of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to the field of magnetism. Under certain well described conditions, an immensely large number of electrons moving in the solid will collectively produce permanent magnetism. Permanent magnets are of fundamental interest, and magnetic materials are of great practical importance as they provide a large field of technological applications. The physical details describing the many electron problem of magnetism are presented in this book on the basis of the density functional approximation. The emphasis is on realistic magnets, for which the equations describing properties of the many electron problem can only be solved by using computers. The significant recent and continuing improvements are, to a very large extent, responsible for the progress in this field. Along with an introduction to the density functional theory, the book describes representative computational methods and detailed formulas for physical properties of magnets which include among other things the computation of magnetic ordering temperatures, the giant magneto-resistance, magneto-optical effects, weak ferromagnetism, the anomalous Hall and Nernst effects, and novel quasiparticles, such as Weyl fermions and magnetic skyrmions.

This book, in the broadest sense, is an application of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to the field of magnetism. Under certain well described circumstances, an immensely large number of electrons moving in the solid state of matter will collectively produce permanent magnetism. Permanent magnets are of fundamental interest, and magnetic materials are also of great practical importance as they provide a large field of technological applications. The physical details describing the many electron problem of magnetism are presented in this book on the basis of the local density functional approximation. The emphasis is on realistic magnets, for which the equations describing the many electron problem can only be solved by using computers. The great, recent and continuing improvements of computers are, to a large extent, responsible for the progress in the field. Along with a detailed introduction to the density functional theory, this book presents representative computational methods and provides the reader with a complete computer programme for the determination of the electronic structure of a magnet on a PC. A large part of the book is devoted to a detailed treatment of the connections between electronic properties and magnetism, and how they differ in the various known magnetic systems. Current trends are exposed and explained for a large class of alloys and compounds. The modern field of artificially layered systems - known as multilayers - and their industrial applications are dealt with in detail. Finally, an attempt is made to relate the rich thermodynamic properties of magnets to the ab initio results originating from the electronic structure.

The book discusses fundamental aspects of Quantum Field Theory and of Gauge theories, with attention to mathematical consistency. Basic issues of the standard model of elementary particles (Higgs mechanism and chiral symmetry breaking in quantum Chromodynamics) are treated without relying on the perturbative expansion and on instanton calculus.

Most everyday solid materials, from plastics to cosmetic gels, exist in a non-crystalline, amorphous form: they are glasses. Yet we are still seeking an explanation as to what glasses really are and to why they form. In this book, leading experts present broad and original perspectives on one of the deepest mysteries of condensed matter physics.

This book presents a complete encyclopedia of superconducting fluctuations, summarising the last thirty-five years of work in the field. The first part of the book is devoted to an extended discussion of the Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology of fluctuations in its thermodynamical and time-dependent versions and its various applications. The second part deals with microscopic justification of the Ginzburg-Landau approach and presents the diagrammatic theory of fluctuations. The third part is devoted to a less-detailed review of the manifestation of fluctuations in observables: diamagnetism, magnetoconductivity, various tunneling characteristics, thermoelectricity, and NMR relaxation. The final chapters turn to the manifestation of fluctuations in unconventional superconducting systems: nanodrops, nanorings, Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless state, quantum phase transition between superconductor and insulator, and thermal and quantum fluctuations in weak superconducting systems. The book ends with a brief discussion on theories of high temperature superconductivity, where fluctuations appear as the possible protagonist of this exciting phenomenon.

Conjugated polymers have important technological applications, including solar cells and light emitting devices. They are also active components in many important biological processes. In recent years there have been significant advances in our understanding of these systems, owing to both improved experimental measurements and the development of advanced computational techniques. The aim of this book is to describe and explain the electronic and optical properties of conjugated polymers. It focuses on the three key roles of electron-electron interactions, electron-nuclear coupling, and disorder in determining the character of the electronic states, and it relates these properties to experimental observations in real systems. A number of important optical and electronic processes in conjugated polymers are also described. The second edition has a more extended discussion of excitons in conjugated polymers. There is also a new chapter on the static and dynamical localization of excitons.

Black holes present one of the most fascinating predictions of Einstein's general relativity, with strong evidence of their existence through observations of many means. The book provides a wide background to the current research on all mathematical aspects of the geometry of black hole spacetimes.

This volume presents in a pedagogical yet complete way correlated systems in one dimension. After an introduction to the basic concepts of correlated systems, it gives a step-by-step description of the techniques needed to treat one dimension, and discusses the resulting physics.

This book focuses on the characteristics of optical radiation, or a spectrum, emitted by various plasmas. In plasma, the same atomic species can produce quite different spectra, or colours, depending on the nature of the plasma. This book gives a theoretical framework by which a particular spectrum can be interpreted correctly and coherently. The uniqueness of the book lies in its comprehensive treatment of the intensity distribution of spectral lines and the population densitydistribution among the atomic levels in plasmas. It is intended to provide beginners with a good perspective of the field, laying out the physics in an extremely clear manner and starting from an elementary level. A useful feature of the book is the asterisked sections and chapters which can be skippedby readers who only wish to gain a quick and basic introduction to plasma spectroscopy. It will also be useful to researchers working actively in the field, acting as a guide for carrying out experiments and interpreting experimental observations.