Proceedings of the International School of Quantum Electronics 27th course on Bose Einstein Condensates and Atom Lasers, October 19-24, 1999, Erice, Italy. Since the experimental demonstration of Bose Einstein Condensation in dilute atomic gases there has been an explosion of interest in the properties of this novel macroscopic quantum system. The book covers the methods used to produce these new samples of coherent atoms, their manipulation and the study of their properties. Emphasis is given to the anticipated development of new types of sources, which more and more resemble traditional types of lasers. Because of recent new applications and increasing demand for lasers, sensors and associated instrumentation, the chapters also cover current developments in the basic techniques, materials and applications in the field of the generation of coherent atoms.

The first part of this book overviews the physics of lasers and describes some of the more common types of lasers and their applications. Applications of lasers include CD/DVD players, laser printers and fiber optic communication devices. Part II of this book describes the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation. The experimental techniques used to create a Bose-Einstein condensate provide an interesting and unconventional application of lasers; that is, the cooling and confinement of a dilute gas at very low temperature.

The advent of laser cooling of atoms led to the discovery of ultra-cold matter, with temperatures below liquid Helium, which displays a variety of new physical phenomena. Physics of Ultra-Cold Matter gives an overview of this recent area of science, with a discussion of its main results and a description of its theoretical concepts and methods. Ultra-cold matter can be considered in three distinct phases: ultra-cold gas, Bose Einstein condensate, and Rydberg plasmas. This book gives an integrated view of this new area of science at the frontier between atomic physics, condensed matter, and plasma physics. It describes these three distinct phases while exploring the differences, as well as the sometimes unexpected similarities, of their respective theoretical methods. This book is an informative guide for researchers, and the benefits are a result from an integrated view of a very broad area of research, which is limited in previous books about this subject. The main unifying tool explored in this book is the wave kinetic theory based on Wigner functions. Other theoretical approaches, eventually more familiar to the reader, are also given for extension and comparison. The book considers laser cooling techniques, atom-atom interactions, and focuses on the elementary excitations and collective oscillations in atomic clouds, Bose-Einstein condensates, and Rydberg plasmas. Linear and nonlinear processes are considered, including Landau damping, soliton excitation and vortices. Atomic interferometers and quantum coherence are also included.

Covering general theoretical concepts and the research to date, this book demonstrates that Bose-Einstein condensation is a truly universal phenomenon.

Bose-Einstein Condensation represents a new state of matter and is one of the cornerstones of quantum physics, resulting in the 2001 Nobel Prize. Providing a useful introduction to one of the most exciting field of physics today, this text will be of interest to a growing community of physicists, and is easily accessible to non-specialists alike.

Introduction to ultracold atomic Bose and Fermi gases for advanced undergraduates, graduates, experimentalists and theorists.

The recent fascinating progress on laser cooling is the result of the close connection between theoretical work and the rapid technological advances in laser sources, particularly in the field of powerful semiconductor and solid-state lasers operating over a wide range of optical and near-infrared frequencies. The very close international and personal collaboration amongst the researchers resulting in a direct link between experimental data and theoretical calculations which characterize work in this field, have been important factors in the rapid comprehension of the subtle and beautiful phenomena involved in laser manipulation. This Enrico Fermi school is the first formal school fully devoted to this topic. The theoretical part of the book includes contributions on the framework for the study of the photon momentum exchanges in the absence of relaxation, recent mechanisms of laser cooling, an analysis of the cooling forces, analysis of atomic and molecular beams, cooling through coherent population trapping and the relation between laser cooling and quantum nondemolition measurements. The experimental section deals with topics such as, an analysis of atomic and molecular beams, methods and applications of laser cooling, advances in laser cooling and the new exciting field of atomic interferometry. All students and researchers working in this field will welcome this excellent review of research and progress in laser cooling, so strongly linked to the fundamental understanding of physics.

This volume provides a broad overview of the principal theoretical techniques applied to non-equilibrium and finite temperature quantum gases. Covering Bose-Einstein condensates, degenerate Fermi gases, and the more recently realised exciton-polariton condensates, it fills a gap by linking between different methods with origins in condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, quantum optics, atomic physics, and statistical mechanics.

This important volume contains selected papers and extensive commentaries on laser trapping and manipulation of neutral particles using radiation pressure forces. Such techniques apply to a variety of small particles, such as atoms, molecules, macroscopic dielectric particles, living cells, and organelles within cells. These optical methods have had a revolutionary impact on the fields of atomic and molecular physics, biophysics, and many aspects of nanotechnology.In atomic physics, the trapping and cooling of atoms down to nanokelvins and even picokelvin temperatures are possible. These are the lowest temperatures in the universe. This made possible the first demonstration of Bose-Einstein condensation of atomic and molecular vapors. Some of the applications are high precision atomic clocks, gyroscopes, the measurement of gravity, cryptology, atomic computers, cavity quantum electrodynamics and coherent atom lasers.A major application in biophysics is the study of the mechanical properties of the many types of motor molecules, mechanoenzymes, and other macromolecules responsible for the motion of organelles within cells and the locomotion of entire cells. Unique in vitro and in vivo assays study the driving forces, stepping motion, kinetics, and efficiency of these motors as they move along the cell's cytoskeleton. Positional and temporal resolutions have been achieved, making possible the study of RNA and DNA polymerases, as they undergo their various copying, backtracking, and error correcting functions on a single base pair basis.Many applications in nanotechnology involve particle and cell sorting, particle rotation, microfabrication of simple machines, microfluidics, and other micrometer devices. The number of applications continues to grow at a rapid rate.The author is the discoverer of optical trapping and optical tweezers. With his colleagues, he first demonstrated optical levitation, the trapping of atoms, and tweezer trapping and manipulation of living cells and biological particles.This is the only review volume covering the many fields of optical trapping and manipulation. The intention is to provide a selective guide to the literature and to teach how optical traps really work.

Papers written during the last 40 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields.