J. Ruvalds – författare

Quantum Liquids contains lectures presented at the International School of Low Temperature Physics in Erice, Italy, on June 11-25, 1977. The book reviews developments in the study of superfluid phases of the 3He system and in the understanding of quasiparticles and their interactions in the Bose 4He system, along with recent work on the 3He-4He mixtures. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the renormalization group theory, critical phenomena, and phase transition in superfluid helium. It then discusses the superfluid density and the nature of critical singularities, the theory and practice of neutron scattering, and scattering from weakly interacting quantum liquids. The reader is also introduced to the superfluidity of liquid helium films, light scattering from superfluid helium, and the theory of superfluid 3He. Other chapters focus on superfluid flow in helium-4 compared to that in helium-3, the physical properties of small droplets of helium as analogs of heavy nuclei, and experimental properties of superfluid 3He. Excitations in 3He-4He mixtures, bound excitations in liquid He4, and temperature dependence of the single roton energy and lifetime are also discussed. Physicists and students of physics will find this book extremely useful.

The Advanced Study Institute on Phase Transitions in Surface Films was held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Cul­ ture in Erice, Sicily, during June 11 to June 25, 1979. This Institute was the second course of the International School of Low Temperature Physics which was established at the Centre in 1977, with the guidance and inspiration of T. Regge and A. Zichichi. The 1979 course selected a topic on one of the most rapidly advancing fields of condensed matter physics in the late 70''s. The program of topics and speakers was developed with the advice of the Organizing Committee, composed of J. Friedel, N. D. Mermin, R. E. Peierls, T. Regge and J. Wheatley. These two weeks were memorable for the range and depth of the lectures and seminars, and the sustained high interest of the students and faculty through a damanding schedule of over 5 hours a day of formal sessions. A large fraction of the leading researchers in the field were there. It would have been impossible to gather such a large group five years earlier, for the field itself is hardly 10 years old. Although the foundations of the thermodynamics of surface films were laid down by Gibbs about 100 years ago, and experiments on oil/water monolayers were carried out by Pockels and Rayleigh at about the same time, the beginnings of the modern field were much more recent.

The Advanced Study Institute on Phase Transitions in Surface Films was held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Cul­ ture in Erice, Sicily, during June 11 to June 25, 1979. This Institute was the second course of the International School of Low Temperature Physics which was established at the Centre in 1977, with the guidance and inspiration of T. Regge and A. Zichichi. The 1979 course selected a topic on one of the most rapidly advancing fields of condensed matter physics in the late 70's. The program of topics and speakers was developed with the advice of the Organizing Committee, composed of J. Friedel, N. D. Mermin, R. E. Peierls, T. Regge and J. Wheatley. These two weeks were memorable for the range and depth of the lectures and seminars, and the sustained high interest of the students and faculty through a damanding schedule of over 5 hours a day of formal sessions. A large fraction of the leading researchers in the field were there. It would have been impossible to gather such a large group five years earlier, for the field itself is hardly 10 years old. Although the foundations of the thermodynamics of surface films were laid down by Gibbs about 100 years ago, and experiments on oil/water monolayers were carried out by Pockels and Rayleigh at about the same time, the beginnings of the modern field were much more recent.

The Advanced Study Institute on "Advances in Superconductivity" was held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily, during July 3 to July 15, 1982. This Institute was the third course of the International School of Low Tempera­ ture Physics, which was established at the Centre in 1977 with the guidance and inspiration of T. Regge and A. Zichichi. The 1982 Course was centered on a topic which brought together fundamental basic research and the most recent promising technological applications. Accordingly, the participants represented a wide spectrum of industrial and government laboratories, as well as universities from various countries. The program of topics and speakers was developed with the advice of the Organizing Committee, composed of H. Frohlich, T. Regge, B. Stritzker, and L. Testardi. This Institute emphasized recent developments in the science and technology of superconductivity. A historical perspective was provided by H. Frohlich, whose lectures recall the earliest discoveries and theoretical attempts to understand superconductivity. Ironically, his early suggestion of the electron-phonon coupling as a key to superconductivity was met with initial widespread skepticism. Later, the development of field theory methods for solid state physics problems, and the evolution of the BCS theory has led to a seemingly unanimous concensus regarding the e1ectron­ phonon mechanism as the predominant source of superconductivity in known materials. Experimental studies of superconductivity exemplify the strong interplay of science and technology in many ways.