The authors' goal is the presentation of the three major areas of physical chemistry: molecular structure, the equilibrium properties of systems, and the kinetics of transformations of systems. The theoretical foundations of these subjects are, respectively, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and equilibrium statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics and kinetic theory. These theories, firmly based on experimental findings, constitute the structure required for the understanding of past accomplishments and the basis for recognition and development of significant new areas in physical chemistry. The presentation of the theories of physical chemistry requires careful discussions at several levels of exposition. The authors' approach aims toward depth of understanding of fundamentals more than toward breadth of recognition of the multitude of activities that go on under the name of physical chemistry. The organization of the book, with its three principal sections, should make this clear. The mathematical level begins with elementary calculus, and rises to the use of simple properties of partial differential equations and the special functions that enter into their solutions. The authors' intention is to keep the reader's mind on the scienc rather than on the mathematics, especially at the beginning. This procedure also corresponds to the pattern, followed by many students, of taking physical chemistry and advanced calculus concurrently. Appendices develop the details of the mathematical tools as they are needed. The text discussion contains more material than can be covered in the traditional one-year physical chemistry sequence; it is designed to fulfill the dual purpose of providing a clear and incisive treatment of fundamental principles at a level accessible to all students while broadening the perspectives and challenging the minds of the best students. Individual instructors will wish to make their own selections of material for inclusion and exclusion, respectively.

Physical and Chemical Kinetics concludes the three-volume set of Physical Chemistry, Second Edition, by R. Stephen Berry, Stuart A. Rice, and John Ross (OUP 2000). With the same precision and efficiency as the other two volumes, Physical and Chemical Kinetics discusses the elements of physical and chemical kinetics and presents advanced discussions of unimolecular reactions, kinetics of photochemically induced reactions, chain reactions, nonlinear phenomena, fluctuations in chemical kinetics, symmetry rules for chemical reactions, catalysis, and the kinetics of electrode reactions. Up-to-date and thorough, this valuable reference provides the cutting-edge information and theory that today's students and researchers need to understand past scientific accomplishments as well as to make future contributions to the field of physical chemistry.

Fractals, Diffusion and Relaxation in Disordered Complex Systems is a special guest-edited, two-part volume of Advances in Chemical Physics that continues to report recent advances with significant, up-to-date chapters by internationally recognized researchers.

This series provides the chemical physics field with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. This stand-alone special topics volume reports recent advances in electron-transfer research with significant, up-to-date chapters by internationally recognized researchers.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The use of quantum chemistry for the quantitative prediction of molecular properties has long been frustrated by the technical difficulty of carrying out the needed computations. In the last decade there have been substantial advances in the formalism and computer hardware needed to carry out accurate calculations of molecular properties efficiently. These advances have been sufficient to make quantum chemical calculations a reliable tool for the quantitative interpretation of chemical phenomena and a guide to laboratory experiments. However, the success of these recent developments in computational quantum chemistry is not well known outside the community of practitioners. In order to make the larger community of chemical physicists aware of the current state of the subject, this self-contained volume of Advances in Chemical Physics surveys a number of the recent accomplishments in computational quantum chemistry. This stand-alone work presents the cutting edge of research in computational quantum mechanics. Supplemented with more than 150 illustrations, it provides evaluations of a broad range of methods, including: * Quantum Monte Carlo methods in chemistry * Monte Carlo methods for real-time path integration * The Redfield equation in condensed-phase quantum dynamics * Path-integral centroid methods in quantum statistical mechanics and dynamics * Multiconfigurational perturbation theory-applications in electronic spectroscopy * Electronic structure calculations for molecules containing transition metals * And more Contributors to New Methods in Computational Quantum Mechanics KERSTIN ANDERSSON, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden DAVID M. CEPERLEY, National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois MICHAEL A. COLLINS, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia REINHOLD EGGER, Fakultät für Physik, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany ANTHONY K. FELTS, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York RICHARD A. FRIESNER, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York MARKUS P. FÜLSCHER, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden K. M. HO, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa C. H. MAK, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California PER-�KE Malmqvist, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden MANUELA MERCHán, Departamento de Química Física, Universitat de Valéncia, Spain LUBOS MITAS, National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois STEFANO OSS, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Unità di Trento, Italy KRISTINE PIERLOOT, Department of Chemistry, University of Leuven, Belgium W. THOMAS POLLARD, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York BJÖRN O. ROOS, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden LUIS SERRANO-ANDRÉS, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden PER E. M. SIEGBAHN, Department of Physics, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden WALTER THIEL, Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland GREGORY A. VOTH, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania C. Z. Wang, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

It is difficult to imagine how our highly evolved technological society would function, or how life would even exist on our planet, if polymers did not exist. The intensive study of polymeric systems, which has been under way for several decades, has recently yielded new insights into the properties of assemblies of these complex molecules and the physical principles that govern their behavior. These developments have included new concepts to describe aspects of the many body behavior in these systems, microscopic analyses that bring our understanding of these systems much closer to our understanding of simple liquids and solids, and the discovery of novel chemistry that these molecules can catalyze. This special topic volume of Advances in Chemical Physics surveys a number of these recent accomplishments. Supplemented with more than 250 illustrations, it provides a significant, up-to-date selection of papers by inter-nationally recognized researchers. Topics include: * Theory of Polyelectrolyte Solutions * Star Polymers: Experiment, Theory, and Simulation * Tethered Polymer Layers * Living Polymers * Transport and Kinetics in Electroactive Polymers Self-contained, authoritative, and timely, Polymeric Systems makes the cutting edge of polymer research available to scientists in every branch of chemical physics. Contributors to POLYMERIC SYSTEMS JEAN-LOUIS BARRAT, Departement de Physique des Materiaux, Universite Claude Bernard-Lyon l, France A. BAUMGARTNER, Institut fur Festkorperforschung, Germany M. A. CARIGNANO, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana LEWIS J. FETTERS, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey SANDRA C. GREER, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland at College Park GARY S. GREST, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey JOHN S. HUANG, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey JEAN-FRANCOIS JOANNY, Institut Charles Sadron, France MICHAEL E. G. LYONS, Electroactive Polymer Research Group, Physical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Dublin, Ireland M. MUTHUKUMAR, Department of Polymer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts DIETER RICHTER, Institut fur Festkorperforschung, Germany I. SZLEIFER, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

The study of surfaces has experienced dramatic growth over the past decade. Now, the editors of the internationally celebrated series Advances in Chemical Physics have brought together in this self-contained, special topic volume contributions from leading researchers in the field treating some of the most crucial aspects of the experimental and theoretical study of surfaces. This work delves into such core issues as: * Kinetics and dynamics of hydrogen adsorption on silicon surfaces. * Potential energy surfaces of transition- metal-catalyzed chemical reactions. * High-resolution helium atom scattering as a proof of surface vibrations. * Ordering and phase transitions in adsorbed monolayers of diatomic molecules. * The influence of dimensionality on static and dynamic properties of a system. * New applications to fields as varied as catalysts and the passage of molecules through membranes. This valuable resource provides important insights into the current state of knowledge about surface properties. Prigogine and Rice''s latest work will stimulate the imagination and motivate the exploration of other aspects of this fascinating subject.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

In Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility: The LiouvilleSpace Extension of Quantum Mechanics T. Petrosky and I. Prigogine Unstable Systems in Generalized Quantum Theory E. C. G. Sudarshan, Charles B. Chiu, and G. Bhamathi Resonances and Dilatation Analyticity in Liouville Space Erkki J. Brandas Time, Irreversibility, and Unstable Systems in QuantumPhysics E. Eisenberg and L. P. Horwitz Quantum Systems with Diagonal Singularity I. Antoniou and Z. Suchanecki Nonadiabatic Crossing of Decaying Levels V. V. and Vl. V. Kocharovsky and S. Tasaki Can We Observe Microscopic Chaos in the Laboratory? Pierre Gaspard Proton Nonlocality and Decoherence in Condensed Matter --Predictions and Experimental Results C. A. Chatzidimitriou-Dreismann "We are at a most interesting moment in the history of science.Classical science emphasized equilibrium, stability, and timereversibility. Now we see instabilities, fluctuations, evolution onall levels of observations. This change of perspective requires newtools, new concepts. This volume invites the reader not to anenumeration of final achievements of contemporary science, but toan excursion to science in the making." --from the Foreword by I.Prigogine What are the dynamical roots of irreversibility? How can past andfuture be distinguished on the fundamental level of description?Are human beings the children of time --or its progenitors? Inrecent years, a growing number of chemists and physicists haveagreed that the solution to the problem of irreversibility requiresan extension of classical and quantum mechanics. There is, however,no consensus on which direction this extension should take toinclude the dynamical description of irreversible processes. Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility surveys recentattempts --both direct and indirect --to address the problem ofirreversibility. Internationally recognized researchers report ontheir recent studies, which run the gamut from experimental tohighly mathematical. The subject matter of these papers falls intothree categories: classical systems with emphasis on chaos anddynamical instability, resonances and unstable quantum systems, andthe general problem of irreversibility. Presenting the cutting edge of research into some of the mostcompelling questions that face contemporary chemical physics,Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility is fascinating readingfor professionals and students in every area of the discipline.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

This respected series is devoted to helping physicists and chemists obtain general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analysis of the subject, encouraging the expression of individual points of view. This approach to the presentation of an overview of a subject both stimulates new research and serves as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.

Reviews of previous volumes "...continues the tradition of this series on high-quality authoritative chapters in a wide-range of chemical physics topics." Journal of the American Chemical Society. The newest volume in the prestigious Advances in Chemical Physics Series, edited by Nobel Prize winner, Ilya Prigogine and renowned authority Stuart A. Rice, provides general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analyses of subjects of interest, and encourage the expression of individual points of view. This approach to presenting an overview of a subject will both stimulate new research and serve as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.

This volume in the prestigious Advances in Chemical Physics series, edited by Nobel Prize-winner Ilya Prigogine and renowned authority Stuart A. Rice, provides general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analyses of subjects of interest and encourage the expression of individual points of view. This approach to presenting an overview of a subject will both stimulate new research and serve as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.

The authors' goal is the presentation of the three major areas of physical chemistry: molecular structure, the equilibrium properties of systems, and the kinetics of transformations of systems. The theoretical foundations of these subjects are, respectively, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and equilibrium statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics and kinetic theory. These theories, firmly based on experimental findings, constitute the structure required for the understanding of past accomplishments and the basis for recognition and development of significant new areas in physical chemistry. The presentation of the theories of physical chemistry requires careful discussions at several levels of exposition. The authors' approach aims toward depth of understanding of fundamentals more than toward breadth of recognition of the multitude of activities that go on under the name of physical chemistry. The organization of the book, with its three principal sections, should make this clear. The mathematical level begins with elementary calculus, and rises to the use of simple properties of partial differential equations and the special functions that enter into their solutions. The authors' intention is to keep the reader's mind on the scienc rather than on the mathematics, especially at the beginning. This procedure also corresponds to the pattern, followed by many students, of taking physical chemistry and advanced calculus concurrently. Appendices develop the details of the mathematical tools as they are needed. The text discussion contains more material than can be covered in the traditional one-year physical chemistry sequence; it is designed to fulfill the dual purpose of providing a clear and incisive treatment of fundamental principles at a level accessible to all students while broadening the perspectives and challenging the minds of the best students. Individual instructors will wish to make their own selections of material for inclusion and exclusion, respectively.

Physical and Chemical Kinetics concludes the three-volume set of Physical Chemistry, Second Edition, by R. Stephen Berry, Stuart A. Rice, and John Ross (OUP 2000). With the same precision and efficiency as the other two volumes, Physical and Chemical Kinetics discusses the elements of physical and chemical kinetics and presents advanced discussions of unimolecular reactions, kinetics of photochemically induced reactions, chain reactions, nonlinear phenomena, fluctuations in chemical kinetics, symmetry rules for chemical reactions, catalysis, and the kinetics of electrode reactions. Up-to-date and thorough, this valuable reference provides the cutting-edge information and theory that today's students and researchers need to understand past scientific accomplishments as well as to make future contributions to the field of physical chemistry.

Fractals, Diffusion and Relaxation in Disordered Complex Systems is a special guest-edited, two-part volume of Advances in Chemical Physics that continues to report recent advances with significant, up-to-date chapters by internationally recognized researchers.

This series provides the chemical physics field with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. This stand-alone special topics volume reports recent advances in electron-transfer research with significant, up-to-date chapters by internationally recognized researchers.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The use of quantum chemistry for the quantitative prediction of molecular properties has long been frustrated by the technical difficulty of carrying out the needed computations. In the last decade there have been substantial advances in the formalism and computer hardware needed to carry out accurate calculations of molecular properties efficiently. These advances have been sufficient to make quantum chemical calculations a reliable tool for the quantitative interpretation of chemical phenomena and a guide to laboratory experiments. However, the success of these recent developments in computational quantum chemistry is not well known outside the community of practitioners. In order to make the larger community of chemical physicists aware of the current state of the subject, this self-contained volume of Advances in Chemical Physics surveys a number of the recent accomplishments in computational quantum chemistry. This stand-alone work presents the cutting edge of research in computational quantum mechanics. Supplemented with more than 150 illustrations, it provides evaluations of a broad range of methods, including: * Quantum Monte Carlo methods in chemistry * Monte Carlo methods for real-time path integration * The Redfield equation in condensed-phase quantum dynamics * Path-integral centroid methods in quantum statistical mechanics and dynamics * Multiconfigurational perturbation theory-applications in electronic spectroscopy * Electronic structure calculations for molecules containing transition metals * And more Contributors to New Methods in Computational Quantum Mechanics KERSTIN ANDERSSON, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden DAVID M. CEPERLEY, National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois MICHAEL A. COLLINS, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia REINHOLD EGGER, Fakultät für Physik, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany ANTHONY K. FELTS, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York RICHARD A. FRIESNER, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York MARKUS P. FÜLSCHER, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden K. M. HO, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa C. H. MAK, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California PER-�KE Malmqvist, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden MANUELA MERCHán, Departamento de Química Física, Universitat de Valéncia, Spain LUBOS MITAS, National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois STEFANO OSS, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Unità di Trento, Italy KRISTINE PIERLOOT, Department of Chemistry, University of Leuven, Belgium W. THOMAS POLLARD, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York BJÖRN O. ROOS, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden LUIS SERRANO-ANDRÉS, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Center, Sweden PER E. M. SIEGBAHN, Department of Physics, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden WALTER THIEL, Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland GREGORY A. VOTH, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania C. Z. Wang, Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

It is difficult to imagine how our highly evolved technological society would function, or how life would even exist on our planet, if polymers did not exist. The intensive study of polymeric systems, which has been under way for several decades, has recently yielded new insights into the properties of assemblies of these complex molecules and the physical principles that govern their behavior. These developments have included new concepts to describe aspects of the many body behavior in these systems, microscopic analyses that bring our understanding of these systems much closer to our understanding of simple liquids and solids, and the discovery of novel chemistry that these molecules can catalyze. This special topic volume of Advances in Chemical Physics surveys a number of these recent accomplishments. Supplemented with more than 250 illustrations, it provides a significant, up-to-date selection of papers by inter-nationally recognized researchers. Topics include: * Theory of Polyelectrolyte Solutions * Star Polymers: Experiment, Theory, and Simulation * Tethered Polymer Layers * Living Polymers * Transport and Kinetics in Electroactive Polymers Self-contained, authoritative, and timely, Polymeric Systems makes the cutting edge of polymer research available to scientists in every branch of chemical physics. Contributors to POLYMERIC SYSTEMS JEAN-LOUIS BARRAT, Departement de Physique des Materiaux, Universite Claude Bernard-Lyon l, France A. BAUMGARTNER, Institut fur Festkorperforschung, Germany M. A. CARIGNANO, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana LEWIS J. FETTERS, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey SANDRA C. GREER, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland at College Park GARY S. GREST, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey JOHN S. HUANG, Corporate Research Science Laboratories, Exxon Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey JEAN-FRANCOIS JOANNY, Institut Charles Sadron, France MICHAEL E. G. LYONS, Electroactive Polymer Research Group, Physical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Dublin, Ireland M. MUTHUKUMAR, Department of Polymer Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts DIETER RICHTER, Institut fur Festkorperforschung, Germany I. SZLEIFER, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

The study of surfaces has experienced dramatic growth over the past decade. Now, the editors of the internationally celebrated series Advances in Chemical Physics have brought together in this self-contained, special topic volume contributions from leading researchers in the field treating some of the most crucial aspects of the experimental and theoretical study of surfaces. This work delves into such core issues as: * Kinetics and dynamics of hydrogen adsorption on silicon surfaces. * Potential energy surfaces of transition- metal-catalyzed chemical reactions. * High-resolution helium atom scattering as a proof of surface vibrations. * Ordering and phase transitions in adsorbed monolayers of diatomic molecules. * The influence of dimensionality on static and dynamic properties of a system. * New applications to fields as varied as catalysts and the passage of molecules through membranes. This valuable resource provides important insights into the current state of knowledge about surface properties. Prigogine and Rice''s latest work will stimulate the imagination and motivate the exploration of other aspects of this fascinating subject.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

In Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility: The LiouvilleSpace Extension of Quantum Mechanics T. Petrosky and I. Prigogine Unstable Systems in Generalized Quantum Theory E. C. G. Sudarshan, Charles B. Chiu, and G. Bhamathi Resonances and Dilatation Analyticity in Liouville Space Erkki J. Brandas Time, Irreversibility, and Unstable Systems in QuantumPhysics E. Eisenberg and L. P. Horwitz Quantum Systems with Diagonal Singularity I. Antoniou and Z. Suchanecki Nonadiabatic Crossing of Decaying Levels V. V. and Vl. V. Kocharovsky and S. Tasaki Can We Observe Microscopic Chaos in the Laboratory? Pierre Gaspard Proton Nonlocality and Decoherence in Condensed Matter --Predictions and Experimental Results C. A. Chatzidimitriou-Dreismann "We are at a most interesting moment in the history of science.Classical science emphasized equilibrium, stability, and timereversibility. Now we see instabilities, fluctuations, evolution onall levels of observations. This change of perspective requires newtools, new concepts. This volume invites the reader not to anenumeration of final achievements of contemporary science, but toan excursion to science in the making." --from the Foreword by I.Prigogine What are the dynamical roots of irreversibility? How can past andfuture be distinguished on the fundamental level of description?Are human beings the children of time --or its progenitors? Inrecent years, a growing number of chemists and physicists haveagreed that the solution to the problem of irreversibility requiresan extension of classical and quantum mechanics. There is, however,no consensus on which direction this extension should take toinclude the dynamical description of irreversible processes. Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility surveys recentattempts --both direct and indirect --to address the problem ofirreversibility. Internationally recognized researchers report ontheir recent studies, which run the gamut from experimental tohighly mathematical. The subject matter of these papers falls intothree categories: classical systems with emphasis on chaos anddynamical instability, resonances and unstable quantum systems, andthe general problem of irreversibility. Presenting the cutting edge of research into some of the mostcompelling questions that face contemporary chemical physics,Resonances, Instability, and Irreversibility is fascinating readingfor professionals and students in every area of the discipline.

The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics and physical chemistry fields with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

This respected series is devoted to helping physicists and chemists obtain general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analysis of the subject, encouraging the expression of individual points of view. This approach to the presentation of an overview of a subject both stimulates new research and serves as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.

Reviews of previous volumes "...continues the tradition of this series on high-quality authoritative chapters in a wide-range of chemical physics topics." Journal of the American Chemical Society. The newest volume in the prestigious Advances in Chemical Physics Series, edited by Nobel Prize winner, Ilya Prigogine and renowned authority Stuart A. Rice, provides general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analyses of subjects of interest, and encourage the expression of individual points of view. This approach to presenting an overview of a subject will both stimulate new research and serve as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.

This volume in the prestigious Advances in Chemical Physics series, edited by Nobel Prize-winner Ilya Prigogine and renowned authority Stuart A. Rice, provides general information about a wide variety of topics in chemical physics. Experts present comprehensive analyses of subjects of interest and encourage the expression of individual points of view. This approach to presenting an overview of a subject will both stimulate new research and serve as a personalized learning text for beginners in the field.