Classical electromagnetism allows the rapidity of light field oscillations to be inferred from measurement of the speed and wavelength of light. Quantum mechanics connects the rapidity of electronic motion with the energy spacing of quantum states, accessible by light absorption and emission. These indirect measurements suggest that light as well as electrons vibrate within attoseconds, enabling us — among others — to see the world around us.Electronic motion is the primary step in any change of physical, chemical and biological properties of materials as well as in the functioning of living organisms. The current of electrons underlies all forms of modern signal processing. Observing and controlling these motions in real time may help us to explore the ultimate frontiers of electronics and gain insight into the behavior of materials, function and malfunction of living matter at the most fundamental level: the "glue" of atomic structures.This book is about how attosecond metrology emerged at the dawn of the new millennium to provide real-time access to the fastest motions outside the atomic nucleus and how this very technology is now opening prospects for real-world applications of far-reaching impact.

“The production quality is very high; even the smallest symbols are easily readable, and some papers are reproduced in color. The clarity of the exposition, the wide range of topics, and the logic of the presentation make this a valuable teaching reference. This book is highly recommended for physicists and students working on atoms in intense laser fields, laser cooling and trapping and Bose–Einstein condensation.”Optics & Photonics NewsThis invaluable book presents 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. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is placed on physical mechanisms and on general approaches (such as the dressed atom approach) having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as atoms in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping, Bose–Einstein condensation. In this new edition, about 200-page of new material has been added.

This book presents a collection of papers, written during the last 33 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators, on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is put on physical mechanisms and on general approaches, such as the dressed atom approach, having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as light shifts, level crossing resonances, multiphoton processes, resonance fluorescence in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping.This volume includes short introductions by the author. Each paper presented in the volume is preceded by a short commentary giving its motivations, explaining how it fits with the general evolution of the research field, and pointing out connections existing between works done at different periods.

This book presents a collection of papers, written during the last 33 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators, on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is put on physical mechanisms and on general approaches, such as the dressed atom approach, having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as light shifts, level crossing resonances, multiphoton processes, resonance fluorescence in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping.This volume includes short introductions by the author. Each paper presented in the volume is preceded by a short commentary giving its motivations, explaining how it fits with the general evolution of the research field, and pointing out connections existing between works done at different periods.

Semiconductor Quantum Dots presents an overview of the background and recent developments in the rapidly growing field of ultrasmall semiconductor microcrystallites, in which the carrier confinement is sufficiently strong to allow only quantized states of the electrons and holes. The main emphasis of this book is the theoretical analysis of the confinement induced modifications of the optical and electronic properties of quantum dots in comparison with extended materials. The book develops the theoretical background material for the analysis of carrier quantum-confinement effects, introduces the different confinement regimes for relative or center-of-mass motion quantization of the electron-hole-pairs, and gives an overview of the best approximation schemes for each regime. A detailed discussion of the carrier states in quantum dots is presented and surface polarization instabilities are analyzed, leading to the self-trapping of carriers near the surface of the dots. The influence of spin-orbit coupling on the quantum-confined carrier states is discussed. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of small and large quantum dots are studied in detail and the influence of the quantum-dot size distribution in many realistic samples is outlined. Phonons in quantum dots as well as the influence of external electric or magnetic fields are also discussed. Last but not least the recent developments dealing with regular systems of quantum dots are also reviewed. All things included, this is an important piece of work on semiconductor quantum dots not to be dismissed by serious researchers and physicists.

Classical electromagnetism allows the rapidity of light field oscillations to be inferred from measurement of the speed and wavelength of light. Quantum mechanics connects the rapidity of electronic motion with the energy spacing of quantum states, accessible by light absorption and emission. These indirect measurements suggest that light as well as electrons vibrate within attoseconds, enabling us — among others — to see the world around us.Electronic motion is the primary step in any change of physical, chemical and biological properties of materials as well as in the functioning of living organisms. The current of electrons underlies all forms of modern signal processing. Observing and controlling these motions in real time may help us to explore the ultimate frontiers of electronics and gain insight into the behavior of materials, function and malfunction of living matter at the most fundamental level: the "glue" of atomic structures.This book is about how attosecond metrology emerged at the dawn of the new millennium to provide real-time access to the fastest motions outside the atomic nucleus and how this very technology is now opening prospects for real-world applications of far-reaching impact.

“The production quality is very high; even the smallest symbols are easily readable, and some papers are reproduced in color. The clarity of the exposition, the wide range of topics, and the logic of the presentation make this a valuable teaching reference. This book is highly recommended for physicists and students working on atoms in intense laser fields, laser cooling and trapping and Bose–Einstein condensation.”Optics & Photonics NewsThis invaluable book presents 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. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is placed on physical mechanisms and on general approaches (such as the dressed atom approach) having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as atoms in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping, Bose–Einstein condensation. In this new edition, about 200-page of new material has been added.

This book presents a collection of papers, written during the last 33 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators, on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is put on physical mechanisms and on general approaches, such as the dressed atom approach, having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as light shifts, level crossing resonances, multiphoton processes, resonance fluorescence in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping.This volume includes short introductions by the author. Each paper presented in the volume is preceded by a short commentary giving its motivations, explaining how it fits with the general evolution of the research field, and pointing out connections existing between works done at different periods.

This book presents a collection of papers, written during the last 33 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators, on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is put on physical mechanisms and on general approaches, such as the dressed atom approach, having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as light shifts, level crossing resonances, multiphoton processes, resonance fluorescence in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping.This volume includes short introductions by the author. Each paper presented in the volume is preceded by a short commentary giving its motivations, explaining how it fits with the general evolution of the research field, and pointing out connections existing between works done at different periods.

Semiconductor Quantum Dots presents an overview of the background and recent developments in the rapidly growing field of ultrasmall semiconductor microcrystallites, in which the carrier confinement is sufficiently strong to allow only quantized states of the electrons and holes. The main emphasis of this book is the theoretical analysis of the confinement induced modifications of the optical and electronic properties of quantum dots in comparison with extended materials. The book develops the theoretical background material for the analysis of carrier quantum-confinement effects, introduces the different confinement regimes for relative or center-of-mass motion quantization of the electron-hole-pairs, and gives an overview of the best approximation schemes for each regime. A detailed discussion of the carrier states in quantum dots is presented and surface polarization instabilities are analyzed, leading to the self-trapping of carriers near the surface of the dots. The influence of spin-orbit coupling on the quantum-confined carrier states is discussed. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of small and large quantum dots are studied in detail and the influence of the quantum-dot size distribution in many realistic samples is outlined. Phonons in quantum dots as well as the influence of external electric or magnetic fields are also discussed. Last but not least the recent developments dealing with regular systems of quantum dots are also reviewed. All things included, this is an important piece of work on semiconductor quantum dots not to be dismissed by serious researchers and physicists.