SpringerBriefs in Physics – serie

The subject of this book is the physics of vortices. A detailed analysis of the dynamics of vortices will be presented. The important topics of vorticity and molecular spin will be dealt with, including the electromagnetic analogy and quantization in superfluids. The effect of molecular spin on the dynamics of molecular nano-confined fluids using the extended Navier-Stokes equations will also be covered –especially important to the theory and applicability of nanofluidics and associated devices. The nanoscale boundary layer and nanoscale vortex core are regions of intense vorticity (molecular spin). It will be shown, based on molecular kinetic theory and thermodynamics, that the macroscopic (solid body) rotation must be accompanied by internal rotation of the molecules. Electric polarization of the internal molecular rotations about the local rotation axis –the Barnett effect – occurs. In such a spin aligned system, major changes in the physical properties of the fluid result.

In this brief we review several approaches that provide super resolved imaging, overcoming the geometrical limitation of the detector as well as the diffraction effects set by the F number of the imaging lens. In order to obtain the super resolved enhancement, we use spatially non-uniform and/or random transmission structures to encode the image or the aperture planes. The desired resolution enhanced images are obtained by post-processing decoding of the captured data.

Theory, Analysis and Design of RF Interferometric Sensors presents the theory, analysis and design of RF interferometric sensors. RF interferometric sensors are attractive for various sensing applications that require every fine resolution and accuracy as well as fast speed. The book also presents two millimeter-wave interferometric sensors realized using RF integrated circuits. The developed millimeter-wave homodyne sensor shows sub-millimeter resolution in the order of 0.05 mm without correction for the non-linear phase response of the sensor's quadrature mixer. The designed millimeter-wave double-channel homodyne sensor provides a resolution of only 0.01 mm, or 1/840th of the operating wavelength, and can inherently suppress the non-linearity of the sensor's quadrature mixer. The experimental results of displacement and velocity measurement are presented as a way to demonstrate the sensing ability of the RF interferometry and to illustrate its many possible applications in sensing.The book is succinct, yet the material is very much self-contained, enabling readers with an undergraduate background in electrical engineering or physics with some experiences or graduate courses in RF circuits to understand easily.

This book offers a discussion of Niels Bohr’s conception of “complementarity,” arguably his greatest contribution to physics and philosophy. By tracing Bohr’s work from his 1913 atomic theory to the introduction and then refinement of the idea of complementarity, and by explicating different meanings of “complementarity” in Bohr and the relationships between it and Bohr’s other concepts, the book aims to offer a contained and accessible, and yet sufficiently comprehensive account of Bohr’s work on complementarity and its significance.

Biomedical imaging is a relatively young discipline that started with Conrad Wilhelm Roentgen’s discovery of the x-ray in 1895. X-ray imaging was rapidly adopted in hospitals around the world. However, it was the advent of computerized data and image processing that made revolutionary new imaging modalities possible. Today, cross-sections and three-dimensional reconstructions of the organs inside the human body is possible with unprecedented speed, detail and quality. This book provides an introduction into the principles of image formation of key medical imaging modalities: X-ray projection imaging, x-ray computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, and radionuclide imaging. Recent developments in optical imaging are also covered. For each imaging modality, the introduction into the physical principles and sources of contrast is provided, followed by the methods of image formation, engineering aspects of the imaging devices, and a discussion of strengths and limitations of the modality. With this book, the reader gains a broad foundation of understanding and knowledge how today’s medical imaging devices operate. In addition, the chapters in this book can serve as an entry point for the in-depth study of individual modalities by providing the essential basics of each modality in a comprehensive and easy-to-understand manner. As such, this book is equally attractive as a textbook for undergraduate or graduate biomedical imaging classes and as a reference and self-study guide for more specialized in-depth studies.

This brief provides an in-depth overview of the physics of hadron therapy, ranging from the history to the latest contributions to the subject. It covers the mechanisms of protons and carbon ions at the molecular level (DNA breaks and proteins 53BP1 and RPA), the physics and mathematics of accelerators (Cyclotron and Synchrotron), microdosimetry measurements (with new results so far achieved), and Monte Carlo simulations in hadron therapy using FLUKA (CERN) and MCHIT (FIAS) software. The text also includes information about proton therapy centers and carbon ion centers (PTCOG), as well as a comparison and discussion of both techniques in treatment planning and radiation monitoring. This brief is suitable for newcomers to medical physics as well as seasoned specialists in radiation oncology.

Based on Prof. Lüst's Masters course at the University of Munich, this book begins with a short introduction to general relativity. It then presents black hole solutions, and discusses Penrose diagrams, black hole thermodynamics and entropy, the Unruh effect, Hawking radiation, the black hole information problem, black holes in supergravity and string theory, the black hole microstate counting in string theory, asymptotic symmetries in general relativity, and a particular quantum model for black holes. The book offers an up-to-date summary of all the pertinent questions in this highly active field of physics, and is ideal reading for graduate students and young researchers.

Field theory, relying on the concept of continuous space and time while confronted with the quantum physical nature of observable quantities, still has some fundamental challenges to face. One such challenge is to understand the emergence of complexity in the behavior of interacting elementary fields, including among other things nontrivial phase structures of elementary matter at high energy density or an atypical emergence of statistical properties, e.g., when an apparent temperature is proportional to a constant acceleration in a homogeneous gravitational field. Most modern textbooks on thermal field theory are mainly concerned with how the field theory formalism should be used if a finite temperature is given. In contrast, this short primer explores how the phenomenon of temperature emerges physically for elementary fields - inquiring about the underlying kinetic field theory and the way energy fluctuations and other noise should be handled - and it investigates whether and how this harmonizes with traditional field theory concepts like spectral evolution, the Keldysh formalism, and phase transitions.

This primer thoroughly covers the fundamentals needed to understand the interaction of light with magnetically ordered matter and it focuses on "cavity optomagnonics" which is a topic undergoing intense study in current research.The book is unique in combining elements of electromagnetism, quantum magnetism, and quantum optics and it is intended for advanced undergraduate or graduate students.

This text offers a brief introduction to the dispersion relations as an approach to calculate S-matrix elements, a formalism that allows one to take advantage of the analytical structure of scattering amplitudes following the basic principles of unitarity and causality.First, the case of two-body scattering is considered and then its contribution to other processes through final-state interactions is discussed. For two-body scattering amplitudes, the general expression for a partial-wave amplitude is derived in the approximation where the crossed channel dynamics is neglected. This is taken as the starting point for many interesting nonperturbative applications, both in the light and heavy quark sector. Subsequently crossed channel dynamics is introduced within the equations for calculating the partial-wave amplitudes. Some applications based on methods that treat crossed-channel dynamics perturbatively are discussed too.The last part of this introductory treatment is dedicated to the further impact of scattering amplitudes on a variety of processes through final-state interactions. Several possible approaches are discussed such as the Muskhelishvili-Omnes dispersive integral equations and other closed formulae. These different formalisms are then applied in particular to the study of resonances presenting a number of challenging properties. The book ends with a chapter illustrating the use of dispersion relations in the nuclear medium for the evaluation of the energy density in nuclear matter.

This book explains and develops the Dirac equation in the context of general relativistic quantum mechanics in a range of spacetime dimensions. It clarifies the subject by carefully pointing out the various conventions used and explaining how they are related to each other. The prerequisites are familiarity with general relativity and an exposure to the Dirac equation at the level of special relativistic quantum mechanics, but a review of this latter topic is given in the first chapter as a reference and framework for the physical interpretations that follow. Worked examples and exercises with solutions are provided. Appendices include reviews of topics used in the body of the text. This book should benefit researchers and graduate students in general relativity and in condensed matter.

This book presents the underlying physical picture and an overview of the state of the art of femtosecond supercontinuum generation in various transparent solid-state media, ranging from wide-bandgap dielectrics to semiconductor materials, and across various parts of the optical spectrum, from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared. A particular emphasis is placed on the most recent experimental developments: multioctave supercontinuum generation with pumping in the mid-infrared spectral range, spectral control, power and energy scaling of broadband radiation and the development of simple, flexible and robust pulse compression techniques, which deliver few optical cycle pulses and which could be readily implemented in a variety of modern ultrafast laser systems. The expected audience includes graduate students, professionals and scientists working in the field of laser-matter interactions and ultrafast nonlinear optics.

Quantum Brownian motion represents a paradigmatic model of open quantum system, namely a system inextricably coupled to the surrounding environment. Such a model is largely used in physics, for instance in quantum foundations to approach in a quantitative manner the quantum-to-classical transition, but also for more practical purposes as the estimation of decoherence in quantum optics experiments.This book presents the main techniques aimed to treat the dynamics of the quantum Brownian particle: Born-Markov master equation, Lindblad equation and Heisenberg equations formalism. Particular attention is given to the interaction between the particle and the bath depends non-linearly on the position of the former. This generalization corresponds to the case in which the bath is not homogeneous. An immediate application is the Bose polaron, specifically an impurity embedded in an ultracold gas.

This book begins with a brief historical review of the early applications of standard dispersion relations in particle physics. It then presents the modern perspective within the Standard Model, emphasizing the relation of analyticity together with alternative tools applied to strong interactions, such as perturbative and lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD), as well as chiral perturbation theory. The core of the book argues that, in order to improve the prediction of specific hadronic observables, it is often necessary to resort to methods of complex analysis more sophisticated than the simple Cauchy integral. Accordingly, a separate mathematical chapter is devoted to solving several functional analysis optimization problems. Their applications to physical amplitudes and form factors are discussed in the following chapters, which also demonstrate how to merge the analytic approach with statistical analysis tools. Given its scope, the book offers a valuableguide for researchers working in precision hadronic physics, as well as graduate students who are new to the field.

This book addresses the basic physical phenomenon of small-angle scattering (SAS) of neutrons, x-rays or light from complex hierarchical nano- and micro-structures. The emphasis is on developing theoretical models for the material structure containing self-similar or fractal clusters. Within the suggested framework, key approaches for extracting structural information from experimental scattering data are investigated and presented in detail. The range of parameters which can be obtained pave the road towards a better understanding of the correlations between geometrical and various physical properties (electrical, magnetic, mechanical, optical, dynamical, transport etc.) in fractal nano- and micro-materials.

This book describes the state-of-the-art in the emerging field of optical trapping of ions, as well as the most recent advances enabling the use of this technique as a versatile tool for novel investigations in atomic physics. The text provides a detailed explanation of the requirements for optical trapping of ions, replete with a protocol for optical ion trapping, including preparation, transfer, and detection. The book also highlights the experimental requirements for extending the presented scheme to optical trapping of linear ion chains. Lastly, this text elaborates on the key features of the described approach, such as the capability to arrange single strongly interacting atoms in scalable, state-selective and wavelength-sized optical potentials without the detrimental impact of driven radiofrequency fields conventionally used to trap ions. The described results demonstrate that the developed methods are suitable for new experimental investigations, most notably in the field of ultracold interaction of ions and atoms, but also in quantum simulations and metrology. The book's practical bent is perfect for anyone attempting to build an experiment related to the field or understand the limitations behind current experiments.

This primer proposes a journey from Newton's dynamics to Einstein's relativity. It constitutes a pedagogical, rigorous, and self-contained introduction to the concepts and mathematical formulation of gravitational physics.In particular, much attention is devoted to exploring and applying the basic tools of differential geometry, that is the language of general relativity. Real-world manifestations of relativity, such as time dilation, gravitational waves, and black holes, are also discussed in detail.This book is designed for third-year bachelor or first-year master students in theoretical physics, who are already familiar with Newton's physics, possibly had an introductory course on special relativity, and who are seeking to learn general relativity on a firm basis.

This book describes the Optical Immersion Clearing method and its application to acquire information with importance for clinical practice and various fields of biomedical engineering. The method has proved to be a reliable means of increasing tissue transparency, allowing the investigator or surgeon to reach deeper tissue layers for improved imaging and laser surgery. This result is obtained by partial replacement of tissue water with an active optical clearing agent (OCA) that has a higher refractive index and is a better match for the refractive index of other tissue components. Natural tissue scattering is thereby reduced. An exponential increase in research using this method has occurred in recent years, and new applications have emerged, both in clinical practice and in some areas of biomedical engineering. Recent research has revealed that treating ex vivo tissues with solutions containing active OCAs in different concentrations produces experimental data to characterize drug delivery or to discriminate between normal and pathological tissues. The obtained drug diffusion properties are of interest for the pharmaceutical and organ preservation industry. Similar data can be estimated with particular interest for food preservation. The free water content evaluation is also of great interest since it facilitates the characterization of tissues to discriminate pathologies. An interesting new application that is presented in the book regards the creation of two optical windows in the ultraviolet spectral range through the application of the immersion method. These induced transparency windows open the possibility to diagnose and treat pathologies with ultraviolet light. This book presents photographs from the tissues we have studied and figures that represent the experimental setups used. Graphs and tables are also included to show the numerical results obtained in the sequential calculations performed.

This book serves as an introduction to the concept of integrability as it applies to systems of differential equations as well as to vector-valued fields. The author focuses on specific aspects of integrability that are often encountered in a variety of problems in applied mathematics, physics and engineering. The following general cases of integrability are examined: (a) path-independence of line integrals of vector fields on the plane and in space; (b) integration of a system of ordinary differential equations by using first integrals; and (c) integrable systems of partial differential equations. Special topics include the integration of analytic functions and some elements from the geometric theory of differential systems. Certain more advanced subjects, such as Lax pairs and Bäcklund transformations, are also discussed.The book is written at an intermediate level for educational purposes. The presentation is as simple as the topics allow, often sacrificing mathematical rigor in favor of pedagogical efficiency.

This book presents calculation methods that are used in both mathematical and theoretical physics. These methods will allow readers to work with selected special functions and more generally with differential equations, which are the most frequently used in quantum mechanics, theory of relativity and quantum field theory. The authors explain various approximation methods used to solve differential equations and to estimate integrals. They also address the basics of the relations between differential equations, special functions and representation theory of some of the simplest algebras on the one hand, and fundamental physics on the other.  Based on a seminar for graduate physics students, the book offers a compact and quick way to learn about special functions. To gain the most from it, readers should be familiar with the basics of calculus, linear algebra, and complex analysis, as well as the basic methods used to solvedifferential equations and calculate integrals.

This primer is a collection of notes based on lectures that were originally given at IIT Madras (India) and at IFT Madrid (Spain). It is a concise and pragmatic course on applied holography focusing on the basic analytic and numerical techniques involved.The presented lectures are not intended to provide all the fundamental theoretical background, which can be found in the available literature, but they concentrate on concrete applications of AdS/CFT to hydrodynamics, quantum chromodynamics and condensed matter.The idea is to accompany the reader step by step through the various benchmark examples with a classmate attitude, providing details for the computations and open-source numerical codes in Mathematica, and sharing simple tricks and warnings collected during the author’s research experience.At the end of this path, the reader will be in possess of all the fundamental skills and tools to learn by him/herself more advanced techniques and to produce independent and novel research in the field.

This book provides a complete and accurate atomic level statistical mechanical explanation of entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. It assumes only a basic knowledge of mechanics and requires no knowledge of calculus. The treatment uses primarily geometric arguments and college level algebra.  Quantitative examples are given at each stage to buttress physical understanding. This text is of benefit to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as educators and researchers in the physical sciences (whether or not they have taken a thermodynamics course) who want to understand or teach the atomic/molecular origins of entropy and the second law. It is particularly aimed at those who, due to insufficient mathematical background or because of their area of study, are not going to take a traditional statistical mechanics course.

This book derives and analyzes all solutions to the Kepler problem with dark energy (DE), presenting significant results such as: (a) all radial infinite motions obey Hubble’s law at large times; (b) all orbital infinite motions are asymptotically radial and obey Hubble’s law; (c) infinite orbital motions strongly dominate the finite ones. This clearly shows the effect of repulsive DE: In the classical Kepler problem, all orbital motions are finite for negative energies and infinite in the opposite case. Another DE effect is spatial localization of bounded orbits: mostly, they are within the equilibrium sphere, where the attractive Newtonian force outbalances the repulsive force of DE.This problem is of particular current interest due to recent studies of the local flows of galaxies showing domination of DE in their dynamics; the book discusses this observation in detail.

The goal of this essay is to discuss the future of discovery in particle physics. Its primary motivation is the 2019 European Strategy update, which aims to determine the future experimental and theoretical priorities for particle physics. A key question is to understand what the standard theory (Standard Model) of particle physics really is, which the author argues has been a foggy notion for several decades which he clarifies. It then is to decide what motivated beyond the Standard Model theories are to be targeted by experiment. This book brightly exposes these theories, and puts current particle physics research into its historical context and points the way toward future work.

This book is a concise, readable, yet authoritative primer of basic classic thermodynamics. Many students have difficulty with thermodynamics, and find at some stage of their careers in academia or industry that they have forgotten what they learned, or never really understood these fundamental physical laws. As the title of the book suggests, the author has distilled the subject down to its essentials, using many simple and clear illustrations, instructive examples, and key equations and simple derivations to elucidate concepts. Based on many years of teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels, “Essential Classical Thermodynamics” is intended to provide a positive learning experience, and to empower the reader to explore the many possibilities for applying thermodynamics in other fields of science, engineering, and even economics where energy plays a central role. Thermodynamics is fun when you understand it!

This book introduces readers to state-of-the-art theoretical and simulation techniques for determining transport in complex band structure materials and nanostructured-geometry materials, linking the techniques developed by the electronic transport community to the materials science community. Starting from the semi-classical Boltzmann Transport Equation method for complex band structure materials, then moving on to Monte Carlo and fully quantum mechanical models for nanostructured materials, the book addresses the theory and computational complexities of each method, as well as their advantages and capabilities. Presented in language that is accessible to junior computational scientists, while including enough detail and depth with regards to numerical implementation to tackle modern research problems, it offers a valuable resource for computational scientists and postgraduate researchers whose work involves the theory and simulation of electro-thermal transport in advanced materials.

This book serves two main purposes: firstly, it shows, in a simple way, how the possible existence of an extra-spatial dimension would affect the predictions of four-dimensional General Relativity, a model known as the Brane world; secondly, it explains, step-by-step, a new technique called Minimal Geometric Deformation, which was introduced for the purpose of solving the correspondingly modified Einstein field equations. This method gave rise to the Gravitational Decoupling in General Relativity, which is widely used to solve the Einstein field equations in various contexts.

This book addresses a broad community of physicists, engineers, computer scientists and industry professionals, as well as the general public, who are aware of the unprecedented media hype surrounding the supposedly imminent new era of quantum computing. The central argument of this book is that the feasibility of quantum computing in the physical world is extremely doubtful. The hypothetical quantum computer is not simply a quantum variant of the conventional digital computer, but rather a quantum extension of a classical analog computer operating with continuous parameters. In order to have a useful machine, the number of continuous parameters to control would have to be of such an astronomically large magnitude as to render the endeavor virtually infeasible. This viewpoint is based on the author’s expert understanding of the gargantuan challenges that would have to be overcome to ever make quantum computing a reality. Knowledge of secondary-school-level physics and math will be sufficient for understanding most of the text.

These three lectures cover a certain aspect of complexity and black holes, namely the relation to the second law of thermodynamics. The first lecture describes the meaning of quantum complexity, the analogy between entropy and complexity, and the second law of complexity. Lecture two reviews the connection between the second law of complexity and the interior of black holes. Prof. L. Susskind discusses how firewalls are related to periods of non-increasing complexity which typically only occur after an exponentially long time. The final lecture is about the thermodynamics of complexity, and “uncomplexity” as a resource for doing computational work. The author explains the remarkable power of “one clean qubit,” in both computational terms and in space-time terms.This book is intended for graduate students and researchers who want to take the first steps towards the mysteries of black holes and their complexity.