The works of the 1991 Nobel prize winner in physics, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, have transformed condensed matter physics. Over the last three decades, he has left his indelible mark on an astonishing variety of condensed matter topics - magnets, superconductors, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesions, and chirality. In doing so, he has bridged the gap between solid state physics and physical chemistry, and has forged close links between experimentalists and theoreticians. In awarding him the 1991 Nobel prize for his theoretical studies on liquid crystals and polymers, the...

This work is about both sample surveys and the mathematics of sample surveys. The mathematics is both elementary and rigorous. It is suitable for a one-year junior-senior level course for mathematics and statistics majors as well as for students in the social sciences who are not handicapped by a fear of proofs in mathematics. It requires no previous knowledge of statistics, and a sizeable part of the book covers the discrete probability needed for the sampling methods covered. Topics then covered are: simple random sampling; sampling with unequal probabilities; linear relationships;...

This book summarizes results on the creation of a new theory of condensation which has an impact on consideration of some microscopic effects left aside in the usual nucleation theories. In particular, the main idea of the authors' microscopic condensation theory is that it considers the violation of the equilibrium cluster distribution over the internal degrees of freedom due to co-occurring condensation and decay reactions of the clusters.

This volume contains a selection of important papers by P.G. de Gennes (1991 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics) which have had a long-lasting impact on the understanding of condensed matter (solid state physics, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesion). A typical example is the original article on "reptation" of polymer chains. The author has added some "afterthoughts" to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. Complex systems (polymers or granular matters, and so forth) are explained without heavy...

The aim of this book is to familiarise the reader with the rich collection of ideas, methods and results available in the theory of critical phenomena in systems with confined geometry. The existence of universal features of the finite-size effects arising due to highly correlated classical or quantum fluctuations is explained by the finite-size scaling theory. This theory (1) offers an interpretation of experimental results on finite-size effects in real systems; (2) gives the most reliable tool for extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit of data obtained by computer simulations; (3)...

Recent advances in the quantum theory of macroscopic systems have brightened up the field and brought it into the focus of a general community in natural sciences. The fundamental concepts, methods and applications including the most recent developments, previously covered for the most part only in the original literature, are presented here in a comprehensive treatment to an audience who is reasonably familiar with quantum-statistical mechanics and has had rudimentary contacts with the path integral formulation.

This book deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence and dissipation...

This volume attempts to fill the gap between standard introductions to solid state physics, and textbooks which give a sophisticated treatment of strongly correlated systems. Starting with the basics of the microscopic theory of magnetism, one proceeds with relatively elementary arguments to such topics of current interest as the Mott transition, heavy fermions, and quantum magnetism. The basic approach is that magnetism is one of the manifestations of electron-electron interaction, and its treatment should be part of a general discussion of electron correlation effects.Though the text is...

This volume contains a selection of important papers by P.G. de Gennes (1991 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics) which have had a long-lasting impact on the understanding of condensed matter (solid state physics, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesion). A typical example is the original article on "reptation" of polymer chains. The author has added some "afterthoughts" to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. Complex systems (polymers or granular matters, and so forth) are explained without heavy...

This book deals with the statistical mechanics and dynamics of open quantum systems moving irreversibly under the influence of a dissipative environment. The basic concepts and methods are described on the basis of a microscopic description with emphasis on the functional integral approach. The general theory for the time evolution of the density matrix of the damped system is developed. Many of the sophisticated ideas in the field are explained with simple methods. The discussion includes, among others, the interplay between thermal and quantum fluctuations, quantum statistical decay,...