Most of the matter in our universe is in a gaseous or plasma state. Yet, most textbooks on quantum statistics focus on examples from and applications in condensed matter systems, due to the prevalence of solids and liquids in our day-to-day lives. In an attempt to remedy that oversight, this book consciously focuses on teaching the subject matter in the context of (dilute) gases and plasmas, while aiming primarily at graduate students and young researchers in the field of quantum gases and...

The aim of this book is the pedagogical exploration of the basic principles of quantum-statistical thermodynamics as applied to various states of matter – ranging from rare gases to astrophysical matter with high-energy density. The reader will learn in this work that thermodynamics and quantum statistics are still the concepts on which even the most advanced research is operating - despite of a flood of modern concepts, classical entities like temperature, pressure, energy and entropy are...

This book explains - in simple terms and with almost no mathematics - the physics behind recent and glamorous discoveries in Cosmology, Quantum Mechanics, Elementary Particles (e.g. Higgs bosons) and Complexity Theory. En route it delves into the historical landmarks and revolutions that brought about our current understanding of the universe.The book is written mainly for those with little scientific background, both college students and lay readers alike, who are curious about th...

The purpose of this book is to thoroughly prepare the reader for research in string theory at an intermediate level. As such it is not a compendium of results but intended as textbook in the sense that most of the material is organized in a pedagogical and self-contained fashion.Beyond the basics, a number of more advanced topics are introduced, such as conformal field theory, superstrings and string dualities - the text does not cover applications to black hole physics and cosmolo...

This graduate-level text collects and synthesizes a series of ten lectures on the nuclear quantum many-body problem. Starting from our current understanding of the underlying forces, it presents recent advances within the field of lattice quantum chromodynamics before going on to discuss effective field theories, central many-body methods like Monte Carlo methods, coupled cluster theories, the similarity renormalization group approach, Green’s function methods and large-scale diagonalizati...

It may at first seem that the world of subatomic physics is far removed from our every day lives. Isn’t it all just a waste of time and taxpayers' money? Hopefully, all who read this book will come to a different conclusion. Collider physics is all about our origins, and this aspect alone makes it worthy of our very best attention. The experiments conducted within the vast collider chambers are at the forefront of humanity’s quest to unweave the great tapestry that is the universe. Everyth...

This book is an introduction to contemporary plasma physics that discusses the most relevant recent advances in the field and covers a careful choice of applications to various branches of astrophysics and space science. The purpose of the book is to allow the student to master the basic concepts of plasma physics and to bring him or her up to date in a number of relevant areas of current research. Topics covered include orbit theory, kinetic theory, fluid models, magnetohydrodynamics, MHD...

The purpose and motivation of these lectures can be summarized in the following two questions: • What is the ground state (and its properties) of dense matter? • What is the matter composition of a compact star? The two questions are, of course, strongly coupled to each other. Depending on your point of view, you can either consider the ?rst as the main question and the second as a consequence or application of the ?rst, or vice versa. If you are interested in fundamental questions in part...

This book is a course-tested primer on the thermodynamics of strongly interacting matter – a profound and challenging area of both theoretical and experimental modern physics. Analytical and numerical studies of statistical quantum chromodynamics provide the main theoretical tool, while in experiments, high-energy nuclear collisions are the key for extensive laboratory investigations. As such, the field straddles statistical, particle and nuclear physics, both conceptually and in the metho...

This book describes the basic physical principles of atomic spectroscopy and the absorption and emission of radiation in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. It summarizes the basics of electromagnetism and thermodynamics and then describes in detail the theory of atomic spectra for complex atoms, with emphasis on astrophysical applications. Both equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena in plasmas are considered. The interaction between radiation and matter is described, together with va...

This thesis focuses on the construction and application of an electron radiation belt kinetic model including various adiabatic and non-adiabatic processes. The terrestrial radiation belt was discovered over 50 years ago and has received a resurgence of interest in recent years. The main drivers of radiation belt research are the fundamental science questions surrounding its complex and dramatic dynamics and particularly its potential hazards posed to space-borne systems. The establishment...

This riveting scientific novel combines adventure, love, suspense, magic, pathos, and mystery in a carefully woven plot that is full of unexpected twists and turns. The author is an astrophysicist who has developed an alternative theory, which holds that traveling in time is possible. Time is, in fact, the real protagonist of the novel and of the intrigue surrounding the attempt to seize the secret of Time’s other arrow, the dark arrow normally hidden from us, which points back at our past...