Universal Themes of Bose-Einstein Condensation

Description

Following an explosion of research on Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) ignited by demonstration of the effect by 2001 Nobel prize winners Cornell, Wieman and Ketterle, this book surveys the field of BEC studies. Written by experts in the field, it focuses on Bose-Einstein condensation as a universal phenomenon, covering topics such as cold atoms, magnetic and optical condensates in solids, liquid helium and field theory. Summarising general theoretical concepts and the research to date - including novel experimental realisations in previously inaccessible systems and their theoretical interpretation - it is an excellent resource for researchers and students in theoretical and experimental physics who wish to learn of the general themes of BEC in different subfields.

N. P. Proukakis is a Professor of Quantum Physics at Newcastle University and the Associate Director of the Joint Quantum Centre Durham-Newcastle. He is an expert on finite temperature non-equilibrium modelling of quantum gases, and his research interests span from atomic physics to optical condensates, being mainly focused on universal features, non-equilibrium dynamics, multi-component condensates and superfluid turbulence. D. W. Snoke is a Professor of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is author of over 130 articles and 4 books, including Bose-Einstein Condensation (with A. Griffin and S. Stringari, Cambridge, 1995), one of the first books to survey the phenomenon. His research focuses on non-equilibrium dynamics, semiconductor optics and Bose-Einstein condensation. P. B. Littlewood is Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago, former Head of the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge and former Director of Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois. Author of more than 200 articles, he has played an important role in the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in cold atoms, polaritons and excitonic systems.

'The editors of this volume have assembled a truly remarkable group of leaders in the field to provide their perspectives on both historical and current developments in the wide-ranging physics of Bose-Einstein condensates.' Steven M. Girvin, Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics, Yale University 'The book gives a state-of-the-art overview of Bose-Einstein condensation in a large range of systems. The phenomena is not only discussed in the traditional systems of liquid helium and ultracold atoms, but also in the more recent systems of polaritons, photons and magnons. Moreover, Bose-Einstein Condensation in a astrophysical and cosmological context is also covered. The book is also very nice from another point of view: it covers a broad range of topics within all these systems including both equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties. Of course the most recent developments like dipolar interactions, artificial gauge fields and topologically nontrivial states of matter are all reviewed in the book. I especially like this broad, in systems and in methods and phenomena, point of view. Moreover all the chapters are written in a very comprehensive style. As a result, the reader of this book will obtain a running start into the current hot topics of research in Bose-Einstein Condensation.' Henk Stoof, Universiteit Utrecht, the Netherlands 'This is a truly impressive collection of articles on many aspects of Bose-Einstein condensation. The editors have assembled an array of authoritative articles by leaders of an exciting field that impinges on a growing range of physics.' Sir Keith Burnett CBE FRS FLSW, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield 'The study of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has undergone an incredible expansion during the last 25 years. ... This book is a collection of essays written by leading experts on various aspects and in different branches of BEC, which is now a broad and interdisciplinary area of modern physics. Composed of four parts, the volume starts with the history of the rapid development of this field and then takes the reader through the most important results.' Virginia Greco, CERN Courier