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This book focuses on "Nanometer Scale Science and Technology''. This is one of the most rapidly expanding research fields and it is considered one of the most important issues in forming future societies. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are at the interface between physics, chemistry, engineering and, most importantly, biology. The most fundamental processes of living matter occur on the nanometer scale. Micro-electrical mechanical systems are approaching the dimensions of biological cells, opening up the possibility of connecting machines to individual cells. This book is based on local probes (STM, AFM, SNOM) and related supreme technological achievements. These topics are extensively covered in the book, mainly devoted to instrumentation aspects. From a more fundamental point of view it also covers advanced subjects such as clusters, nanocontacts, photonic band gap materials, atom manipulation by light, atom optics with Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum computing. ... Read more

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This book focuses on the ideas to embed nuclear physics in the larger context of hadronic physics by stressing and deepening its widening overlap with particle, astroparticle and condensed matter physics and to emphasize the unity of the two facets not only of nuclear, but of the whole physics; the theoretical and the experimental ones. Counteracting the ominous trend of enlarging the gap between the two, the danger being of depriving experimental physics of ideas promoting experiments and of transforming theoretical physics into metaphysics. The reader will find modern conceptions on nuclear structure, how atomic nuclei are probed through the scattering of high energy electrons and how they interact when accelerated at ultra-relativistic energies. The item connects to the quest for the quark-gluon plasma, perhaps the central theme of the contemporary hadronic physics, whose unraveling requires a vast and profound knowledge of both nuclear and particle physics, in particular QCD. ... Read more

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Neutrino physics contributed in an fundamental way to the progress of science, opening important windows of knowledge in elementary particle physics, as well in astrophysics and cosmology. Substantial experimental efforts are presently dedicated to improve our knowledge on neutrino properties as, in fact, we don't know yet some of the basic ones. Although very significant steps forward have been done, neutrino masses and mixings still remain largely unknown and constitute an important field for future research. Are neutrinos Majorana or Dirac particles? Have they a magnetic moment? Historically, studies on weak processes and, therefore, on neutrino physics, provided first the Fermi theory of weak interactions and then the V-A theory. Finally, the observation of weak neutral currents provided the first experimental evidence for unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions by the so called "Standard Model' of elementary particles. In addition to the results obtained from the measurement of the solar neutrino flux, the study of atmospheric neutrinos strongly supports the hypothesis of neutrino oscillation among different flavours. At the same time, the detection of neutrinos emitted by our Sun gave an important confirmation that the Sun produces energy via a chain of nuclear reactions; in particular in our Sun a specific cycle - the hydrogen cycle - is responsible for practically all the produced energy. ... Read more

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"A weird light glared out, gold and purple. Then came a roar. And a cloud like a giant mushroom rose up in the air, above the first atomic explosion ever set off by man. But Fermi," who - more than any other man - had made this test possible, "neither saw nor heard any of this. He was busy dropping scraps of paper down toward the ground! There was method in this seeming madness. Fermi was measuring the power of the blast by his own simple system. The figure he arrived at came astonishingly close to the figure that complicated instruments later provided."

This was the story of Enrico Fermi's life. He was able to understand the complicated principles of physics and mathematics so well that he could reduce them to simple scraps of paper. Born in Rome, the youngest child of a poor family, he became one of the greatest physicists of our century. And he, like many other foreign-born scientists who emigrated to the United States, made possible American pre-eminence in the beginning Atomic Age.

Enrico Fermi's whole life was one of excitement in his search for the unknown, yet it held warmth and love of family and living as well. ... Read more

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The rapid progress of the research field of quantum chaos and its applications called for a book that keeps students abreast of the new developments and at the same time provides a solid bases in subjects which form the canon of the field. This book discusses the following topics: Spectral statistics and their semiclassical interpretation in terms of the Gutzwiller trace formula, Quantum chaos and its applications in mesoscopic physics, Spectral statistics and conductance fluctuations and Quantum chaos in systems with many degrees of freedom. The line of this book connects and continues past and present achievements and prepares the ground for a future full of intriguing and important developments. ... Read more

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The exchange between physics and metrology is always fascinating and exciting. Many are the open problems in physics that call for extremely precise standards, many are the advances in metrology made possible by a deep and assiduous study of the underlying physics. One has just to think of the enormous sophistication required in the measurements of some absolute quantities such as the Avogadro, the gas, or the gravitational constants. It is also worth noticing that not only the units of a metrological system are interrelated through the fundamental constants, but also the latter find their full significance when they are determined through the most exacting metrological experiments. Over the past decade many improvements took place and these are discussed in this book; from one side the old caesium SI second definition has found a new realisation, with the "fountain" approach, replacing the classical thermal atomic beam. The use of "cold" atom techniques, in which bunches of inert atoms are collected, slowed down, and cooled, has opened a number of new and unexpected avenues for metrology and fundamental constants; one of these possibilities being the atom interferometry. Another important "quantum jump" was the demonstration of the possibility of performing a direct frequency division in the visible, using ultra short femtosecond pulses. In addition, the possibility of "counting" electrons or photons gave a fundamental support to the development of single-electron capacitance standards and to new scenarios in the absolute calibration of photo-detectors ... Read more

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This book is concerned with the dynamic field of semiconductor microstructures and interfaces. Several topics in the fundamental properties of interfaces, superlattices and quantum wells are included, as are papers on growth techniques and applications. The papers deal with the interaction of theory, experiments and applications within the field, and the outstanding contributions are from both the academic and industrial worlds. ... Read more

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Diamond is an extreme material among possible atomic aggregations in nature, and as such has many extreme properties. This unique position makes it a fascinating subject both for science and for applications. This has been particularly true in recent years, since the surprising discovery at Union Carbide (1953) of the possibility of chemical vapour deposition of diamond films at low pressures, where diamond is metastable with respect to graphite. This discovery cleared the way to the development of economical deposition techniques, that have been obtaining progressively better-quality diamond, both pure and doped, in a controlled way and for a variety of applications. The remarkable properties and applications range from mechanical (the extreme hardness, tensile and compressive strength, wear performance) to thermal (the highest conductivity), optical (wide range of trasparency), chemical (inertness to most chemicals), biological (biocompatibility) and electronic (high electronic carrier mobility, large band gap and dielectric breakdown strength, negative electron affinity), with the simultaneous presence of so many extraordinary qualities often resulting in added value for a given application. We are presently at a turning point in the development of diamond physics and applications. While some achievements can be considered well established, on the other hand, new opportunities and challenges are facing the scientific community, particularly with regard to novel exciting deposition processes and techniques or new properties and applications in electronics. For this reason, the Italian Physical Society has considered timely to sponsor, within the "Enrico Fermi School" at Varenna, a course on "The Physics of Diamond" particularly focused on the new developments and prospects, that may well constitute a reference point for a new generation of scientists at what may possibly be the beginning of a new age in diamond. The course has attracted several of the most distinguished experts in the field as lecturers and an audience of almost as distinguished students and observers from 19 countries. Participation and discussion were lively to the very last day, ranging from traditional diamond physics to new diamond physics, and from well-known applications to the new exciting opportunities. The material in this volume is organized in the following way: the first part (13 lectures) is essentially devoted to growth and structure, the second part to properties and applications, with a closing lecture exploring new exotic diamonds in the distant future. The earlier lectures cover extensively the many processes of plasma chemical vapour deposition, including advanced contributions in theoretical modelling of these processes. Hence novel deposition mechanisms are considered: low-temperature CVD and laser-activated processes, including the so-called QQC experiments. This first part closes with a discussion of amorphous phases. In the second part, particular emphasis is placed on electronic properties and applications. This includes an extensive discussion of doping and, in addition, the promising perspectives of diamond as an electron emitter. Its newly discovered remarkable electron affinity properties lead to a new dimension in research and development, of great strategical importance for an increasing role of diamond in electronics. We are extremely grateful to the Secretary of the Italian Physical Society Mrs. E. Mazzi and her collaborators, for the masterly practical organization of the school, combined with their warm personalized commitment to make the two weeks spent at Villa Monastero a memorable pleasant experience for all participants. We also thank Mrs. A. Oleandri, C. Vasini and Mr. P. Papali of the Editorial Office for the expert and careful editorial work on this volume. The Directors of the School A. Paoletti and A. Tucciarone ... Read more