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QUANTUM DISSIPATIVE SYSTEMS
(Third Edition)
by Ulrich Weiss (University of Stuttgart, Germany)
Table of Contents (395k)
Preface (146k)
Introduction (262k)
Ulrich Weiss has been Professor of Physics at the University of Stuttgart since 1975. As guest scientist or visiting professor, he has spent extended periods of time at various research institutions in the USA, France, and Italy. He has given numerous contributions to nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, quantum statistical and quantum dissipative physics, and condensed matter physics.
Major advances in the quantum theory of macroscopic systems, in combination with stunning experimental achievements, have brightened the field and brought it to the attention of the general community in natural sciences. Today, working knowledge of dissipative quantum mechanics is an essential tool for many physicists. This book — originally published in 1990 and republished in 1999 as an enlarged second edition — delves much deeper than ever before into the fundamental concepts, methods, and applications of quantum dissipative systems, including the most recent developments.
In this third edition, 26 chapters from the second edition contain additional material and several chapters are completely rewritten. It deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence, relaxation, and dissipation in quantum mechanics that arise from the interaction with the environment. In so doing, a general path integral description of equilibrium thermodynamics and nonequilibrium dynamics is developed.
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