The Jahn-Teller effect is a consequence of the electron-phonon coupling in high symmetry systems. Its influence covers a wide range of physical and chemical properties and systems. As the biannual Jahn-Teller symposia bring together experimental and theoretical physicists and chemists from all over the world, this proceedings volume reports the latest scientific news on the effect.The contents of the volume range from the general aspects to some special topics, such as ultrafast processes, fullerenes, point defects, cooperative phenomena, HTSC and oxide properties. Some contributions are dedicated to the memory of Mary O'Brien, a globally honored specialist in the theory of the Jahn-Teller effect. Throughout personal reminiscences of O'Brien's enormous contributions to the subject, the recent history of the effect is summarized.

The 14th International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy brought together spectroscopists from all over the world working in the very diverse and still growing field of laser spectroscopy. Spanning the area from fundamental issues (such as experiments testing the foundations of quantum mechanics), to atomic and molecular spectroscopy, precision spectroscopy and matter wave optics to Bose-Einstein condensation, covering quantum optics and the new field of quantum computation and quantum information, up to nonlinear optics and ultrashort pulse spectroscopy, and medical applications of laser spectroscopy, the conference addressed a large number of modern scientific issues at the highest level.

The Jahn-Teller effect continues to be a paradigm for structural instabilities and molecular dynamical processes. This volume provides a survey of the current Jahn-Teller interactions at the interface of quantum chemistry and condensed matter physics.

This book is based mostly on the reports presented at the XVth International lahn-Teller Symposium on Vibronic Interactions in Crystals and Molecules and NATO Advanced Research Workshop Colossal Magnetoresistance and Vibronic Interactions that took place at Boston on August 16-22 of the year 2000. This is the first time the Symposium took place in the USA where recently the giant splash of the attention to the 1 ahn-Teller effect occurred. This tremendous interest to the field all over the world is reflected not only in the numerous publications in many American and European 10urnals, but of the leading scientists from additionally in the Symposium's participation the well known Universities, National Laboratories and industrial companies, which was the largest in the history of the Symposium. The renaissance of the 1ahn-Teller physics is closely related to the three fundamental discoveries in science. The most significant among them is the discovery of high-Tc superconductivity by K. -A. Muller and G. Bednorz, for whom the "1ahn-Teller idea" was the motivation in their search. The result of this search is well known - a wide spectrum of the 1ahn-Teller ion based materials with Tc between 24K and 135K were found. The second discovery is the existence of a new polymorph of carbon - the C60. The microscopic analysis of all physical, chemical and biological properties of the buckyballs is based on 1ahn-Teller type of interactions. The third is colossal magnetoresistance.

"Optical Properties of 3d-Ions in Crystals: Spectroscopy and Crystal Field Analysis" discusses spectral, vibronic and magnetic properties of 3d-ions in a wide range of crystals, used as active media for solid state lasers and potential candidates for this role. Crystal field calculations (including first-principles calculations of energy levels and absorption spectra) and their comparison with experimental spectra, the Jahn-Teller effect, analysis of vibronic spectra, materials science applications are systematically presented. The book is intended for researchers and graduate students in crystal spectroscopy, materials science and optical applications. Dr. N.M. Avram is an Emeritus Professor at the Physics Department, West University of Timisoara, Romania; Dr. M.G. Brik is a Professor at the Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Estonia.

This handbook on group theory is geared toward chemists and experimental physicists who use spectroscopy and require knowledge of the electronic structures of the materials they investigate. Accessible to undergraduate students, it takes an elementary approach to many of the key concepts. Rather than the deductive method common to books on mathematics and theoretical physics, the present volume introduces fundamental concepts with simple examples, relating them to specific chemical and physical problems. The text is centered on detailed analysis of examples. Since neither chemists nor spectroscopists require theorem proofs, very few appear here. Instead, the focus remains on the principal conclusions, their meaning, and their use. In keeping with the text's practical bias, the main results of group theory are presented in all sections as procedures, making possible their systematic and step-by-step-application. Each chapter contains problems that develop practical skill and provide a valuable supplement to the text.