Giant resonances are collective excitations of the atomic nucleus, a typical quantum many-body system. The study of these fundamental modes has in many respects contributed to our understanding of the bulk behavior of the nucleus and of the dynamics of non-equilibrium excitations. Although the phenomenon of giant resonances has been known for more than 50 years, a large amount of information has been obtained in the last 10 years. This book gives an up-to-date, comprehensive account of our present knowledge of giant resonances. It presents the experimental facts and the techniques used to obtain that information, describes how these facts fit into theoretical concepts and how this allows to determine various nuclear properties which are otherwise difficult to obtain. Included as an introduction is an overview of the main facts, a short history of how the field has developed in the course of time, and a discussion of future perspectives.

The series of volumes, Contemporary Concepts in Physics, is addressed to the professional physicist and to the serious graduate student of physics. The subject of many-body systems constitutes a central chapter in the study of quantum mechanics, with applications ranging from elementary particle and condensed matter physics to the behaviour of compact stellar objects. Quantal size effects is one of the most fascinating facets of many-body physics; this is testified to by the developments taking place in the study of metallic clusters, fullerenes, nanophase materials, and atomic nuclei. This book is divided into two main parts: the study of giant resonances based on the atomic nucleus ground state (zero temperature), and the study of the y-decay of giant resonances from compound (finite temperature) nuclei.

Often, a new area of science grows at the confines between recognised subject divisions, drawing upon techniques and intellectual perspectives from a diversity of fields. Such growth can remain unnoticed at first, until a characteristic fami ly of effects, described by appropriate key words, has developed, at which point a distinct subject is born. Such is very much the case with atomic 'giant resonances'. For a start, their name itself was borrowed from the field of nuclear collective resonances. The energy range in which they occur, at the juncture of the extreme UV and the soft X-rays, remains to this day a meeting point of two different experimental techniques: the grating and the crystal spectrometer. The impetus of synchrotron spectroscopy also played a large part in developing novel methods, described by many acronyms, which are used to study 'giant resonances' today. Finally, although we have described them as 'atomic' to differentiate them from their counterparts in Nuclear Physics, their occurrence on atomic sites does not inhibit their existence in molecules and solids. In fact, 'giant resonances' provide a new unifying theme, cutting accross some of the traditional scientific boundaries. After much separate development, the spectroscopies of the atom in various environments can meet afresh around this theme of common interest. Centrifugal barrier effects and 'giant resonances' proper emerged almost simultaneously in the late 1960's from two widely separated areas of physics, namely the study of free atoms and of condensed matter.

This is the most recent and complete review on giant resonances in nuclei. It includes electric as well as magnetic collective states and a detailed discussion on the excitation mechanisms and the decay properties is given.

This book focuses on a new development of spin giant resonances in nuclei. It covers: quenching phenomena in Gamow-Teller giant resonances, spin-dipole giant resonances, spin-longitudinal and transverse responses in quasi-elastic scattering, microscopic structures, isoscalar spin responses, and spin excitations in exotic nuclei as well as in related fields. The book provides comprehensive coverage of theory and experiment on intriguing spin phenomena, by distinguished contributors.

A comprehensive, unified treatment of present-day nuclear physics-the fresh edition of a classic text/reference. "A fine and thoroughly up-to-date textbook on nuclear physics . . . most welcome." -Physics Today (on the First Edition). What sets Introductory Nuclear Physics apart from other books on the subject is its presentation of nuclear physics as an integral part of modern physics. Placing the discipline within a broad historical and scientific context, it makes important connections to other fields such as elementary particle physics and astrophysics. Now fully revised and updated, this Second Edition explores the changing directions in nuclear physics, emphasizing new developments and current research-from superdeformation to quark-gluon plasma. Author Samuel S.M. Wong preserves those areas that established the First Edition as a standard text in university physics departments, focusing on what is exciting about the discipline and providing a concise, thorough, and accessible treatment of the fundamental aspects of nuclear properties. In this new edition, Professor Wong: * Includes a chapter on heavy-ion reactions-from high-spin states to quark-gluon plasma * Adds a new chapter on nuclear astrophysics * Relates observed nuclear properties to the underlying nuclear interaction and the symmetry principles governing subatomic particles * Regroups material and appendices to make the text easier to use * Lists Internet links to essential databases and research projects * Features end-of-chapter exercises using real-world data. Introductory Nuclear Physics, Second Edition is an ideal text for courses in nuclear physics at the senior undergraduate or first-year graduate level. It is also an important resource for scientists and engineers working with nuclei, for astrophysicists and particle physicists, and for anyone wishing to learn more about trends in the field.