Major developments have taken place during the last few years in the study of the nuclear paradigm as a result of recent detector and accelerator developments, and of improved theoretical models.The active use of 4-π detectors to measure the gamma decay of excited nuclei has been instrumental in exploring the consequences of extremely high rotational frequencies and excitation energies in the nuclear structure. The identification of superdeformed bands, of limiting temperature for the detection of giant resonances, and of rotational damping, are conspicuous examples of this novel type of research. Studies of the disassembling of the nucleus have been systematically carried out, and the results interpreted in terms of transport models.At even higher temperatures one expects to have a completely new regime of hot dense matter, where the hadronic properties become strongly renormalized by the medium.Furthermore, studies of the properties of the nucleon as a many-body system of quarks and gluons displaying collective degrees of freedom which are damped by couplings to more complicated states, are providing a detailed and consistent picture of the nuclear paradigm.Important progress is also taking place in situations essentially opposite to the scenarios described above, namely in the study of correlations in nuclear matter at very low temperature and density.

The last few years have seen great progress in the understanding of nuclei far from stability, i.e. nuclei with a composition that differs radically from that of the stable nuclei that we encounter in Nature. It has become clear that the study of exotic nuclear species reveals many new phenomena, which may make us go back, armed with new insight, to more familiar nuclear systems. The proceedings at the 4th course of the International School of Heavy Ion Physics — Exotic Nuclei, containing the lectures and seminars by world specialists in the field, cover some of the central themes of the physics of exotic nuclei which lie at the forefront of nuclear research.

The book is aimed at assessing the capabilities of state-of-the-art optical techniques in elucidating the fundamental electronic and structural properties of semiconductor and metal surfaces, interfaces, thin layers, and layer structures, and assessing the usefulness of these techniques for optimization of high quality multilayer samples through feedback control during materials growth and processing. Particular emphasis is dedicated to the theory of nonlinear optics and to dynamical processes through the use of pump–probe techniques together with the search for new optical sources. Some new applications of Scanning Probe Microscopy to Material Science and biological samples, dried and in vivo, with the use of different laser sources are also presented. Materials of particular interest are silicon, semiconductor–metal interfaces, semiconductor and magnetic multi-layers and III-V compound semiconductors. Contents:Epitaxial-Like Growth of Lead Phthalocyanine Layers on GaAs(001) Surfaces (L Riele, B Buick, E Speiser, B-O Fimland, P Vogt and W Richter)Optical Properties of Nanostructured Metamaterials (E Cortes, B S Mendoza, W L Mochan and G Ortiz)Ab Initio Long-Wavelength Properties of Metallic Systems: Iron and Magnesium (M Cazzaniga, L Caramella, N Manini, P Salvestrini and G Onida)Magnetic Second-Harmonic Generation from Interfaces and Nanostructures (J F McGilp)Optical Investigations of the Interface Formation between Organic Molecules and Semiconductor Surfaces (T Bruhn, L Riele, B-O Fimland, N Esser and P Vogt)Reflection Anisotropic Spectroscopy Studies of Thiolate/Metal Interfaces (D S Martin)The Physics of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (X-FELs): An Elementary Approach (P Rebernik Ribic and G Margaritondo)The Decisive Role of Interface Phonons in Polaron State Formation in Quantum Nanostructures (A Yu Maslov and O V Proshina)Dielectric Analysis on Optical Properties of Silver Nano Particles in ZrO2 Thin Film Prepared by Sol–Gel Method (M Wakaki and E Yokoyama)Towards Ab Initio Calculation of the Circular Dichroism of Peptides (E Molteni, G Onida and G Tiana)Dynamics and Spectral Properties of Free-Standing Negatively-Curved Carbon Surfaces (M De Corato and G Benedek) Readership: The book is a good reference for researchers that want to be involved in optical spectroscopy as a tool to study surfaces and interfaces. Keywords:Optics;Spectroscopy;Surfaces;Semiconductors;Reflectivity

This volume contains the Proceedings of 'Quantum Gravity': a series of qualified lectures of most outstanding scientists given during the XIV Course of the International School of Cosmology and Gravitation. As usual of that School, the Course was conceived for researchers at different levels of scientific maturity ranging from post-doctorate research students to well established research workers: then in every lecture you can find an introduction where a review and analysis of the main mathematical, physical and epistemological difficulties encountered at the formulations of relativistic quantum theories are expounded, ranging from relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory in Minkowski and in curved space-time to the various canonical and covariant approaches to quantum gravity.

This book assesses the capabilities of state-of-the-art optical techniques in elucidating the fundamental electronic and structural properties of semiconductor and metal surfaces, interfaces, thin layers, and layer structures. It also examines the usefulness of these techniques for optimization of high quality multilayer samples through feedback control during materials growth and processing. Emphasis is given to dynamical processes through the use of pump–probe techniques, together with the search for new optical sources. Some new applications of scanning probe microscopy to materials science and biological samples (dried and in vivo) with the use of different laser sources are also presented. Contents: Theory of Surface Optical Properties (R Del Sole et al.)The Application of Reflectance Anisotropy Spectroscopy to Organics Deposition (G Bussetti et al.)First-Principles Optical Spectra of Semiconductor Surfaces: From One-Particle to Many-Body Approach (M Palummo et al.)Ab-Initio Optical Properties of Bn(110) and GaN(110) Surfaces (G Capellini et al.)Longitudinal Gauge Theory of Second Harmonic Generation at Semiconductor Surfaces (B S Mendoza)Optical Second Harmonic Generation and the Characterisation of Low Dimensional Nanostructures on Planar Silicon (J F McGilp)Nonlinear Optical Properties of Oligothiophene Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold Substrate (T Tamura et al.)Second-Harmonic Generation and Photoemission from Al Quantum Wells on Si(111)7x7 (K Pedersen et al.)and other papers Readership: Researchers and graduate students in optics, semiconductor science, surface science, condensed matter physics, and spectroscopy and other analytical techniques. Keywords:Optics;Spectroscopy;Surfaces;Semiconductors;Reflectivity;Magnetooptics;Epitaxy