The Stability Of Matter In Quantum Mechanics

Description of research on the subject for researchers, and for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematical physics.

The first edition of "The Stability of Matter: From Atoms to Stars" was sold out after a time unusually short for a selecta collection and we thought it ap propriate not just to make a reprinting but to include eight new contributionso They demonstrate that this field is still lively and keeps revealing unexpected featureso Of course, we restricted ourselves to developments in which Elliott Lieb participated and thus the heroic struggle in Thomas-Fermi theory where 7 3 5 3 the accuracy has been pushed from Z 1 to Z 1 is not includedo A rich landscape opened up after Jakob Yngvason's observation that atoms in magnetic fields also are described in suitable limits by a Thomas-Fermi-type theoryo Together with Elliott Lieb and Jan Philip Solovej it was eventually worked out that one has to distinguish 5 regionso If one takes as a dimensionless measure of the magnetic field strength B the ratio Larmor radius/Bohr radius one can compare it with N "' Z and for each of the domains 4 3 (i) B « N 1 , 4 3 (ii) B "' N 1 , 4 3 3 (iii) N 1« B « N , 3 (iv) B "' N , 3 (v) B » N a different version ofmagnetic Thomas-Fermi theory becomes exact in the limit N --+ ooo In two dimensions and a confining potential ("quantum dots") the situation is somewhat simpler, one has to distinguish only (i) B « N, (ii) B "'N,

Excellent current review of our knowledge of matter. In this new edition two new sections have been added: quantum electrodynamics and Boson systems.

Excellent current review of our knowledge of matter. In this new edition two new sections have been added: quantum electrodynamics and Boson systems.

Quantum Physics of Matter explores the way in which quantum physics determines the properties of materials. The quantum physics of solids, for example, dictates whether they are good insulators, conductors, semiconductors, or even superconductors. At a deeper level, it explores how the quantum physics of nuclei and elementary particles determines the stability of matter and hence the range of substances that came into existence through the big bang and the evolution of stars.

With this book, Elliott Lieb joins his peers Hermann Weyl and Chen Ning Yang. Weyl's Selecta was published in 1956, Yang's Selected Papers in 1983. Lieb's "Selecta", like its predecessors, gives us the essence of a great mathema tical physicist concentrated into one convenient volume. Weyl, Yang and Lieb have much more in common than the accident of this manner of publication. They have in common a style and a tradition. Each of them is master of a for midable mathematical technique. Each of them uses hard mathematical ana lysis to reach an understanding of physical laws. Each of them enriches both physics and mathematics by finding new mathematical depths in the description of familiar physical processes. The central theme of Weyl's work in mathematical physics was the idea of symmetry, linking physical invariance-principles with the mathematics of group-theory. One of Yang's central themes is the idea of a gauge field, linking physical interactions with the mathematics of fibre-bundles. The central theme of Lieb's papers collected in this book is the classical Thomas-Fermi model of an atom, linking the physical stability of matter with the mathematics of func tional analysis. In all three cases, a rather simple physical idea provided the starting-point for building a grand and beautiful mathematical structure. Weyl, Yang and Lieb were not content with merely solving a problem. Each of them was concerned with understanding the deep mathematical roots out of which physical phenomena grow.

'The authors should be recognised for their efforts to present a mathematically rigorous introduction to Quantum Mechanics (QM) in a form that has broad appeal; there are not many introductory QM texts that would cover, for example, decoherence. I think many educators would appreciate this book, especially those interested in courses that combine science and philosophy.'Contemporary PhysicsApart from providing a lucid introduction to the mathematical formalism and conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, we explain why the laws of physics have the form that they do. In addition, we present a new and unique look at the quantum world, steering clear of two common errors: the error of the ψ-ontologists, who reify a calculational tool; and the error of the anti-realists, for whom physical theories are simply devices for expressing regularities among observations.The new edition of this acclaimed text adds around 200 pages on a variety of topics, such as how the founders sought to make sense of quantum mechanics, Kant's theory of science, QBism, Everettian quantum mechanics, de Broglie-Bohm theory, environmental decoherence, contextuality, nonlocality, and the paradox of subjectivity — the curious fact that the world seems to exist twice, once for us, in our minds, and once by itself, independently of us.

The book is an introduction to quantum field theory applied to condensed matter physics. The topics cover modern applications in electron systems and electronic properties of mesoscopic systems and nanosystems. The textbook is developed for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course with exercises which aim at giving students the ability to confront real problems.