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Lifetime Spectroscopy : A Method of Defect Characterization in Silicon for Photovoltaic Applications
Lifetime spectroscopy is one of the most sensitive diagnostic tools for the identification and analysis of impurities in semiconductors. Since it is based on the recombination process, it provides insight into precisely those defects that are relevant to semiconductor devices such as solar cells. This book introduces a transparent modeling procedure that allows a detailed theoretical evaluation of the spectroscopic potential of the different lifetime spectroscopic techniques. The various theoretical predictions are verified experimentally with the context of a comprehensive study on different metal impurities. The quality and consistency of the spectroscopic results, as explained here, confirms the excellent performance of lifetime spectroscopy.
Life in the Universe : Expectations and Constraints
Energy, chemistry, solvents, and habitats -- the basic elements of living systems - define the opportunities and limitations for life on other worlds. This class-tested text examines each of these parameters in crucial depth and makes the argument that life forms we would recognize may be more common in our solar system than many assume. It also considers, however, exotic forms of life that would not have to rely on carbon as basic chemical element, solar energy as a main energy source, or water as primary solvent. Finally the question of detecting bio- and geosignature of such life forms is discussed, ranging from Earth environments to deep space. While speculative considerations in this emerging field of science cannot be avoided, the authors have tried to present their study with the breadth and seriousness that a scientific approach to this issue requires. They seek an operational definition of life and investigate the realm of possibilities that nature offers to realize this very special state of matter and avoid scientific jargon wherever possible to make this intrinsically interdisciplinary subject understandable to a broad range of readers.
Life : An Introduction to Complex Systems Biology
What is life? Has molecular biology given us a satisfactory answer to this question? And if not, why, and how to carry on from there? This book examines life not from the reductionist point of view, but rather asks the question: what are the universal properties of living systems and how can one construct from there a phenomenological theory of life that leads naturally to complex processes such as reproductive cellular systems, evolution and differentiation? The presentation has been deliberately kept fairly non-technical so as to address a broad spectrum of students and researchers from the natural sciences and informatics.
Life - As a Matter of Fat : The Emerging Science of Lipidomics
Lipids are as important for life as proteins, sugars, and genes. The present book gives a multi-disciplinary perspective on the physics of life and the particular role played by lipids and the lipid-bilayer component of cell membranes. The book is aimed at undergraduate students and young research workers within physics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, nutrition, as well as pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. The emphasis is on the physical properties of lipid membranes seen as soft and molecularly structured interfaces. By combining and synthesizing insights obtained from a variety of recent studies, an attempt is made to clarify what membrane structure is and how it can be quantitatively described. Furthermore, it is shown how biological function mediated by membranes is controlled by lipid membrane structure and organization on length scales ranging from the size of the individual molecule, across molecular assemblies of proteins and lipid domains in the range of nanometers, to the size of whole cells. Applications of lipids in nano-technology and biomedicine are also described.
Lie Algebras and Applications
This book, designed for advanced graduate students and post-graduate researchers, provides an introduction to Lie algebras and some of their applications to the spectroscopy of molecules, atoms, nuclei and hadrons. In the first part, a concise exposition is given of the basic concepts of Lie algebras, their representations and their invariants. The second part contains a description of how Lie algebras are used in practice in the treatment of bosonic and fermionic systems. Physical applications considered include rotations and vibrations of molecules (vibron model), collective modes in nuclei (interacting boson model), the atomic shell model, the nuclear shell model, and the quark model of hadrons. One of the key concepts in the application of Lie algebraic methods in physics, that of spectrum generating algebras and their associated dynamic symmetries, is also discussed. The book contains many examples that help to elucidate the abstract algebraic definitions. It provides a summary of many formulas of practical interest, such as the eigenvalues of Casimir operators and the dimensions of the representations of all classical Lie algebras.
Lie Algebras and Algebraic Groups
The theory of Lie algebras and algebraic groups has been an area of active research in the last 50 years. It intervenes in many different areas of mathematics : for example invariant theory, Poisson geometry, harmonic analysis, mathematical physics. The aim of this book is to assemble in a single volume the algebraic aspects of the theory so as to present the foundation of the theory in characteristic zero. Detailed proofs are included and some recent results are discussed in the last chapters. All the prerequisites on commutative algebra and algebraic geometry are included.
Lidar : Range-Resolved Optical Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere
Written by leading experts in optical radar, or lidar, this book brings all the recent practices up-to-date and covers a multitude of applications, from atmospheric sciences to environmental protection. Its broad cross-disciplinary scope should appeal to both the experienced scientist and the novice in the field. The Foreword is by one of the early pioneers in the area, Herbert Walther.
Lenses and Waves : Christiaan Huygens and the Mathematical Science of Optics in the Seventeenth Century
this book offers the first account of the development of Huygens’ mathematical analysis of lenses and telescopes and its significance for the origin of the wave theory of light. As Huygens applied his mathematical proficiency to practical issues pertaining to telescopes – including trying to design a perfect telescope by means of mathematical theory – his dioptrics is significant for our understanding of seventeenth-century relations between theory and practice. With this full account of Huygens’ optics, this book sheds new light on the history of seventeenth-century optics and the rise of the new mathematical sciences, as well as Huygens’ oeuvre as a whole. Students of the history of optics, of early mathematical physics, and the Scientific Revolution, will find this book enlightening.
Leibnizs Metaphysics of Time and Space
Leibniz’s metaphysics of space and time stands at the centre of his philosophy and is one of the high-water marks in the history of the philosophy of science. In this work, Futch provides the first systematic and comprehensive examination of Leibniz’s thought on this subject. In addition to elucidating the nature of Leibniz’s relationalism, the book fills a lacuna in existing scholarship by examining his views on the topological structure of space and time, including the unity and unboundedness of space and time. It is shown that, like many of his more recent counterparts, Leibniz adopts a causal theory of time where temporal facts are grounded on causal facts, and that his approach to time represents a precursor to non-tensed theories of time.
Leibniz and the natural world : Activity, passivity and corporeal substances in Leibniz's Philosophy
In the present book, Pauline Phemister argues against traditional Anglo-American interpretations of Leibniz as an idealist who conceives ultimate reality as a plurality of mind-like immaterial beings and for whom physical bodies are ultimately unreal and our perceptions of them illusory. Re-reading the texts without the prior assumption of idealism allows the more material aspects of Leibniz's metaphysics to emerge. Leibniz is found to advance a synthesis of idealism and materialism. His ontology posits indivisible, living, animal-like corporeal substances as the real metaphysical constituents of the universe; his epistemology combines sense-experience and reason; and his ethics fuses confused perceptions and insensible appetites with distinct perceptions and rational choice. In the light of his sustained commitment to the reality of bodies, Phemister re-examines his dynamics, the doctrine of pre-established harmony and his views on freedom.
Lectures on Quantum Mechanics
Presents theoretical physics with a breathtaking array of examples and anecdotes. Basdevant's style is clear and stimulating, in the manner of a brisk classroom lecture that students can follow with ease and enjoyment.
Lectures on Quantum Gravity
A primary goal was to foster interaction and communication between participants from different cultures, both in the layman’s sense of the term and in terms of approaches to quantum gravity. We hope that the links formed by students and the school will persist throughout their professional lives, continuing to promote interaction and the essential exchange of ideas that drives research forward. This volume contains improved and updated versions of the lectures given at the School. It has been prepared both as a reminder for the participants, and so that these pedagogical introductions can be made available to others who were unable to attend. We expect them to serve students of all ages well.
Lectures in Supercomputational Neurosciences : Dynamics in Complex Brain Networks
The present volume is an introduction, largely from the physicists' perspective, to the subject matter with in-depth contributions by system neuroscientists. A conceptual model for complex networks of neurons is introduced that incorporates many important features of the real brain, such as various types of neurons, various brain areas, inhibitory and excitatory coupling and the plasticity of the network. The computational implementation on supercomputers, which is introduced and discussed in detail in this book, will enable the readers to modify and adapt the algortihm for their own research.
Learning About Particles - 50 Privileged Years
Embedded in an autobiographic framework, this book retraces vividly and in some depth the golden years of particle physics as witnessed by one of the scientists who made seminal contributions to the understanding of what is now known as the Standard Model of particle physics. Well beyond a survey of interest to historians of sciences and researchers in the field, this book is a must for all students and young researchers who have learned about the theoretical and experimental facts that make up the standard model through modern textbooks only. It will provide the interested reader with a first hand account and deeper understanding of the multilayered and sinuous development that finally led to the present architecture of this theory.
Lean Brain Management : More Success and Efficiency by Saving Intelligence
Intelligence is wasted on problems that themselves have been caused by an excess of intelligence. Lean Brain Management strives toward uncompromising Lean Brain Quality. Lean Brain stands for consistent economization of intelligence in all realms of life: Intelligent systems will only be operated by unskilled workers. Education, universities, and schools would become obsolete. A week of training would be enough for virtually any job. ("You are now the physician for the measles in the State of Ohio. In response to phone calls, send this prescription.") Lean Brain is not aimed at dumbing down! Lean Brain can survive on just a very small amount of central intelligence. Potential savings amount to trillions! This is demonstrated using Germany as an example. With this book, Dueck presents a radical suggestion for world improvement. The desire to laugh infinitely about it will eventually segue into a collective rude awakening. The book contains concrete advice for managers to economize on intelligence, and is thus--in keeping with the theme--written in an easy-to-read fashion.
Laws of Nature
The book is concerned with the laws of nature and in particular with the laws of physics. The authors discuss three important questions: First, whether the observed regularities are based on strict "laws of nature" that hold rigorously and without any exception. Second, what we call a "law of nature" is studied by comparing this concept with invariance principles, causality principles, teleological principles and means of predicting future events. Finally, on the basis of these investigations the authors treat the ambitious and intricate third question, why the laws of nature hold. Are there rational reasons for this largely unexplained phenomenon? This book addresses students as well as researchers. It will be an excellent reference for those interested in the philosophical foundations of the natural sciences.
Lattice Hadron Physics
This series of lectures draws upon the developments made in recent years in implementing chirality on the lattice via the overlap formalism. These developments exploit chiral effective field theory in order to extrapolate lattice results to physical quark masses, new forms of improving operators to remove lattice artefacts, analytical studies of finite volume effects in hadronic observables, and state-of-the-art lattice calculations of excited resonances. This volume is designed to assist those outside the field who want quickly to becoming literate in these topics. So it is intended for graduate students and experienced researchers in other areas of hadronic physics to provide the background through which they can appreciate, if not become active in, contemporary lattice gauge theory and its applications to hadronic phenomena.
Lattice Boltzmann Modeling : An Introduction for Geoscientists and Engineers
Lattice Boltzmann models have a remarkable ability to simulate single- and multi-phase fluids and transport processes within them. A rich variety of behaviors, including higher Reynolds numbers flows, phase separation, evaporation, condensation, cavitation, buoyancy, and interactions with surfaces can readily be simulated. This book provides a basic introduction that emphasizes intuition and simplistic conceptualization of processes. It avoids the more difficult mathematics that underlies LB models. The model is viewed from a particle perspective where collisions, streaming, and particle-particle/particle-surface interactions constitute the entire conceptual framework. Beginners and those with more interest in model application than detailed mathematical foundations will find this a powerful "quick start" guide. Example simulations, exercises, and computer codes are included. Working code is provided on the Internet
Laser-Tissue Interactions : Fundamentals and Applications
This essential work provides a thorough description of the fundamentals and applications in the field of laser-tissue interactions. Concepts such as the optical and thermal properties of tissue, and optical breakdown and its related effects, are treated in detail.
Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free Control : Exploration of Relativistic Gravity in Space
Over the next decade the gravitational physics community will benefit from dramatic improvements in many technologies critical to testing gravity. Highly accurate deep space navigation, interplanetary laser communication, interferometry and metrology, high precision frequency standards, precise pointing and attitude control, together with drag-free technologies, will revolutionize the field of experimental gravitational physics. The centennial of the general theory of relativity in 2015 will motivate a significant number of experiments designed to test this theory with unprecedented accuracy.
