Librería Portfolio

Starting from first principles, this book introduces the fundamental concepts and methods of dissipative quantum mechanics and explores related phenomena in condensed matter systems. Major experimental achievements in cooperation with theoretical advances have brightened the field and brought it to the attention of the general community in natural sciences. Nowadays, working knowledge of dissipative quantum mechanics is an essential tool for many physicists. This book - originally published in 1990 and republished in 1999 and and 2008 as enlarged second and third editions - delves significantly deeper than ever before into the fundamental concepts, methods and applications of quantum dissipative systems.

This fourth edition provides a self-contained and updated account of the quantum mechanics of open systems and offers important new material including the most recent developments. The subject matter has been expanded by about fifteen percent. Many chapters have been completely rewritten to better cater to both the needs of newcomers to the field and the requests of the advanced readership. Two chapters have been added that account for recent progress in the field. This book should be accessible to all graduate students in physics. Researchers will find this a rich and stimulating source.



Contents:
Introduction
General Theory of Open Quantum Systems:
Diverse Limited Approaches: A Brief Survey
System-Plus-Reservoir Models
Imaginary-Time Approach and Equilibrium Dynamics
Real-Time Path Integrals and Nonequilibrium Dynamics
Miscellaneous Applications:
Damped Linear Quantum Mechanical Oscillator
Quantum Brownian Free Motion
The Thermodynamic Variational Approach
Suppression of Quantum Coherence
Quantum Statistical Decay:
Introduction
Classical Rate Theory: A Brief Overview
Quantum Rate Theory: Basic Methods
Multidimensional Quantum Rate Theory
Crossover From Thermal to Quantum Decay
Thermally Activated Decay
The Crossover Region
Dissipative Quantum Tunneling
The Dissipative Two-State System:
Introduction
Thermodynamics
Electron Transfer and Incoherent Tunneling
Two-State Dynamics: Basics and Methods
Two-State Dynamics: Sundry Topics
The Driven Two-State System
The Dissipative Multi-State System:
Quantum Brownian Particle in a Washboard Potential
Multi-State Dynamics
Duality Symmetry
Twisted Partition Function and Nonlinear Mobility
Charge Transport in Quantum Impurity Systems
Quantum Transport for Sub- and Super-Ohmic Friction