Spin Physics

This book offers an extensive introduction to the extremely rich and intriguing field of spin-related phenomena in semiconductors. In this second edition, all chapters have been updated to include the latest experimental and theoretical research. Furthermore, it covers the entire field: bulk semiconductors, two-dimensional semiconductor structures, quantum dots, optical and electric effects, spin-related effects, electron-nuclei spin interactions, Spin Hall effect, spin torques, etc. Thanks to its self-contained style, the book is ideally suited for graduate students and researchers new to the field.

The purpose of this collective book is to present a non-exhaustive survey of sp- related phenomena in semiconductors with a focus on recent research. In some sense it may be regarded as an updated version of theOpticalOrientation book, which was entirely devoted to spin physics in bulk semiconductors. During the 24 years that have elapsed, we have witnessed, on the one hand, an extraordinary development in the wonderful semiconductor physics in two dim- sions with the accompanying revolutionary applications. On the other hand, during the last maybe 15 years there was a strong revival in the interest in spin phen- ena, in particular in low-dimensional semiconductor structures. While in the 1970s and 1980s the entire world population of researchers in the ?eld never exceeded 20 persons, now it can be counted by the hundreds and the number of publications by the thousands. This explosive growth is stimulated, to a large extent, by the hopes that the electron and/or nuclear spins in a semiconductor will help to accomplish the dream of factorizing large numbers by quantum computing and eventually to develop a new spin-based electronics, or “spintronics”. Whether any of this will happen or not, still remains to be seen. Anyway, these ideas have resulted in a large body of interesting and exciting research, which is a good thing by itself. The ?eld of spin physics in semiconductors is extremely rich and interesting with many spectacular effects in optics and transport.

This book seeks to present a new way of thinking about the interaction of gravitational fields with quantum systems. Despite the massive amounts of research and experimentation, the myriad meetings, seminars and conferences, all of the articles, treatises and books, and the seemingly endless theorization, quantization and just plain speculation that have been engaged in regarding our evolving understanding of the quantum world, that world remains an enigma, even to the experts. The usefulness of general relativity in this regard has proven to be imperfect at best, but there is a new approach. We do not simply have to accept the limitations of Einstein's most celebrated theorem in regard to quantum theory; we can also embrace them, and thereby utilize them, to reveal new facts about the behavior of quantum systems within inertial and gravitational fields, and therefore about the very structure of space–time at the quantum level. By taking existing knowledge of the essential functionality of spin (along with the careful identification of the omnipresent inertial effects) and applying it to the quantum world, the book gives the reader a much clearer picture of the difference between the classical and quantum behaviors of a particle, shows that Einstein's ideas may not be as incompatible within this realm as many have come to believe, sparks new revelations of the way in which gravity affects quantum systems and brings a new level of efficiency—quantum efficiency, if you will—to the study of gravitational theory.

Spin glasses are disordered magnetic systems that have led to the development of mathematical tools with an array of real-world applications, from airline scheduling to neural networks. Spin Glasses and Complexity offers the most concise, engaging, and accessible introduction to the subject, fully explaining what spin glasses are, why they are important, and how they are opening up new ways of thinking about complexity. This one-of-a-kind guide to spin glasses begins by explaining the fundamentals of order and symmetry in condensed matter physics and how spin glasses fit into--and modify--this framework. It then explores how spin-glass concepts and ideas have found applications in areas as diverse as computational complexity, biological and artificial neural networks, protein folding, immune response maturation, combinatorial optimization, and social network modeling. Providing an essential overview of the history, science, and growing significance of this exciting field, Spin Glasses and Complexity also features a forward-looking discussion of what spin glasses may teach us in the future about complex systems. This is a must-have book for students and practitioners in the natural and social sciences, with new material even for the experts.

The purpose of this collective book is to present a non-exhaustive survey of sp- related phenomena in semiconductors with a focus on recent research. In some sense it may be regarded as an updated version of theOpticalOrientation book, which was entirely devoted to spin physics in bulk semiconductors. During the 24 years that have elapsed, we have witnessed, on the one hand, an extraordinary development in the wonderful semiconductor physics in two dim- sions with the accompanying revolutionary applications. On the other hand, during the last maybe 15 years there was a strong revival in the interest in spin phen- ena, in particular in low-dimensional semiconductor structures. While in the 1970s and 1980s the entire world population of researchers in the ?eld never exceeded 20 persons, now it can be counted by the hundreds and the number of publications by the thousands. This explosive growth is stimulated, to a large extent, by the hopes that the electron and/or nuclear spins in a semiconductor will help to accomplish the dream of factorizing large numbers by quantum computing and eventually to develop a new spin-based electronics, or “spintronics”. Whether any of this will happen or not, still remains to be seen. Anyway, these ideas have resulted in a large body of interesting and exciting research, which is a good thing by itself. The ?eld of spin physics in semiconductors is extremely rich and interesting with many spectacular effects in optics and transport.

The 9th International Symposium on High Energy Spin Physics, held in Bonn, 6-15 September 1990, attracted 280 participants from 16 countries. This meet ing covered not only fundamental experimental and theoretical spin phenomena but also technological developments in polarized beams and targets. For the first time intermediate energy spin physics with electron machines was discussed extensively. Highlights included the work on polarized high energy electron beams at LEP and TRISTAN and the failure of the standard model in connection with spin phenomena, in particular the growth of the spin asymmetry in violent proton-proton scattering. Also the presentation of different models in con nection with the still-unsolved 'proton spin crisis' and the proposals for four different experiments to determine the spin structure functions caused lively and sometimes controversial discussions. The Organizing Committee would like to thank all speakers for their excel lent talks, the conveners for the organization of the parallel sessions, and the International Advisory Committee for their advice. Four workshops preceded the symposium. 160 participants, among them many young physicists, discussed mainly technological spin problems. These papers are published in separate proceedings. We gratefully acknowledge the enthusiastic help of the members of our institute in preparing and running the conference and the workshops, especially Mrs. D. FaSbender, Mrs. E. Wendorf, Mrs. J. Wetzel, and Dr. U.Idschok.

The topic of lattice quantum spin systems is a fascinating and by now well established branch of theoretical physics. Based on a set of lectures, this book has a level of detail missing from others, and guides the reader through the fundamentals of the field.

This monograph is a fundamental reference for scientists and engineers who encounter spin processes in their work. The author, Ilya Kuprov, derives the concept of spin from basic symmetries and gives an overview of theoretical and computational aspects of spin dynamics: from Dirac equation and spin Hamiltonian, through coherent evolution and relaxation theories, to quantum optimal control, and all the way to practical implementation advice for parallel computers.

This superb new book is one of the first publications in recent years to provide a broad overview of this interdisciplinary field. Most of the book is written in a self contained manner, assuming only a general knowledge of statistical mechanics and basic probabilty theory . It provides the reader with a sound introduction to the field and to the analytical techniques necessary to follow its most recent developments