This text introduces the key concepts of superconductivity, superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensates, three extremely important and rapidly developing fields of research which are closely related intellectually, in spite of their very different physical systems. The topics are developed alongside the necessary mathematical tools and no previous knowledge of quantum many-body theory is necessary.

Table of Contents

1. Bose-Einstein condensates; 2. Superfluid helium-4; 3. Superconductivity; 4. The Ginzburg-Landau model; 5. The macroscopic coherent state; 6. The BCS theory of superconductivity; 7. Superfluid helium-3 and unconventional superconductivity; A. Solutions and hints to selected exercises

Reviews

"Annett (physics, University of Bristol) covers three main strands in condensed matter physics in this text for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Subjects are developed in a way which gradually builds up key concepts and the necessary mathematical machinery. The book begins with a review of basics of the Bose-Einstein ideal gas before going into techniques of magnetic trapping and cooling of atoms and the discovery of Bose-Einstein condensates in dilute atomic gases. The physical phenomena of superfluidity are then introduced, and the theory of superconductivity is developed in stages, starting with simpler theories and then developing the mathematical concepts of a quantum coherent state. --SciTech Book News