Physics of Atoms and Quanta

Since a new edition of our book has once again become necessary, we have as be- fore taken the opportunity to include the latest developments in atomic and quantum physics. These areas continue to yield new and fascinating experimental and theoret- ical results which are of fundamental importance and are also extremely interesting to students of science. As a result of newly developed experimental methods and theoretical techniques, it has also become possible to find solutions to some long-es- tablished problems. In this spirit we have added an entire new chapter dealing with entangled wavefunctions, the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, Bell's inequalities, the paradox of Schrodinger's cat and the concept of decoherence. In addition, we have treated new ideas relating to quantum computers and the numerous quantum- physical schemes for constructing them. These new concepts exemplify the rapidly- developing area of quantum information. Finally, in this new chapter we have included the experimental realisation of the Bose-Einstein condensation and of the atom laser, which promise important new ap- plications. In Chap. 22, "e;Modern methods of optical spectroscopy"e;, we have added a new section on nondestructive photon detection as an example of efficient methods for investigating the interactions between atoms and photons in resonant cavities. Con- sidering the current importance of these areas, we emphasize references to the origi- nal literature. These can be found in the Bibliography.