The term 'nonclassical states' refers to the quantum states that cannot be produced in the usual sources of light, such as lasers or lamps, rather than those requiring more sophisticated apparatus for their production. Theory of Non-classical States of Light describes the current status of the theory of nonclassical states of light including many new and important results as well as introductory material and the history of the subject. The authors concentrate on the most important types of nonclassical states, namely squeezed, even/odd ('Schrodinger cat') and binomial states, including their generalizations. However, a review of other types of nonclassical is also given in the introduction, and methods for generating nonclassical states on various processes of light-matter interaction, their phase-space description, and the time evolution of nonclassical states in these processes is presented in separate chapters. This contributed volume contains all of the necessary formulae and references required to gain a good understanding of the principles and current status of the field. It will provide a valuable information resource for advanced students and researchers in quantum physics.

Contents:Relationships Between q-Deformations, Typical Length Scales and Lower Measurability Bounds (E Papp)Description of Kerr States via Deformed Bosons (A I Solomon et al.)Quantum Mechanics on Phase Spaces ZN x ZN (J Tolar)Continuous Fuzzy Measurement of Energy: Realization and Application (J Audretsch)Decoherence and the Final Pointer Basis (M Castagnino & R Laura)On Hybrid Dynamics of the Copenhagen Dichotomic World (L Diósi)Storage and Read-Out of Quantum-State Information via Interference (M Freyberger et al.)Is There a Gravitational Collapse of the Wave-Packet? (H-J Schmidt)Operators and Maps Affiliated to EPR Channels (A Uhlmann)Reconstruction of Quantum States and Its Conceptual Implications (S Weigert)Geometric Formulation of Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics for Density Matrices (P Bóna)Fundamental Principles of Quantum Mechanics and Non(Linearity) (R Cirelli et al.)Nonlinear von Neumann-Type Equations (M Czachor et al.)Some Aspects of Nonlinearity and Gauge Transformation in Quantum Mechanics (G A Goldin)On a Theorem of Ashtekar and Lewandowski in the Mathematical Framework of Canonical Quantization in Quantum Gravity (H Baumgärtel)The Fuzzy (Super)Sphere and Field Theory (H Grosse & G Reiter)Quantum Fields Along Worldlines (M Keyl)Field Theory Revisited (C Piron)and other papers Readership: Mathematical physicists. Keywords:

The first quantum revolution started in the early 20th century and gave us new rules that govern physical reality. Accordingly, many devices that changed dramatically our lifestyle, such as transistors, medical scanners and lasers, appeared in the market. This was the origin of quantum technology, which allows us to organize and control the components of a complex system governed by the laws of quantum physics. This is in sharp contrast to conventional technology, which can only be understood within the framework of classical mechanics. We are now in the middle of a second quantum revolution. Although quantum mechanics is nowadays a mature discipline, quantum engineering as a technology is now emerging in its own right. We are about to manipulate and sense individual particles, measuring and exploiting their quantum properties. This is bringing major technical advances in many different areas, including computing, sensors, simulations, cryptography and telecommunications. The present collection of selected papers is a clear demonstration of the tremendous vitality of the field. The issue is composed of contributions from world leading researchers in quantum optics and quantum information, and presents viewpoints, both theoretical and experimental, on a variety of modern problems.

Quantum Optics in Phase Space provides a concise introduction to the rapidly moving field of quantum optics from the point of view of phase space. Modern in style and didactically skillful, Quantum Optics in Phase Space prepares students for their own research by presenting detailed derivations, many illustrations and a large set of workable problems at the end of each chapter. Often, the theoretical treatments are accompanied by the corresponding experiments. An exhaustive list of references provides a guide to the literature. Quantum Optics in Phase Space also serves advanced researchers as a comprehensive reference book. Starting with an extensive review of the experiments that define quantum optics and a brief summary of the foundations of quantum mechanics the author Wolfgang P. Schleich illustrates the properties of quantum states with the help of the Wigner phase space distribution function. His description of waves ala WKB connects semi-classical phase space with the Berry phase. These semi-classical techniques provide deeper insight into the timely topics of wave packet dynamics, fractional revivals and the Talbot effect. Whereas the first half of the book deals with mechanical oscillators such as ions in a trap or atoms in a standing wave the second half addresses problems where the quantization of the radiation field is of importance. Such topics extensively discussed include optical interferometry, the atom-field interaction, quantum state preparation and measurement, entanglement, decoherence, the one-atom maser and atom optics in quantized light fields. Quantum Optics in Phase Space presents the subject of quantum optics as transparently as possible. Giving wide-ranging references, it enables students to study and solve problems with modern scientific literature. The result is a remarkably concise yet comprehensive and accessible text- and reference book - an inspiring source of information and insight for students, teachers and researchers alike.

This volume gives a representative survey of recent developments in relativistic and non-relativistic quantum theory, which are related to the application of symmetries in their most general sense. The corresponding mathematical notions are centered upon groups, algebras and their generalizations, and are applied in interaction with topology, differential geometry, functional analysis and related fields. Special emphasis is on results in the following areas: quantization methods, nonlinear evolution equations, foundation of quantum physics, algebraic quantum field theory, gauge and string theories, quantum information, quantum groups, discrete symmetries.

Proceedings an International Symposium held in Bregenz, Austria, July 13-18, 1997