Although used with increasing frequency in many branches of physics, random matrix ensembles are not always sufficiently specific to account for important features of the physical system at hand. One refinement which retains the basic stochastic approach but allows for such features consists in the use of embedded ensembles. The present text is an exhaustive introduction to and survey of this important field. Starting with an easy-to-read introduction to general random matrix theory, the text then develops the necessary concepts from the beginning, accompanying the reader to the frontiers of present-day research. With some notable exceptions, to date these ensembles have primarily been applied in nuclear spectroscopy. A characteristic example is the use of a random two-body interaction in the framework of the nuclear shell model. Yet, topics in atomic physics, mesoscopic physics, quantum information science and statistical mechanics of isolated finite quantum systems can also be addressed using these ensembles. This book addresses graduate students and researchers with an interest in applications of random matrix theory to the modeling of more complex physical systems and interactions, with applications such as statistical spectroscopy in mind.

This book a first comprehensive review on statistical spectroscopy deals with two related yet distinct topics a" averages and fluctuations. While fluctuations have been dealt with in considerable detail in Porter's book entitled Statistical Theories of Spectra: Fluctuations and subsequent reviews and books there does not exist at present a similar treatise on averages. This unique volume is designed to fill this significant gap.The book begins with an introductory review and overview of the subject of spectral distributions initiated by J Bruce French in the 60's followed by a collection of original papers which continue to give new insight on average properties of spectra. The purpose is to highlight the considerable advancements made in the application of statistical spectroscopy to nuclear structure and to encourage new directions in random matrix theory many-body chaos and statistical mechanics of finite quantum systems such as nuclei atoms molecules quantum dots etc.Along with Wong's book entitled Nuclear Statistical Spectroscopy this volume would be useful to a reader looking for a thorough introduction to the subject as well as to the specialist contemplating new applications. Finally with most of the material available in one place this book would be ideal in the design of graduate courses in statistical spectroscopy suited to specific needs.

This book provides an understandable review of SU(3) representations, SU(3) Wigner–Racah algebra and the SU(3) ⊃ SO(3) integrity basis operators, which are often considered to be difficult and are avoided by most nuclear physicists. Explaining group algebras that apply to specific physical systems and discussing their physical applications, the book is a useful resource for researchers in nuclear physics. At the same time it helps experimentalists to interpret data on rotational nuclei by using SU(3) symmetry that appears in a variety of nuclear models, such as the shell model, pseudo-SU(3) model, proxy-SU(3) model, symplectic Sp(6, R) model, various interacting boson models, various interacting boson–fermion models, and cluster models. In addition to presenting the results from all these models, the book also describes a variety of statistical results that follow from the SU(3) symmetry.

Random matrices are widely and successfully used in physics for almost 60-70 years, beginning with the works of Dyson and Wigner. Although it is an old subject, it is constantly developing into new areas of physics and mathematics. It constitutes now a part of the general culture of a theoretical physicist. Mathematical methods inspired by random matrix theory become more powerful, sophisticated and enjoy rapidly growing applications in physics. Recent examples include the calculation of universal correlations in the mesoscopic system, new applications in disordered and quantum chaotic systems, in combinatorial and growth models, as well as the recent breakthrough, due to the matrix models, in two dimensional gravity and string theory and the non-abelian gauge theories. The book consists of the lectures of the leading specialists and covers rather systematically many of these topics. It can be useful to the specialists in various subjects using random matrices, from PhD students to confirmed scientists.

In each generation, scientists must redefine their fields: abstracting, simplifying and distilling the previous standard topics to make room for new advances and methods. Sethna's book takes this step for statistical mechanics - a field rooted in physics and chemistry whose ideas and methods are now central to information theory, complexity, and modern biology. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and early graduate students in all of these fields, Sethna limits his main presentation to the topics that future mathematicians and biologists, as well as physicists and chemists, will find fascinating and central to their work. The amazing breadth of the field is reflected in the author's large supply of carefully crafted exercises, each an introduction to a whole field of study: everything from chaos through information theory to life at the end of the universe.