The rapid development of quantum technologies has driven a revolution in related research areas such as quantum computation and communication, and quantum materials. The first prototypes of functional quantum devices are beginning to appear, frequently created using ensembles of atoms, which allow the observation of sensitive, quantum effects, and have important applications in quantum simulation and matter wave interferometry. This modern text offers a self-contained introduction to the fundamentals of quantum atom optics and atomic many-body matter wave systems. Assuming a familiarity with undergraduate quantum mechanics, this book will be accessible for graduate students and early career researchers moving into this important new field. A detailed description of the underlying theory of quantum atom optics is given, before development of the key, quantum, technological applications, such as atom interferometry, quantum simulation, quantum metrology, and quantum computing.

Quantum mechanics does away with the distinction between particles and waves, and one of the more interesting implications of the wave/particle duality - the discovery that atoms may be manipulated in ways analogous to the manipulation of light with lenses and mirrors - has formed the basis for the relatively new field of atom optics. Pierre Meystre's Atom Optics is the first book entirely devoted to this exciting area of research. Reference links to the leading journals in the field, links to research sites, graphics, and updates can be found online.

An in-depth and wide-ranging introduction to the field of quantum optics.

Quantum Optics gives a comprehensive coverage of developments in quantum optics over the past twenty years. In the early chapters the formalism of quantum optics is elucidated and the main techniques are introduced. These are applied in the later chapters to problems such as squeezed states of light, resonance fluorescence, laser theory, quantum theory of four-wave mixing, quantum non-demolition measurements, Bell's inequalities, and atom optics. Experimental results are used to illustrate the theory throughout. This yields the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of experiment and theory in quantum optics in any textbook.

This thesis explores ultracold quantum gases of bosonic and fermionic atoms in optical lattices. The highly controllable experimental setting discussed in this work, has opened the door to new insights into static and dynamical properties of ultracold quantum matter. One of the highlights reported here is the development and application of a novel time-resolved spectroscopy technique for quantum many-body systems. By following the dynamical evolution of a many-body system after a quantum quench, the author shows how the important energy scales of the underlying Hamiltonian can be measured with high precision. This achievement, its application, and many other exciting results make this thesis of interest to a broad audience ranging from quantum optics to condensed matter physics. A lucid style of writing accompanied by a series of excellent figures make the work accessible to readers outside the rapidly growing research field of ultracold atoms.

The counter-intuitive aspects of quantum physics have been long illustrated by thought experiments, from Einstein's photon box to Schrödinger's cat. These experiments have now become real, with single particles - electrons, atoms, or photons - directly unveiling the strange features of the quantum. State superpositions, entanglement and complementarity define a novel quantum logic which can be harnessed for information processing, raising great hopes for applications. This book describes a class of such thought experiments made real. Juggling with atoms and photons confined in cavities, ions or cold atoms in traps, is here an incentive to shed a new light on the basic concepts of quantum physics. Measurement processes and decoherence at the quantum-classical boundary are highlighted. This volume, which combines theory and experiments, will be of interest to students in quantum physics, teachers seeking illustrations for their lectures and new problem sets, researchers in quantum optics and quantum information.

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.