The Physics of Phonons

This fully updated second edition of The Physics of Phonons remains the most comprehensive theoretical discussion devoted to the study of phonons, a major area of condensed matter physics.

It contains exciting new sections on phonon-related properties of solid surfaces, atomically thin materials (such as graphene and monolayer transition metal chalcogenides), in addition to nano- structures and nanocomposites, thermoelectric nanomaterials, and topological nanomaterials, with an entirely new chapter dedicated to topological nanophononics and chiralphononics. Although primarily theoretical in approach, the author refers to experimental results wherever possible, ensuring an ideal book for both experimental and theoretical researchers.

The author begins with an introduction to crystal symmetry and continues with a discussion of lattice dynamics in the harmonic approximation, including the traditional phenomenological approach and the more recent ab initio approach, detailed for the first time in this book. A discussion of anharmonicity is followed by the theory of lattice thermal conductivity, presented at a level far beyond that available in any other book. The chapter on phonon interactions is likewise more comprehensive than any similar discussion elsewhere. The sections on phonons in superlattices, impure and mixed crystals, quasicrystals, phonon spectroscopy, Kapitza resistance, and quantum evaporation also contain material appearing in book form for the first time. The book is complemented by numerous diagrams that aid understanding and is comprehensively referenced for further study. With its unprecedented wide coverage of the field, The Physics of Phonons is an indispensable guide for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers working in condensed matter physics and materials science.

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