The description of inclusive production of single unpolarized light hadrons using fragmentation functions in the framework of the factorization theorem is reviewed. The factorization of observables into perturbatively calculable quantities and these universal fragmentation functions are summarized and some improvements beyond the standard fixed order approach are discussed. The extraction of fragmentation functions for light charged (${\pi }^{\pm }$, $K^{\pm }$, and $p∕\overline{p}$) and neutral ($K_S^0$ and $\Lambda ∕\overline{\Lambda }$) hadrons using these theoretical tools is discussed through global fits to experimental data from reactions at various colliders, in particular from accurate $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ reactions at the Large Electron-Position Collider (LEP), and the subsequent successful predictions of other experimental data, such as data gathered at Hadron Electron Ring Accelerator (HERA), the Tevatron, and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), from these fitted fragmentation functions as allowed by factorization universality. These global fits also impose competitive constraints on ${\alpha }_s\left(M_Z\right)$. Emphasis is placed on the need for accurate data from $pp\left(\overline{p}\right)$ and $ep$ reactions in which the hadron species is identified in order to constrain the separate fragmentation functions of the gluon and each quark flavor for each hadron species.

Although the vast majority of high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors are hole-doped, a small family of electron-doped compounds exists. Underinvestigated until recently, there has been tremendous recent progress in their characterization. A consistent view is being reached on a number of formerly contentious issues, such as their order-parameter symmetry, phase diagram, and normal-state electronic structure. Many other aspects have been revealed exhibiting both their similarities and differences with the hole-doped compounds. This review summarizes the current experimental status of these materials. This information is synthesized into a consistent view on a number of topics important to both this material class and the overall cuprate phenomenology including the phase diagram, the superconducting order-parameter symmetry, electron-phonon coupling, phase separation, the nature of the normal state, the role of competing orders, the spin-density wave mean-field description of the normal state, and pseudogap effects.

The nucleus is one of the most multifaceted many-body systems in the Universe. It exhibits a multitude of responses depending on the way one “probes” it. With increasing technical advancements of beams at the various accelerators and of detection systems the nucleus has, over and over again, surprised us by expressing always new ways of “organized” structures and layers of complexity. Nuclear magnetism is one of those fascinating faces of the atomic nucleus discussed in the present review. We shall not just limit ourselves to presenting the by now large data set that has been obtained in the past two decades using various probes, electromagnetic and hadronic alike and that presents ample evidence for a low-lying orbital scissors mode around $3\mathrm{MeV}$, albeit fragmented over an energy interval of the order of $1.5\mathrm{MeV}$, and higher-lying spin-flip strength in the energy region $5–9\mathrm{MeV}$ in deformed nuclei nor to the presently discovered evidence for low-lying proton-neutron isovector quadrupole excitations in spherical nuclei. To the contrary, the experimental evidence is put in the perspectives of understanding the atomic nucleus and its various structures of well-organized modes of motion and thus enlarges the discussion to more general fermion and bosonic many-body systems.

Rydberg atoms with principal quantum number $n⪢1$ have exaggerated atomic properties including dipole-dipole interactions that scale as $n^4$ and radiative lifetimes that scale as $n^3$. It was proposed a decade ago to take advantage of these properties to implement quantum gates between neutral atom qubits. The availability of a strong long-range interaction that can be coherently turned on and off is an enabling resource for a wide range of quantum information tasks stretching far beyond the original gate proposal. Rydberg enabled capabilities include long-range two-qubit gates, collective encoding of multiqubit registers, implementation of robust light-atom quantum interfaces, and the potential for simulating quantum many-body physics. The advances of the last decade are reviewed, covering both theoretical and experimental aspects of Rydberg-mediated quantum information processing.

Modern nanotechnology allows one to scale down various important devices (sensors, chips, fibers, etc.) and thus opens up new horizons for their applications. The efficiency of most of them is based on fundamental physical phenomena, such as transport of wave excitations and resonances. Short propagation distances make phase-coherent processes of waves important. Often the scattering of waves involves propagation along different paths and, as a consequence, results in interference phenomena, where constructive interference corresponds to resonant enhancement and destructive interference to resonant suppression of the transmission. Recently, a variety of experimental and theoretical work has revealed such patterns in different physical settings. The purpose of this review is to relate resonant scattering to Fano resonances, known from atomic physics. One of the main features of the Fano resonance is its asymmetric line profile. The asymmetry originates from a close coexistence of resonant transmission and resonant reflection and can be reduced to the interaction of a discrete (localized) state with a continuum of propagation modes. The basic concepts of Fano resonances are introduced, their geometrical and/or dynamical origin are explained, and theoretical and experimental studies of light propagation in photonic devices, charge transport through quantum dots, plasmon scattering in Josephson-junction networks, and matter-wave scattering in ultracold atom systems, among others are reviewed.

In a celebrated paper “Can one hear the shape of a drum?” M. Kac [Am. Math. Monthly 73, 1 (1966)] asked his famous question about the existence of nonisometric billiards having the same spectrum of the Laplacian. This question was eventually answered positively in 1992 by the construction of noncongruent planar isospectral pairs. This review highlights mathematical and physical aspects of isospectrality.

Signatures of criticality in the evolution of the nuclear ground-state shapes across the $N\times Z$ plane are discussed. Attention is paid to specific data indicating sudden structural changes in various isotopic and isotonic chains of medium-mass and heavy even-even nuclei, as well as to diverse theoretical aspects of the models used to describe these changes. The interacting boson model and the geometric collective model, in particular, are discussed in detail, the former providing global predictions for the evolution of collective observables in nuclei between closed shells and the latter yielding a parameter-efficient description of nuclei at the critical points of shape transitions. Some issues related to the mechanism of first- and second-order quantum phase transitions in general many-body systems are also outlined.

The hydrogen atom perturbed by sufficiently small homogeneous static electric and magnetic fields of arbitrary mutual alignment is a specific perturbation of the Kepler system with three degrees of freedom and three parameters. Normalization of the Keplerian symmetry reveals that the parameter space is stratified into resonant zones of systems, each zone with an internal dynamical stratification of its own (Efstathiou, Sadovskií, and Zhilinskií, 2007, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 463, 1771). Based on the fully integrable approximation, the bundle of invariant tori of individual systems within zones is characterized globally and the qualitative dynamical stratification is uncovered. The techniques involved in this analysis are illustrated with the example of the 1:1 resonance zone (near orthogonal fields) whose structure is known at present. Applications in the corresponding quantum system are also described.

This article reviews the progress made over the last $20\text{years}$ in the development and applications of liquid xenon detectors in particle physics, astrophysics, and medical imaging experiments. A summary of the fundamental properties of liquid xenon as radiation detection medium, in light of the most current theoretical and experimental information is first provided. After an introduction of the different type of liquid xenon detectors, a review of past, current, and future experiments using liquid xenon to search for rare processes and to image radiation in space and in medicine is given. Each application is introduced with a survey of the underlying scientific motivation and experimental requirements before reviewing the basic characteristics and expected performance of each experiment. Within this decade it appears likely that large volume liquid xenon detectors operated in different modes will contribute to answering some of the most fundamental questions in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, fulfilling the most demanding detection challenges. From detectors based solely on liquid xenon (LXe) scintillation, such as in the MEG experiment for the search of the rare “$\mu \to e\gamma$” decay, currently the largest liquid xenon detector in operation, and in the XMASS experiment for dark matter detection, to the class of time projection chambers which exploit both scintillation and ionization of LXe, such as in the XENON dark matter search experiment and in the Enriched Xenon Observatory for neutrinoless double beta decay, unrivaled performance and important contributions to physics in the next few years are anticipated.

This review article discusses the experimental and theoretical status of partonic charge symmetry. It is shown how the partonic content of various structure functions gets redefined when the assumption of charge symmetry is relaxed. Various theoretical and phenomenological models for charge-symmetry violation in parton distribution functions are reviewed. After summarizing the current experimental upper limits on charge-symmetry violation in parton distributions, a series of new experiments are proposed, which might reveal partonic charge-symmetry violation or alternatively might lower the current upper limits on parton charge-symmetry violation.

Ever since its discovery the notion of Berry phase has permeated through all branches of physics. Over the past three decades it was gradually realized that the Berry phase of the electronic wave function can have a profound effect on material properties and is responsible for a spectrum of phenomena, such as polarization, orbital magnetism, various (quantum, anomalous, or spin) Hall effects, and quantum charge pumping. This progress is summarized in a pedagogical manner in this review. A brief summary of necessary background is given and a detailed discussion of the Berry phase effect in a variety of solid-state applications. A common thread of the review is the semiclassical formulation of electron dynamics, which is a versatile tool in the study of electron dynamics in the presence of electromagnetic fields and more general perturbations. Finally, a requantization method is demonstrated that converts a semiclassical theory to an effective quantum theory. It is clear that the Berry phase should be added as an essential ingredient to our understanding of basic material properties.

In some of the first applications of modern quantum mechanics to the spectroscopy of many-electron atoms, Ettore Majorana in 1931 solved several outstanding problems by developing the theory of autoionization. Later literature makes only sporadic references to this accomplishment. After reviewing his work in its contemporary context, we describe subsequent developments in understanding the spectra treated by Majorana and extensions of his theory to other areas of physics. Several puzzles are found concerning the treatment of Majorana’s work in the subsequent literature and the way in which the modern theory of autoionization was developed.

Our understanding of the “long range” electrodynamic, electrostatic, and polar interactions that dominate the organization of small objects at separations beyond an interatomic bond length is reviewed. From this basic-forces perspective, a large number of systems are described from which one can learn about these organizing forces and how to modulate them. The many practical systems that harness these nanoscale forces are then surveyed. The survey reveals not only the promise of new devices and materials, but also the possibility of designing them more effectively.

Carbon nanotubes undoubtedly take a leading position in nanotechnology research owing to their well-known outstanding structural and electronic properties. Inspired by this, hybrid and functionalized tubular structures have been constructed via several modification paths that involve the presence of molecules, generation of defects, and partial or full replacement of the carbon atoms, always maintaining a nanotube structure. The possibilities are countless. However, this review is mainly dedicated to giving a fundamental insight into the concepts behind wall modification, doping, and formation of a carbon nanotube structure. Theoretical concepts and experimental achievements ranging from carbon nanotubes with low B or N doping to the new physics behind boron nitride nanotubes are covered. Furthermore, special attention is devoted to the bulk and local characterization tools employed with these materials, their suitability and limitations. The theoretical approaches to describing the physical and chemical properties of heteronanotubes are objectively analyzed versus the materials available at this moment.

Laser excitation of nanometer-sized atomic and molecular clusters offers various opportunities to explore and control ultrafast many-particle dynamics. Whereas weak laser fields allow the analysis of photoionization, excited-state relaxation, and structural modifications on these finite quantum systems, large-amplitude collective electron motion and Coulomb explosion can be induced with intense laser pulses. This review provides an overview of key phenomena arising from laser-cluster interactions with focus on nonlinear optical excitations and discusses the underlying processes according to the current understanding. A general survey covers basic cluster properties and excitation mechanisms relevant for laser-driven cluster dynamics. Then, after an excursion in theoretical and experimental methods, results for single-photon and multiphoton excitations are reviewed with emphasis on signatures from time- and angular-resolved photoemission. A key issue of this review is the broad spectrum of phenomena arising from clusters exposed to strong fields, where the interaction with the laser pulse creates short-lived and dense nanoplasmas. The implications for technical developments such as the controlled generation of ion, electron, and radiation pulses will be addressed along with corresponding examples. Finally, future prospects of laser-cluster research as well as experimental and theoretical challenges are discussed.

The light-matter interaction has been at the heart of major advances from the atomic scale right to the microscopic scale over the past four decades. Confinement by light, embodied by the area of optical trapping, has had a major influence across all of the natural sciences. However, an emergent and powerful topic within this field that has steadily merged but not gained much recognition is optical binding: the importance of exploring the optically mediated interaction between assembled objects that can cause attractive and repulsive forces and dramatically influence the way they assemble and organize themselves. This offers routes for colloidal self-assembly, crystallization, and organization of templates for biological and colloidal sciences. In this Colloquium, this emergent area is reviewed looking at the pioneering experiments in the field and the various theoretical approaches that aim to describe this behavior. The latest experimental studies in the field are reviewed and theoretical approaches are now beginning to converge to describe the binding behavior seen. Recent links between optical binding and nonlinearity are explored as well as future themes and challenges.