Shell Effects in Finite Quantum Systems

The shell structure of atoms, underlying the periodic table, was explained with the advent of quantum physics. The study of nuclear stabilities led to the formulation of the nuclear shell model in 1949. And twenty-five years ago the electronic shell structure of metal nanoclusters was discovered. The aim of the School is to highlight the unity of physical principles that manifest themselves in systems as diverse as atoms, nuclei, clusters, confined quantum gases, nanostructures, quantum dots, nanowires. These areas are widely different in terms of energy scales and other physical characteristics, but their properties are strongly influenced by the quantization of motion of their constituent fermions. Furthermore, these quantum-scale phenomena have important practical implications. It is hoped that the diversity and the underlying universality of the physics presented at the School will make it rewardingly interdisciplinary and synergistic.

The school is aimed at graduate students, postdocs, and other researchers. There will be five three-hour morning lecture sessions and two two-hour evening sessions. In addition to the lectures, there will be poster sessions where the attendees will be able to present their own research, and ample opportunities for individual discussions.

Topics:
Metal nanoclusters, nuclei, atoms and quantum gases, quantum dots and nanowires, superfluid nanodroplets, droplets and stabilities, semiclassical and chaotic dynamics, thermodynamics of finite systems, collective excitations

Lecturers:
G. Benedek, O. Bohigas, L. Gaudefroy, C. Guet, K. Hansen, W. de Heer, B. von Issendorff, V. Kresin, A. Obertelli, M. Raizen, S. Reimann, J. van Ruitenbeek.