Lectures on The Physics of Extreme States of Matter

Containing a summary of the latest experimental and theoretical results on matter at high pressure and temperature, this book provides critical analysis of data and models ranging from matter in extreme states in the laboratory to the influence of laser radiation, relativistic heavy ion collisions, strongly coupled electromagnetic plasma, and extreme matter in astrophysics.

The aim of this book is the pedagogical exploration of the basic principles of quantum-statistical thermodynamics as applied to various states of matter – ranging from rare gases to astrophysical matter with high-energy density. The reader will learn in this work that thermodynamics and quantum statistics are still the concepts on which even the most advanced research is operating - despite of a flood of modern concepts, classical entities like temperature, pressure, energy and entropy are shown to remain fundamental.