MabuchiLab Recommended Reading List

Here we maintain a list of some of the articles, books, and websites that we find to be particularly useful or important. Sorted by their applicability to the different research areas studied in MabuchiLab, the following references are excellent places to look to learn more about the things we care about.

Atomic Physics and Quantum Optics

• Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Jacques Dupont-Roc, & Gilbert Grynberg. Atom-Photon Interactions: Basic Processes and Applications. Wiley-Interscience. 1998.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: An excellent resource on atom-photon interactions, including absorption, emission, light shifts, and much, much more! Very useful for developing the intuition used in atomic spectroscopy and laser cooling and trapping. Short and sweet.
  
  
• Leonard Mandel & Emil Wolf. Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics. Cambridge University Press. 1995.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Provides both a classical and quantum description of the electromagnetic field, with an emphasis on coherence and fluctuations. Heavy on the theory of photoelectric detection of light. Also contains some useful theory on lasers and atom-light interactions.
  
  

Biophysics and Molecular Dynamics

• Shimon Weiss. "Measuring conformational dynamics of biomolecules by single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy." Nat. Struct. Biol. 7, 724-7 (2000).
  online
  
  MabuchiLab comments: A good, brief review article on single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and prospects for its future use in biological experiments. While the projects in our lab tend to be focused more on developing fundamental technology than on applications, this article still provides a fairly good introduction to the field and to things that we will eventually be more concerned with.
  
  

Classical Control Theory

• John Doyle, Bruce Francis and Allen Tannenbaum. Feedback Control Theory. Macmillan. 1992.
  online
  
  MabuchiLab comments: A clear introduction to robust control theory using frequency-domain methods. But assumes that the reader already knows some controls.
  
  
• O. L. R. Jacobs. Introduction to Control Theory. Oxford University Press. 1993.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Out of print, but worth it if you can get your hands on it. Clear and concise, with a very usable section on Kalman filtering.
  
  

General Interest

• Qwiki - Quantum Physics Wiki. http://qwiki.caltech.edu
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Qwiki is an online collection of technical resources for quantum physics and related disciplines hosted by MabuchiLab. Contribute what you know!
  
  

Probability and Stochastics

• B. Oksendal. Stochastic Differential Equations. Springer. 2000.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Another standard text on stochastic processes, which is a bit more modern than Arnold. This text requires somewhat more advanced knowledge of measure theory, and the emphasis is more on financial applications than on filtering and control.
  
  
• C. W. Gardiner. Handbook of Stochastic Methods. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 1985.
  
  
• L. Arnold. Stochastic Differential Equations: Theory and Applications. Wiley. 1974.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: One of the clearest introductory textbooks on the theory of stochastic processes. There is even some coverage of stochastic stability, filtering and optimal control in the later chapters.
  
  
• Morris Degroot. Probability and Statistics. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. 1986.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Standard but well-written mathematical statistics text. Fairly thorough coverage of point estimation.
  
  
• N. G. van Kampen. Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry. Elsevier B. V., Amsterdam. 1992.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Very clearly written overview of stochastic methods with emphasis on their application to physical systems. Its tendency to address difficult and practical problems has made it a favorite of ours. Don't leave home without it!
  
  

Quantum Filtering and Control

• Hans Maassen. "Quantum probability applied to the damped harmonic oscillator." Quantum Probability Communications XII, 23-58 (2003).
  online
  
  MabuchiLab comments: An extremely clear and well-written introductory article to the field of quantum probability.
  
  
• M.H.A. Davis and S.I. Marcus. in Stochastic Systems: the mathematics of filtering, identification and applications, M. Hazewinkel and J.C. Willems, eds.. D. Reidel. 1981.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: This article is an excellent introduction to classical nonlinear filtering.
  
  
• P. Biane. in Lectures on Probability Theory, Lecture Notes in Mathematics 1608, eds. P. Bernard. Springer. 1995.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Readable introduction to quantum stochastic calculus. Unfortunately, the text is in French.
  
  

Technical References

• Anthony E. Siegman. Lasers. University Science Books. 1986.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Classic resource on lasers and optical resonators. Unfortunately, does not contain a thorough description of laser diodes. No quantum mechanics required.
  
  
• Philip C. D. Hobbs. Building Electro-Optical Systems: Making it All Work. John Wiley & Sons. 2000.
  
  MabuchiLab comments: Provides a clear and often unique perspective on the technical aspects of optical signal generation and (especially) detection. Geared towards pratical applications and device construction. However, emphasis is often placed too heavily on efficiency and cost, which, let's face it, is irrelevant for a research lab.