Starting from first principles, this book introduces the closely related
phenomena of Bose condensation and Cooper pairing, in which a very large
number of single particles or pairs of particles are forced to behave in
exactly the same way, and explores their consequences in condensed
matter
systems.
Eschewing advanced formal methods, the author uses simple concepts and
arguments to account for the various qualitatively new phenomena which
occur in Bose-condensed and Cooper-paired systems, including but not
limited to the spectacular macroscopic phenomena of superconductivity
and superfluidity.
The physical systems discussed include liquid 4-He, the BEC alkali
gases, 'classical' superconductors, superfluid 3-He, 'exotic'
superconductors and the recently stabilized Fermi alkali gases. The book
should be accessible to beginning graduate students in physics or
advanced undergraduates.