Monique Combescot is a former student from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, (Maths and Physics major). In 1973, she obtained a PhD in many-body theory from the University of Paris, France (adviser Prof. Ph. Nozières). After a 2-year postdoc at Cornell University, USA, she returned as a research member of the CNRS in Paris, permanently. She likes teaching very much — she has been first at the "Aggregation de Physique". She has taught many undergraduate courses at the University and at Engineer Schools in Paris. Over the last two decades, she also gave various courses at the graduate level, in Paris and in many other places in the world. This book is based on one of these lectures.
Shiue-Yuan Shiau obtained B.S. in 1998 and M.S. in 2002 from National Taiwan University. He received his PhD in physics in 2007 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After postdoctoral positions in INAC/SPSM Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique de Grenoble, France, and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, he is research assistant professor at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.