Brief review of relaxation and transport theories

Abstract

In this chapter we will rather briefly mention well-established approaches to relaxation and transport behavior in quantum systems. This is not meant to be a comprehensive review of all approaches concerning those complex fields of theoretical physics, but an overview of concepts and central ideas. To learn more about the discussed topics, the interested reader is referred to the substantial secondary literature which is cited in this chapter. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.