“I really enjoyed reading this work. It is very well written, by three real experts in the field. It stands quite alone....” (John R. Taylor, Professor of Physics and Presidential Teaching Scholar, University of Colorado at Boulder)

This course-tested book explains in detail the theory of linear Hilbert-space operators and their use in quantum physics. The central mathematical tool of the book is the spectral theory of self-adjoint operators; in order to make the exposition self-contained, selected topics of functional analysis are included. An introduction to the theory of operator sets and algebras is also presented. This mathematical material is then used for a systematic analysis of the operator structure of quantum theory. Logical building of the theory is discussed as well as its practical aspects, such as spectral properties of quantum mechanical Hamiltonians, scattering theory, and more.

The second edition was extended by two new chapters devoted to properties of quantum waveguides and quantum graphs. The bibliography was amended by about 130 new items.

Jirí Blank graduated in 1961 from Czech Technical University and got his PhD from Charles University. Until his premature death in 1990 he was active in mathematical-physics research and teaching. He educated many excellent students.

Pavel Exner graduated in 1969 from Charles University. From 1978 to 1990 he worked in Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, where he got his PhD and DSc degrees. After the return to Prague he headed a mathematical-physics group in the Nuclear Physics Institute of Academy of Sciences and became a professor of theoretical physics at Charles University. He authored over 150research papers to which more than thousand citations can be found. At present he is a vice president of European Mathematical Society and secretary of IUPAP commission for mathematical physics.

Miloslav Havlícek graduated in 1961 from Czech Technical University; he got his PhD from Charles University and DSc at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna. He wrote numerous papers on algebraic methods in quantum physics. From 1990 he served repeatedly as dean of the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering and head of the Department of Mathematics.