ABSTRACT
Karyn Le Hur Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, U.S.A.
Spin-boson models are useful in the understanding of quantum optics, nuclear physics, quantum dissipation, and quantum computation. We discuss quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in various spin-boson Hamiltonians, and compare and contrast them. We summarize theoretical concepts and results; open questions and implementations of these ideas in cold atomic and QED cavity systems will also be addressed. The chapter is organized as follows.
