Equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of correlated many-body systems are of growing interest in many fields of physics, including condensed matter, dense plasmas, nuclear matter and particles. The most powerful and general method which applies equally to all these areas is given by quantum field theory.

Written by the leading experts and understandable to non-specialists, this book provides an overview on the basic ideas and concepts of the method of nonequilibrium Green's functions. It is complemented by modern applications of the method to a variety of topics, such as optics and transport in dense plasmas and semiconductors; correlations, bound states and coherence; strong field effects and short-pulse lasers; nuclear matter, high energy physics and QCD.