Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support of my family, friends,
and a large number of colleagues with whom I am happy to collaborate on this and
related topics. I particularly would like to thank Dr. P. Kapralov, Dr. A. Kiselev,
Dr. A. Ryzhov, Prof. M. Dressel, Dr. A. Pronin, Prof. A. Volkov, Dr. V. Tikhonov,
Prof. J. Maier, Prof. I. Ryzhkin, Prof. A. Loidl, Dr. P. Lunkenheimer,
Prof. J. Petzelt, Prof. V. Mikhalevich, Prof. T. Leisner, Prof. Yu. Feldman,
Prof. A. Shein, Prof. G. Tsirlina, Dr. E. Uykur, Prof. N. Agmon,
Prof. D. Shalashilin, Dr. A. Burnett, Prof. V. Shcherbakov, Prof. H. Ouerdane,
Prof. K. Stevenson, and Mr. D. Connolly for their contribution, valuable advice,
and fair criticism, all of which were important on the different stages of the
preparation of the manuscript.
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