Coherent atomic matter waves

The first part of this volume is devoted to several aspects of the Bose-Einstein condensation (light scattering, atomic interactions, symmetry breaking and optical properties). Experimental tests of this theory as well as recent experiments and experimental techniques in this field, are discussed. Atom interferometry, that has enabled a number of striking precision measurements in recent years is also detailed. The second part contains a series of topics related to wave behaviour in complex media: wave propagation in disordered media, the problem of the quantum behaviour of classically chaotic systems and the photonic band gap. The third part is dedicated to the quantum handling of systems with few atoms, but which may coupled to a large reservoir. Recent experiments on quantum decoherence and entanglement are presented. (A.C.)