Good starting points will be different oracle pages:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/performance/
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/gc-tuning-6-140523.html
and
http://www.javaperformancetuning.com/
Books are available from i.e. from O'Reilly or safari-books online.
'Java Enterprise performance' is also advisable (but I don't know ATM whether it is available in English).
You might also read the articles of Peter Johnson here http://www.cmg.org/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=java+peter+johnson&x=30&y=10