Two topics in the forefront of superconductor research--superconductor-insulator transition in thin films and vortex tunneling in granular, bulk, and high temperature superconductors--have never before been given a unified and deductive treatment. This monograph and text provides a much-needed, comprehensive introduction to the theory of quantum fluctuations in inhomogenous superconducting materials. It be will be of great use to students and researchers in disciplines such as superconductivity, many-body systems, phase transitions, submicron physics, and surface science.
This volume is a collection of lectures on the current topics in various areas of physics which were presented at the Inauguration Conference of Asia-Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics.
Theory of Superconductivity: From Weak to Strong Coupling leads the reader from basic principles through detailed derivations and a description of the many interesting phenomena in conventional and high-temperature superconductors. The book describes physical properties of novel superconductors, in particular, the normal state, superconducting crit
Named a Top Five Book of 2011 by Physics Today, USA.The BCS theory of superconductivity developed in 1957 by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer has been remarkably successful in explaining the properties of superconductors. In addition, concepts from BCS have been incorporated into diverse fields of physics, from nuclear physics and dense quark matter to the current standard model. Practical applications include SQUIDs, magnetic resonance imaging, superconducting electronics and the transmission of electricity. This invaluable book is a compilation of both a historical account and a discussion of the current state of theory and experiment.With contributions from many prominent scientists, it aims to introduce students and researchers to the origins, the impact and the current state of the BCS theory.
The workshop entitled Magnetic Susceptibility of Superconductors and other Spin Systems (S4) was held at Coolfont Resort and Health Spa. located near Berkley Springs West Virginia on May 20-23. 1991. There were over sixty attendees. approximately half from the United States. the remainder representing over twelve different countries. The international character of the workshop may be gleaned form the attendee list, included in this volume. The intent of the workshop was to bring together those experimentalists and theoreticians whose efforts have resulted in significant recent contributions to the development and use of the ac susceptibility technique as well as to the interpretation of data obtained from these measurements. Many spirited discussions occurred during and after the presentations. These are reflected in the manuscripts contained in these proceedings. Although camera ready manuscripts were required from all participants at registration, all manuscripts were revised and reflect the lively exchanges that followed each presentation. The small size of the workshop allowed the participants a high degree of flexibility. Consequently when a controversial topic such as "the irreversibility line" emerged, a special session was organized on the spot. At the suggestion of Ron Goldfarb, participants were invited to contribute a one page summary containing their thoughts on the topic. These stand alone contributions were retyped and included as submitted, with only minor editorial changes. These proceedings are intended for those experienced scientists new to the field and graduate students just beginning their research.
Electron tunnelling spectroscopy is a research tool which has strongly advanced understanding of superconductivity. With the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, STM, by Nobelists G. Binnig and H. Rohrer, beautiful images of atoms, rings of atoms and of exotic states in high temperature superconductors have appeared. Some of the most famous images of any kind, at this date, are STM topographs. This book explains the physics and the instrumentation behind the advances illustrated in the famous images, and summarizes the state of knowledge that has resulted. It presents the current state of the art of tunneling- and scanning tunneling spectroscopies of atoms, molecules and especially superconductors. The first edition of Principles of Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy has been a standard reference for active researchers for many years. This second edition fully embraces the advances represented by the scanning tunnelling microscope and, especially, scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. Stunning images of single atoms and spectral images of impurity states in high temperature superconductors will set this volume apart from its predecessor. The background and current status are provided for applications of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy to single atoms and molecules, including determination of bonding energies and vibrational frequencies. The applications to high temperature superconductivity are carefully introduced and the current status is described. A new section covers the astounding advances in instrumentation, which now routinely provide atomic resolution, and, in addition, developments in imaging and image processing, such as Fourier Transform Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy.
This book provides a theoretical, step-by-step comprehensive explanation of superconductivity for undergraduate and graduate students who have completed elementary courses on thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. To this end, it adopts the unique approach of starting with the statistical mechanics of quantum ideal gases and successively adding and clarifying elements and techniques indispensible for understanding it. They include the spin-statistics theorem, second quantization, density matrices, the Bloch–De Dominicis theorem, the variational principle in statistical mechanics, attractive interaction and bound states. Ample examples of their usage are also provided in terms of topics from advanced statistical mechanics such as two-particle correlations of quantum ideal gases, derivation of the Hartree–Fock equations, and Landau’s Fermi-liquid theory, among others. With these preliminaries, the fundamental mean-field equations of superconductivity are derived with maximum mathematical clarity based on a coherent state in terms of the Cooper-pair creation operator, a quasiparticle field for describing the excitation and the variational principle in statistical mechanics. They have the advantage that the phase coherence due to the Cooper-pair condensation can be clearly seen making the superfluidity comprehensible naturally. Subsequently, they are applied to homogeneous cases to describe the BCS theory for classic s-wave superconductors and its extension to the p-wave superfluidity of 3He. Later, the mean-field equations are simplified to the Eilenberger and Ginzburg–Landau equations so as to describe inhomogeneous superconductivity such as Abrikosov’s flux-line lattice concisely and transparently. Chapters provide the latest studies on the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity and a discovery of p-wave superfluidity in liquid 3He. The book serves as a standard reference for advanced courses of statistical mechanics with exercises along with detailed answers.
