A DIALOGUE on the THEORY of HIGH Tc
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Joaquin M. Luttinger 1923–1997
Joaquin M. Luttinger 1923–1997 A Biographical Memoir by Walter Kohn ©2014 National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. JOAQUIN MAZDAK LUTTINGER December 2, 1923–April 6, 1997 Elected to the NAS, 1976 The brilliant mathematical and theoretical physicist Joaquin M. Luttinger died at the age of 73 years in the city of his birth, New York, which he deeply loved throughout his life. He had been in good spirits a few days earlier when he said to Walter Kohn (WK), his longtime collaborator and friend, that he was dying a happy man thanks to the loving care during his last illness by his former wife, Abigail Thomas, and by his stepdaughter, Jennifer Waddell. Luttinger’s work was marked by his exceptional ability to illuminate physical properties and phenomena through Visual Archives. Emilio Segrè Photograph courtesy the use of appropriate and beautiful mathematics. His writings and lectures were widely appreciated for their clarity and fine literary quality. With Luttinger’s death, an By Walter Kohn influential voice that helped shape the scientific discourse of his time, especially in condensed-matter physics, was stilled, but many of his ideas live on. For example, his famous 1963 paper on condensed one-dimensional fermion systems, now known as Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids,1, 2 or simply Luttinger liquids, continues to have a strong influence on research on 1-D electronic dynamics. In the 1950s and ’60s, Luttinger also was one of the great figures who helped construct the present canon of classic many-body theory while at the same time laying founda- tions for present-day revisions. -
Arxiv:Cond-Mat/0106256 V1 13 Jun 2001
Quantum Phenomena in Low-Dimensional Systems Michael R. Geller Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2451 (June 18, 2001) A brief summary of the physics of low-dimensional quantum systems is given. The material should be accessible to advanced physics undergraduate students. References to recent review articles and books are provided when possible. I. INTRODUCTION transverse eigenfunction and only the plane wave factor changes. This means that motion in those transverse di- A low-dimensional system is one where the motion rections is \frozen out," leaving only motion along the of microscopic degrees-of-freedom, such as electrons, wire. phonons, or photons, is restricted from exploring the full This article will provide a very brief introduction to three dimensions of our world. There has been tremen- the physics of low-dimensional quantum systems. The dous interest in low-dimensional quantum systems dur- material should be accessible to advanced physics under- ing the past twenty years, fueled by a constant stream graduate students. References to recent review articles of striking discoveries and also by the potential for, and and books are provided when possible. The fabrication of realization of, new state-of-the-art electronic device ar- low-dimensional structures is introduced in Section II. In chitectures. Section III some general features of quantum phenomena The paradigm and workhorse of low-dimensional sys- in low dimensions are discussed. The remainder of the tems is the nanometer-scale semiconductor structure, or article is devoted to particular low-dimensional quantum semiconductor \nanostructure," which consists of a com- systems, organized by their \dimension." positionally varying semiconductor alloy engineered at the atomic scale [1]. -
Chicago Physics One
CHICAGO PHYSICS ONE 3:25 P.M. December 02, 1942 “All of us... knew that with the advent of the chain reaction, the world would never be the same again.” former UChicago physicist Samuel K. Allison Physics at the University of Chicago has a remarkable history. From Albert Michelson, appointed by our first president William Rainey Harper as the founding head of the physics department and subsequently the first American to win a Nobel Prize in the sciences, through the mid-20th century work led by Enrico Fermi, and onto the extraordinary work being done in the department today, the department has been a constant source of imagination, discovery, and scientific transformation. In both its research and its education at all levels, the Department of Physics instantiates the highest aspirations and values of the University of Chicago. Robert J. Zimmer President, University of Chicago Welcome to the inaugural issue of Chicago Physics! We are proud to present the first issue of Chicago Physics – an annual newsletter that we hope will keep you connected with the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago. This newsletter will introduce to you some of our students, postdocs and staff as well as new members of our faculty. We will share with you good news about successes and recognition and also convey the sad news about the passing of members of our community. You will learn about the ongoing research activities in the Department and about events that took place in the previous year. We hope that you will become involved in the upcoming events that will be announced. -
Emergence and Reductionism: an Awkward Baconian Alliance
Emergence and Reductionism: an awkward Baconian alliance Piers Coleman1;3 1Center for Materials Theory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, 136 Frelinghuysen Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019, USA and 2 Department of Physics, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK. Abstract This article discusses the relationship between emergence and reductionism from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. Reductionism and emergence play an intertwined role in the everyday life of the physicist, yet we rarely stop to contemplate their relationship: indeed, the two are often regarded as conflicting world-views of science. I argue that in practice, they compliment one-another, forming an awkward alliance in a fashion envisioned by the philosopher scientist, Francis Bacon. Looking at the historical record in classical and quantum physics, I discuss how emergence fits into a reductionist view of nature. Often, a deep understanding of reductionist physics depends on the understanding of its emergent consequences. Thus the concept of energy was unknown to Newton, Leibniz, Lagrange or Hamilton, because they did not understand heat. Similarly, the understanding of the weak force awaited an understanding of the Meissner effect in superconductivity. Emergence can thus be likened to an encrypted consequence of reductionism. Taking examples from current research, including topological insulators and strange metals, I show that the convection between emergence and reductionism continues to provide a powerful driver for frontier scientific research, linking the lab with the cosmos. Article to be published by Routledge (Oxford and New York) as part of a volume entitled arXiv:1702.06884v2 [physics.hist-ph] 7 Dec 2017 \Handbook of Philosophy of Emergence", editors Sophie Gibb, Robin Hendry and Tom Lancaster. -
2016 Annual Report Vision
“Perimeter Institute is now one of the world’s leading centres in theoretical physics, if not the leading centre.” – Stephen Hawking, Emeritus Lucasian Professor, University of Cambridge 2016 ANNUAL REPORT VISION To create the world's foremostcentre for foundational theoretlcal physics, uniting publlc and private partners, and the world's best scientific minds, in a shared enterprise to achieve breakthroughs that will transform ourfuture CONTENTS Welcome . .2 Message from the Board Chair . 4 Message from the Institute Director . 6 Research . .8 At the Quantum Frontier . 10 Exploring Exotic Matter . .12 A New Window to the Cosmos . .14 A Holographic Revolution . .16 Honours, Awards, and Major Grants . .18 Recruitment . 20 Research Training . .24 Research Events . 26 Linkages . 28 Educational Outreach and Public Engagement . 30 Advancing Perimeter’s Mission . .36 Blazing New Paths . 38 Thanks to Our Supporters . .40 Governance . 42 Facility . 46 Financials . .48 Looking Ahead: Priorities and Objectives for the Future . 53 Appendices . 54 This report covers the activities and finances of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics from August 1, 2015, to July 31, 2016 . Photo credits The Royal Society: Page 5 Istock by Getty Images: 11, 13, 17, 18 Adobe Stock: 23, 28 NASA: 14, 36 WELCOME Just one breakthrough in theoretical physics can change the world. Perimeter Institute is an independent research centre located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, which was created to accelerate breakthroughs in our understanding of the cosmos. Here, scientists seek to discover how the universe works at all scales – from the smallest particle to the entire cosmos. Their ideas are unveiling our remote past and enabling the technologies that will shape our future. -
K. Alex Müller Nobel Prize in Physics 1987
K. Alex Müller Nobel Prize in Physics 1987 is convinced that he at last has a water- no one took him seriously. “Exactly tight explanation for the phenomenon that motivated me. I wanted to swim that he and J. Georg Bednorz discovered against the current.” 28 years ago: High-temperature super- He says that he owes his persistence conductivity in copper oxides. This and his desire to think outside the box should bring a decades-long dispute to his childhood, which was not easy, to a happy end, at least from Müller’s as Müller explains. The son of a sales- perspective. With his explanation, how- man and grandson of a chocolate man- ever, Müller has launched a new debate ufacturer, Karl Alex spent part of his on the distribution of matter in the uni- childhood in Lugano. After the early verse. But more of that later. death of his mother, when he was just Erice, Sicily, summer 1983: K. Alex eleven, he went to boarding school in Müller is sitting on a bench in the cas- Schiers. Holidays were spent with his Nobel Prize in Physics 1987 “for the tle grounds and enjoying the view. As pioneering discovery of super- he gazes into the distance, his mind K. Alex Müller was 56 when conductivity in ceramic materials” buzzes with ideas. He had just listened he decided to take on a new to a lecture by Harry Thomas which * 20 April 1927 in Basel challenge – researching dealt with the possible existence of superconductors. 1962–1970 Privatdozent Jahn-Teller polarons – “quasi-parti- 1970–1987 Adjunct Professor cles” that occur when electrons move 1987–1994 Professor of Solid-State Physics through a crystal lattice. -
Popular Science Background
THE NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS 2016 POPULAR SCIENCE BACKGROUND Strange phenomena in matter’s fatlands This year’s Laureates opened the door on an unknown world where matter exists in strange states. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 is awarded with one half to David J. Thouless, University of Washington, Seattle, and the other half to F. Duncan M. Haldane, Princeton University, and J. Michael Kosterlitz, Brown Univer- sity, Providence. Their discoveries have brought about breakthroughs in the theoretical understanding of matter’s mysteries and created new perspectives on the development of innovative materials. David Thouless, Duncan Haldane, and Michael Kosterlitz have used advanced mathematical methods to explain strange phenomena in unusual phases (or states) of matter, such as superconductors, super- fuids or thin magnetic flms. Kosterlitz and Thouless have studied phenomena that arise in a fat world – on surfaces or inside extremely thin layers that can be considered two-dimensional, compared to the three dimensions (length, width and height) with which reality is usually described. Haldane has also studied matter that forms threads so thin they can be considered one-dimensional. The physics that takes place in the fatlands is very dif- ferent to that we recognise in the world around us. Even if very thinly distributed matter consists of millions of atoms, and even if each atom’s behaviour can be explai- Plasma ned using quantum physics, atoms display completely diferent properties when lots of them come together. New collective phenomena are being continually disco- vered in these fatlands, and condensed matter physics is now one of the most vibrant felds in physics. -
Contributions of Civilizations to International Prizes
CONTRIBUTIONS OF CIVILIZATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL PRIZES Split of Nobel prizes and Fields medals by civilization : PHYSICS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 CHEMISTRY .................................................................................................................................................................... 2 PHYSIOLOGY / MEDECINE .............................................................................................................................................. 3 LITERATURE ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ECONOMY ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 MATHEMATICS (Fields) .................................................................................................................................................. 5 PHYSICS Occidental / Judeo-christian (198) Alekseï Abrikossov / Zhores Alferov / Hannes Alfvén / Eric Allin Cornell / Luis Walter Alvarez / Carl David Anderson / Philip Warren Anderson / EdWard Victor Appleton / ArthUr Ashkin / John Bardeen / Barry C. Barish / Nikolay Basov / Henri BecqUerel / Johannes Georg Bednorz / Hans Bethe / Gerd Binnig / Patrick Blackett / Felix Bloch / Nicolaas Bloembergen -
From the President New Program to Boost Membership
July August 2011 · Volume 20, Number 4 New Program to From the President Boost Membership igma Xi’s new Member-Get-A-Member Dear Colleagues and Companions in Zealous Research program gives all active Sigma Xi It is indeed an honor for me to have been elected president of our Smembers a chance to earn a free year international honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi of membership by was created 125 years ago with high ideals, a worthy mission and recommending five an inspiring vision that remain critical to science and engineering in the 21st Century. new members during As incoming president, I will seek to further the mission of Sigma Xi. a one-year period. Public confidence in the fundamental truths derived from application of science is Active Sigma Xi members should perhaps more critical now than at any time in the history of our honor society. From recommend their qualified friends, students, openness in research to accuracy in conducting and reporting research to integrity in colleagues and fellow scientists and engineers the peer review process and authorship, we have an obligation to our members and the to the honor of Sigma Xi membership. Any public to focus on these issues. active Sigma Xi member who recommends I applaud my friend and colleague, our immediate past-president, Joe Whitaker. Dr. five new members who are then approved Whitaker deserves our gratitude for providing outstanding leadership and initiating for membership between now and June 30, a new hope for the evolution of our esteemed honor society. My intention will be to 2012 will receive one free year of Sigma Xi build upon the spark Joe ignited during his tenure, and implement an enabling strategy membership. -
Arxiv:1608.08587V1 [Cond-Mat.Str-El] 30 Aug 2016 PWA90 a Life Time of Emergence Editors: P
My Random Walks in Anderson's Garden ∗ G. Baskaran The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, C.I.T. Campus, Chennai 600 113, India & Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, ON, N2L 2Y6 Canada Abstract Anderson's Garden is a drawing presented to Philip W. Anderson on the eve of his 60th birthday celebration, in 1983. This cartoon (Fig. 1), whose author is unknown, succinctly depicts some of Andersons pre-1983 works, as a blooming garden. As an avid reader of Andersons papers, a random walk in Andersons garden had become a part of my routine since graduate school days. This was of immense help and prepared me for a wonderful collaboration with the gardener himself, on the resonating valence bond (RVB) theory of High Tc cuprates and quantum spin liquids, at Princeton. The result was bountiful - the first (RVB mean field) theory for i) quantum spin liquids, ii) emergent fermi surface in Mott insulators and iii) superconductivity in doped Mott insulators. Beyond mean field theory - i) emergent gauge fields, ii) Ginzburg Landau theory with RVB gauge fields, iii) prediction of superconducting dome, iv) an early identification and study of a non-fermi liquid normal state of cuprates and so on. Here I narrate this story, years of my gardening attempts and end with a brief summary of my theoretical efforts to extend RVB theory of superconductivity to encompass the recently observed very high Tc ∼ 203 K superconductivity in molecular solid H2S at high pressures ∼ 200 GPa. ∗ Closely follows an article published in arXiv:1608.08587v1 [cond-mat.str-el] 30 Aug 2016 PWA90 A Life Time of Emergence Editors: P. -
Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to David...N Haldane and Michael
This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. To order presentationready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com. http://www.wsj.com/articles/nobelprizeinphysicsawardedtodavidthoulessduncanhaldaneandmichaelkosterlitz1475574970 WORLD Three British physicists share 2016 Nobel Prize for revealing the secrets of exotic matter By ROBERT LEE HOTZ and CHARLES DUXBURY Updated Oct. 4, 2016 3:22 p.m. ET A trio of British-born researchers working in the U.S. won the Nobel Prize in physics for what one of them called a curious mathematical “toy” that to his surprise revolutionized the study of exotic matter suitable for quantum computers, new superconductors, and advanced designer materials. Working separately, the three laureates conceived a new way to understand the topology of materials, or the study of shapes that change in increments. At its simplest, a sheet of paper can have many sides, depending upon the topology of its folds. At an atomic level, however, variations in the structural topology of electrons can yield materials with properties unknown among the commonplace solids, fluids and gases of the ordinary world. “At the time, I thought it was of scientific interest and mathematical interest, but I didn’t think it would ever find a particular realization,” said Princeton University physicist F. Duncan M. Haldane, who shared the award for theoretical experiments he had conducted in the 1980s. “I basically stumbled on this playing with mathematics.” Dr. Haldane shared the 2016 Nobel Prize with theoretical physicist David J. -
High Tc: the Mystery That Defies Solution
NEWSFOCUS on July 21, 2011 After 2 decades of monumental effort, physicists still cannot explain 100,000 papers on the materials. Several theo- rists claim they have deciphered them— high-temperature superconductivity. But they may have identified the although their explanations clash. Still, high- puzzles they have yet to solve temperature superconductivity has refused to submit to some of the world’s best minds. “The theoretical problem is so hard that there isn’t an obvious criterion for right,” says High T : The Mystery Steven Kivelson, a theorist at Stanford Univer- www.sciencemag.org c sity in Palo Alto, California. Experimenters are producing a flood of highly detailed data, but physicists struggle to piece the results together, That Defies Solution says Joseph Orenstein, an experimenter at the University of California, Berkeley, and TWENTY YEARS AGO, A FIRESTORM OF giddy enthusiasm. “We had prominent people Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “It discovery swept through the world of physics. saying it would all be explained quickly and must be close to unique to have so much infor- Downloaded from German experimenter J. Georg Bednorz and that we would have superconducting power mation and so little consensus on what the his Swiss colleague Karl Alexander Müller lines and levitating trains,” Ashcroft says. questions should be,” Orenstein says. kindled the flames in September 1986 when Ashcroft himself had doubts, however, as The problem is more than a sliver under they reported that an odd ceramic called he told a class of graduate students a few the nail. High-temperature superconductiv- lanthanum barium copper oxide carried elec- months later.