Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Thursday, November 16, 2000, 2 p.m.
Plant Sciences Building, Room 1130
Electronic Structure of Strongly Correlated Electron Materials:
A Dynamical Mean Field Perspective
Gabriel Kotliar
(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University)
Abstract: Strongly correlated electron materials are
interesting for scientific and technological reasons. These systems
display unusual phenomena, ranging from high-temperature superconductivity
to a variety of metal to insulator transitions. The theory
of the electronic structure of these materials pose a unique challenge,
since it has to treat the localized (particle-like) and the itinerant (wave-like)
aspects of the electron on equal footing. Over the last few years,
a new technique, the Dynamical Mean Field method has
been developed. It allows us to reconcile the itinerant and
the localized character of the electron in a correlated solid, a
central theme of the physics of correlated electrons. The dynamical
mean field technique has given new insights into the electronic structure
of correlated solids, as well as allowing quantitative calculations of
material properties.
In this talk we will give a pedagogical introduction to the central
problems in the area of correlated electron physics and to
the ideas of the dynamical mean field method. We we will
use it to give a simple picture of how the electron evolves from itinerant
to localized, i.e. the Mott transition, that takes place in various transition
metal oxides. We will conclude, with some outstanding open problems
and future directions.
Host: Sankar Das Sarma
Back to Condensed Matter Physics Seminar Home
Page
http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~yakovenk/seminar/