Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
2 p.m., Thursday, December 8, 2005
Room 1201, Physics Building
Vortex Dynamics and Fluctuations in Superconducting Films
Victor Galitski
(University of Virginia)
Abstract: Superconductivity in two dimensions provides a unique
area in which a fascinating variety of novel and fundamental phenomena occur. In
this talk, I will review recent theoretical and experimental results on
disordered films, which undergo a magnetic-field-tuned superconducting-insulator
transition at low temperatures. I will focus on the unusual phases and
fluctuation phenomena evident in the experimental studies of the field-tuned
transition. First, I will explain how rare disorder fluctuations can enhance
global superconductivity and increase the critical magnetic field at which
samples become superconducting. Next, I will briefly summarize the recently
developed theory of quantum superconducting fluctuations, which explains
transport properties above the transition. At the end of my talk, I will focus
on the low-temperature metallic phase observed in certain materials. This
metallic state is truly mysterious and can not be explained by any conventional
theory (involving bosonic vortices as basic excitations). I will argue that
under certain circumstances the statistics of the vortices can change from
bosonic to fermionic. Such a statistical transmutation may explain the nature of
the metallic state. I will discuss possible experimental signatures of the
resulting vortex Fermi liquid.
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Host: Yakovenko
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