This is to remind you of the TODAY's Physics Colloquium
Speaker: D. Geshkenbein, ETH Zürich Antrittsvorlesung
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Time: 16:45 h (coffee at 16:15 h in front of auditorium)
Place: ETH Hönggerberg, HPV G4
Title: Vortex Matter
Abstract:
Vortex Matter in superconductors has become a paradigm for many problems in modern statistical mechanics, as it is conveniently modified and manipulated in the laboratory. Novel phases and phase transitions, the effects of quenched disorder, and various dynamical aspects define the rich phenomenology of this soft matter system. In the talk I will briefly explain how this field of activity has been started and why it exploded after the discovery of the cuprate materials. I then concentrate on the most prominent phenomena in vortex-lattice phase transitions, e.g., thermally induced melting and decoupling as well as aspects of disorder driven transitions. I will sketch various theoretical approaches and put the results into the context of experimental work. The aim of the talk is to give a flair for the rich physics underlying research on Vortex Matter.