Fluctuations, Instabilities, and Phase Transitions

Fluctuations, Instabilities, and Phase Transitions
Author: T. Riste
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461589126

This book contains the papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Geilo, Norway, 11th - 20th April 1975. The institute was the third in a row devoted to phase transitions. The previous two dealt with 2nd- and 1st-order transitions in equilibrium systems and the proceedings have been published.i~ In order to make an overlap wi th those institutes, the first part of this institute was devoted to 1st -or der transitions with an emphasis on the problems of metast abi l i t y and instability en countered i n spinodal decomposition, nucleation etc. The main topic was, however, that of non-equilibrium systems, and the present institute was to our knowledge the first one devoted to the physics of such systems. The discovery of the analogy between phase transitions in equilibrium systems and instabilities in non-equilibrium systems was first made by Rolf Landauer in 1961 and later independently by others. The analogy was first pointed out for electronic devices (tunnel diodes, Gunn oscillators, lasers, etc. ) and the treatment of hydrodynamic instabilities followed later.

Theory of Fluctuations in Superconductors

Theory of Fluctuations in Superconductors
Author: Anatoly Larkin
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2005-01-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191523704

This book presents a complete encyclopedia of superconducting fluctuations, summarising the last thirty-five years of work in the field. The first part of the book is devoted to an extended discussion of the Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology of fluctuations in its thermodynamical and time-dependent versions and its various applications. The second part deals with microscopic justification of the Ginzburg-Landau approach and presents the diagrammatic theory of fluctuations. The third part is devoted to a less-detailed review of the manifestation of fluctuations in observables: diamagnetism, magnetoconductivity, various tunneling characteristics, thermoelectricity, and NMR relaxation. The final chapters turn to the manifestation of fluctuations in unconventional superconducting systems: nanodrops, nanorings, Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless state, quantum phase transition between superconductor and insulator, and thermal and quantum fluctuations in weak superconducting systems. The book ends with a brief discussion on theories of high temperature superconductivity, where fluctuations appear as the possible protagonist of this exciting phenomenon.

Reconstructive Phase Transitions

Reconstructive Phase Transitions
Author: Pierre Tol‚dano
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 424
Release: 1996
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789810223649

This book deals with the phenomenological theory of first-order structural phase transitions, with a special emphasis on reconstructive transformations in which a group-subgroup relationship between the symmetries of the phases is absent. It starts with a unified presentation of the current approach to first-order phase transitions, using the more recent results of the Landau theory of phase transitions and of the theory of singularities. A general theory of reconstructive phase transitions is then formulated, in which the structures surrounding a transition are expressed in terms of density-waves, providing a natural definition of the transition order-parameters, and a description of the corresponding phase diagrams and relevant physical properties. The applicability of the theory is illustrated by a large number of concrete examples pertaining to the various classes of reconstructive transitions: allotropic transformations of the elements, displacive and order-disorder transformations in metals, alloys and related structures, crystal-quasicrystal transformations.

Ultracold Quantum Fields

Ultracold Quantum Fields
Author: Henk T. C. Stoof
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2008-11-30
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1402087632

On June 19th 1999, the European Ministers of Education signed the Bologna Dec laration, with which they agreed that the European university education should be uniformized throughout Europe and based on the two cycle bachelor master’s sys tem. The Institute for Theoretical Physics at Utrecht University quickly responded to this new challenge and created an international master’s programme in Theoret ical Physics which started running in the summer of 2000. At present, the master’s programme is a so called prestige master at Utrecht University, and it aims at train ing motivated students to become sophisticated researchers in theoretical physics. The programme is built on the philosophy that modern theoretical physics is guided by universal principles that can be applied to any sub?eld of physics. As a result, the basis of the master’s programme consists of the obligatory courses Statistical Field Theory and Quantum Field Theory. These focus in particular on the general concepts of quantum ?eld theory, rather than on the wide variety of possible applica tions. These applications are left to optional courses that build upon the ?rm concep tual basis given in the obligatory courses. The subjects of these optional courses in clude, for instance, Strongly Correlated Electrons, Spintronics, Bose Einstein Con densation, The Standard Model, Cosmology, and String Theory.

Structural Phase Transitions in Layered Transition Metal Compounds

Structural Phase Transitions in Layered Transition Metal Compounds
Author: K. Motizuki
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400945760

The structural phase transition is one of the most fundamental problems in solid state physics. Layered transition-metal dichalcogenides provide us with a most exciting area for the study of structural phase transitions that are associated with the charge density wave (CDW). A large variety of structural phase transitions, such as commensurate and incommensurate transitions, and the physical proper ties related to the formation of a CDW, have been an object of intense study made for many years by methods employing modem microscopic techniques. Rather recently, efforts have been devoted to the theoretical understanding of these experimental results. Thus, McMillan, for example, has developed an elegant phenomenological theory on the basis of the Landau free energy expansion. An extension of McMillan's theory has provided a successful understanding of the successive phase transitions observed in the IT- and 2H-compounds. In addition, a microscopic theory of lattice instability, lattice dynamics, and lattice distortion in the CDW state of the transition-metal dichalcogenides has been developed based on their electronic structures. As a result, the driving force of the CDW formation in the IT- and 2H-compounds has become clear. Furthermore, the effect of lattice fluctuations on the CDW transition and on the anomalous behavior of various physical properties has been made clear microscopically.

The Theory of Critical Phenomena

The Theory of Critical Phenomena
Author: J. J. Binney
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 477
Release: 1992-06-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191660566

The successful calculation of critical exponents for continuous phase transitions is one of the main achievements of theoretical physics over the last quarter-century. This was achieved through the use of scaling and field-theoretic techniques which have since become standard equipment in many areas of physics, especially quantum field theory. This book provides a thorough introduction to these techniques. Continuous phase transitions are introduced, then the necessary statistical mechanics is summarized, followed by standard models, some exact solutions and techniques for numerical simulations. The real-space renormalization group and mean-field theory are then explained and illustrated. The final chapters cover the Landau-Ginzburg model, from physical motivation, through diagrammatic perturbation theory and renormalization to the renormalization group and the calculation of critical exponents above and below the critical temperature.

Elements of Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena

Elements of Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena
Author: Hidetoshi Nishimori
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2011
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199577226

As an introductory account of the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena, this book reflects lectures given by the authors to graduate students at their departments and is thus classroom-tested to help beginners enter the field. Most parts are written as self-contained units and every new concept or calculation is explained in detail without assuming prior knowledge of the subject. The book significantly enhances and revises a Japanese version which is a bestseller in the Japanese market and is considered a standard textbook in the field. It contains new pedagogical presentations of field theory methods, including a chapter on conformal field theory, and various modern developments hard to find in a single textbook on phase transitions. Exercises are presented as the topics develop, with solutions found at the end of the book, making the text useful for self-teaching, as well as for classroom learning.

Statistical Mechanics and Applications in Condensed Matter

Statistical Mechanics and Applications in Condensed Matter
Author: Carlo Di Castro
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 549
Release: 2015-08-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 131635198X

This innovative and modular textbook combines classical topics in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and many-body theory with the latest developments in condensed matter physics research. Written by internationally renowned experts and logically structured to cater for undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers, it covers the underlying theoretical principles and includes numerous problems and worked examples to put this knowledge into practice. Three main streams provide a framework for the book; beginning with thermodynamics and classical statistical mechanics, including mean field approximation, fluctuations and the renormalization group approach to critical phenomena. The authors then examine quantum statistical mechanics, covering key topics such as normal Fermi and Luttinger liquids, superfluidity and superconductivity. Finally, they explore classical and quantum kinetics, Anderson localization and quantum interference, and disordered Fermi liquids. Unique in providing a bridge between thermodynamics and advanced topics in condensed matter, this textbook is an invaluable resource to all students of physics.