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Anderson's Theorem (superconductivity)
In the field of superconductivity, Anderson's theorem states that superconductivity in a conventional superconductor is robust with respect to (non-magnetic) disorder in the host material. It is named after P. W. Anderson, who discussed this phenomenon in 1959, briefly after BCS theory was introduced. One consequence of Anderson's theorem is that the critical temperature Tc of a conventional superconductor barely depends on material purity, or more generally on defects. This concept breaks down in the case of very strong disorder, e.g. close to a superconductor-insulator transition. Also, it does not apply to unconventional superconductor Unconventional superconductors are materials that display superconductivity which does not conform to either the conventional BCS theory or Nikolay Bogolyubov's theory or its extensions. History The superconducting properties of CeCu2Si2, a ty ...s. In fact, strong suppression of Tc with increasing defect scattering, thus non-validity of Ande ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conventional Superconductor
Conventional superconductors are materials that display superconductivity as described by BCS theory or its extensions. This is in contrast to unconventional superconductors, which do not. Conventional superconductors can be either type-I or type-II. Most elemental superconductors are conventional. Niobium and vanadium are type-II, while most other elemental superconductors are type-I. Critical temperatures of some elemental superconductors: Most compound and alloy superconductors are type-II materials. The most commonly used conventional superconductor in applications is a niobium-titanium alloy - this is a type-II superconductor with a superconducting critical temperature of 11 K. The highest critical temperature so far achieved in a conventional superconductor was 39 K (-234 °C) in magnesium diboride Magnesium diboride is the inorganic compound with the formula MgB2. It is a dark gray, water-insoluble solid. The compound has attracted attention because it becomes superco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BCS Theory
BCS theory or Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory (named after John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer) is the first microscopic theory of superconductivity since Heike Kamerlingh Onnes's 1911 discovery. The theory describes superconductivity as a microscopic effect caused by a condensation of Cooper pairs. The theory is also used in nuclear physics to describe the pairing interaction between nucleons in an atomic nucleus. It was proposed by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer in 1957; they received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this theory in 1972. History Rapid progress in the understanding of superconductivity gained momentum in the mid-1950s. It began with the 1948 paper, "On the Problem of the Molecular Theory of Superconductivity", where Fritz London proposed that the phenomenological London equations may be consequences of the coherence of a quantum state. In 1953, Brian Pippard, motivated by penetration experiments, proposed that this would modify the Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superconductor Insulator Transition
The Superconductor Insulator Transition is an example of a quantum phase transition, whereupon tuning some parameter in the Hamiltonian, a dramatic change in the behavior of the electrons occurs. The nature of how this transition occurs is disputed, and many studies seek to understand how the order parameter, \Psi =\Delta \exp(i\theta), changes. Here \Delta is the amplitude of the order parameter, and \theta is the phase. Most theories involve either the destruction of the amplitude of the order parameter - by a reduction in the density of states at the Fermi surface, or by destruction of the phase coherence; which results from the proliferation of vortices. Destruction of superconductivity In two dimensions, the subject of superconductivity becomes very interesting because the existence of true long-range order is not possible. How then is superconductivity obtained? In the 70's, Kosterlitz and Thouless (along with Berezinski) showed that a different kind of long-range orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unconventional Superconductor
Unconventional superconductors are materials that display superconductivity which does not conform to either the conventional BCS theory or Nikolay Bogolyubov's theory or its extensions. History The superconducting properties of CeCu2Si2, a type of heavy fermion material, were reported in 1979 by Frank Steglich. For a long time it was believed that CeCu2Si2 was a singlet d-wave superconductor, but since the mid 2010s, this notion has been strongly contested. In the early eighties, many more unconventional, heavy fermion superconductors were discovered, including UBe13, UPt3 and URu2Si2. In each of these materials, the anisotropic nature of the pairing was implicated by the power-law dependence of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation rate and specific heat capacity on temperature. The presence of nodes in the superconducting gap of UPt3 was confirmed in 1986 from the polarization dependence of the ultrasound attenuation. The first unconventional triplet superconduct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
