Colloquium
Tuesday, March 16, 1999, 4 p.m.
Physics Building, Room 1410
Superconductor-insulator transition in two dimensions
Boris Altshuller
(NEC Research Institute and Princeton University)
Abstract: This talk is a brief review of the combined effect
of disorderb and Coulomb interaction between electrons in a thin film on
the phenomenon of superconductivity. This effect violates the famous
Anderson theorem which states that the ordinary s-wave superconductivity
does not feel disorder. We will discuss this effect within the framework
of the general theory of disordered and chaotic systems. Using the
basic ideas of this theory we will interpret and discuss existing theoretical
statements on the superconductor-insulator transition. It turns out
that to adequately interpret the variety of the experimental data, one
has to take into account large scale static inhomogeneity of the films.
For this reason, in addition to the theory of continuous films, we will
discuss the theory of the superconductor-insulator transition in granular
films and Josephson arrays. We will also review the experimental
situation.
Host: Richard Prange
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