High Tc Superconductivity 1996

After an introduction by J.G. Bednorz, describing the discovery of high Tc superconductivity and its consequences, the book goes on to describe modern research, dealing with general problems, new materials and structures, phase separation, electronic homogeneities and related problems, and applications. Specific systems dealt with include the La-cuprates. the Bi-cuprates and the Y-cuprates and related compounds.

Since the publication of Physical Properties of High Temperature Superconductors I, research in the field of high temperature superconductivity has continued at a rapid pace. Volume II will contain chapters on some of the major areas of activity which were not covered extensively in Volume I: structure, microstructure, thermodynamics, oxygen stoichiometry effects, nuclear magnetic and quadrupole resonance, Hall effect, electronic structure, and the pairing state. Like Volume I, it will present authoritative and comprehensive reviews written by recognized experts in the field. This book should be useful to all students, scientists, and engineers who desire to know more about high temperature superconductivity. Contents:Introduction: A Description of Some New Materials and An Overview of This Book (D M Ginsberg)Specific Heat of High Temperature Superconductors: A Review (A Junod)Crystal Structures of High-Temperature Superconductors (R M Hazen)The Microstructure of High-Temperature Oxide Superconductors (C H Chen)Nuclear Resonance Studies of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (C H Pennington & C P Slichter)Electronic Structure, Surface Properties, and Interface Chemistry of High Temperature Superconductors (H M Meyer III & J H Weaver)The Hall Effect and its Relation to other Transport Phenomena in the Normal State of the High-Temperature Superconductors (N P Ong)Oxygen Stoichiometric Effects and Related Atomic Substitutions in the High-Tc Cuprates (L H Greene & B G Bagley)The Paining State of YBa3Cu3O7-δ (J F Annett, N Goldenfeld & S R Renn) Readership: Physicists, chemists and engineers. Keywords:Superconductivity;Specific Heat;Crystal Structure;Microstructure;Nuclear Resonance;Surfaces;Interfaces;Hall Effect;Substitutions;Oxygen;Pairing State

The publication of Volume V of Physical Properties of High Temperature Superconductors is expected in March, 1996. It will have chapters of interest for both fundamental studies and applied research. The topics discussed are expected to include the electromagnetic response (penetration depth and surface resistance), local lattice distortions, the influence of vortex fluctuations on macroscopic behavior, the properties of superlattices, and the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.

Since the 1980s, a general theme in the study of high-temperature superconductors has been to test the BCS theory and its predictions against new data. At the same time, this process has engendered new physics, new materials, and new theoretical frameworks. Remarkable advances have occurred in sample quality and in single crystals, in hole and electron doping in the development of sister compounds with lower transition temperatures, and in instruments to probe structure and dynamics. Handbook of High-Temperature Superconductvity is a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of both experimental and theoretical methodologies by the the world's top leaders in the field. The Editor, Nobel Laureate J. Robert Schrieffer, and Associate Editor James S. Brooks, have produced a unified, coherent work providing a global view of high-temperature superconductivity covering the materials, the relationships with heavy-fermion and organic systems, and the many formidable challenges that remain.

This book presents theoretical as well as experimental articles focused on recent new results in high temperature superconductivity. All contributors are high ranking scientists who have done major work to enhance the understanding of this phenomenon. A few articles deal with ferroelectricity and its applications. The book is dedicated to Prof. Dr. K. Alex Müller on his 80th birthday. During his scientific career he made major advances in the understanding of ferroelectricity.

Since the discovery in 1986 of high temperature superconductors by J. G. Bednorz and K. A. Müller, a considerable progress has been made and several important scientific problems have emerged. Within this NATO Advanced Study Institute our intention was to focus mainly on the controversial topic of the symmetry of the superconducting gap and given the very short coherence length, the role of fluctuations. The Institute on ‘The Gap Symmetry and Fluctuations in High- Superconductors’ took place in the “Institut d’Etudes Scientifiques de Cargèse” in Corsica, France, between 1 - 13 September 1997. The 110 participantsfrom 18 countries (yet 30 nationalities) including 23 full time lecturers, have spent two memorable weeks in this charming Mediterranean resort. All lecturers were asked to prepare pedagogical papers to clearly present the central physical idea behind specific model or experiment. The better understanding of physics of high temperature superconductivity is certainly needed to guide the development of applications of these materials in high and weak current devices.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Symmetry and Heterogeneity in High Temperature Superconductors, Erice-Sicily, 4-10 October 2003