University of Toronto
Physics Department
Quantum Optics and Condensed Matter

MONDAY SEMINAR

Abstract

After the Bardeen Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory of conventional electron-phonon driven superconductivity appeared in 1957, Kohn and Luttinger proposed a generalization to electron-electron interactions.  Kohn and Luttinger showed that even though the electron-electron interaction is largely repulsive, a subtle attraction could  lead to Cooper pairs existing in a non-zero angular momentum channel.  Clearcut experimental realizations of of the Kohn-Luttinger superconducting  state have been elusive. Even in high T_c materials this remains a contentious issue due to the lack of understanding of their electronic nature.   In 1994 superconductivity in the conventional Fermi liquid Sr₂RuO₄ was discovered and subsequent experiments demonstrated that the two electron bound state was likely in a spin triplet,  p-wave angular momentum channel.  In this talk  both a microscopic and a phenomenological theoretical basis for understanding the superconductivity in Sr₂RuO₄ will be presented.
 

Local Host:  Michael Walker (416-978-3821)

See   http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~qocmp