Correlations in Condensed Matter Under Extreme Conditions : A Tribute to Renato Pucci on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday

This book addresses a wide range of topics relating to the properties and behavior of condensed matter under extreme conditions such as intense magnetic and electric fields, high pressures, heat and cold, and mechanical stresses. It is divided into four sections devoted to condensed matter theory, molecular chemistry, theoretical physics, and the philosophy and history of science. The main themes include electronic correlations in material systems under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, surface physics, the transport properties of low-dimensional electronic systems, applications of the density functional theory in molecular systems, and graphene. The book is the outcome of a workshop held at the University of Catania, Italy, in honor of Professor Renato Pucci on the occasion of his 70th birthday. It includes selected invited contributions from collaborators and co-authors of Professor Pucci during his long and successful career, as well as from other distinguished guest authors. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Structural Effects on Electronic Properties of Selected Materials....Pages 3-15 Anomalous Magnetism and Superconductivity in Lanthanide Metals at Extreme Pressure....Pages 17-30 Phonon Fingerprints on Low and High-Energy Spectrum of Cuprate Superconductors....Pages 31-46 Electrides and Their High-Pressure Chemistry....Pages 47-56 Electron Correlation Effects Reflected in Thermodynamic Properties of Light Actinides....Pages 57-68 Equations of State for Solids Under Strong Compression with Fingerprints for Electronic Anomalies....Pages 69-84 Nonequilibrium Steady States and Electron Transport in Molecular Systems....Pages 85-90 Peierls and Spin-Density Instability: From Polyacetylene to Graphene....Pages 91-106 Generalized Dicke Model of Graphene Cavity QED....Pages 107-126 A Comparison Between Quantum Transport and Band Structure Unfolding in Defected Graphene Nanoribbons....Pages 127-150 Defect-Induced Magnetism in Graphene: An Ab Initio Study....Pages 151-166 Electron Correlations in Molecular Chains....Pages 167-184 Hydrogen-Bonded Systems Under Intense Electric Fields....Pages 185-194 Miniature Spherical Sapphire Anvil Cell for Small Angle Neutron Scattering....Pages 195-214 Are Light Alkali Metals Still Metals Under High Pressure?....Pages 215-232 Front Matter....Pages 233-246 Negative Condensed-to-Atom Fukui Functions: A Signature of Oxidation-Induced Reduction of Functional Groups....Pages 247-255 Simple Approaches to Calculate Correlation Energy in Polyatomic Molecular Systems....Pages 257-265 Front Matter....Pages 267-267 Novel Common Methodologies Between Physics and Theoretical Chemistry: Density Functional Theory....Pages 269-278 Electron Density, Kohn–Sham Frontier Orbitals, and Fukui Functions....Pages 279-287 Front Matter....Pages 267-267 From Condensed Matter to QCD: A Journey Through Gauge Theories on Board of a Variational Tool....Pages 289-301 Front Matter....Pages 303-306 The Languages of Science, Religion, and Theology....Pages 307-307 Symmetries and Physics....Pages 309-328 Science and Religion: A Difficult Relationship....Pages 329-329 The Bold and the Humble: Physics and Epistemology....Pages 331-343 Ettore Majorana’s Early Scientific Production....Pages 345-357 Einstein and His Struggle for Peace....Pages 359-367 Back Matter....Pages 369-372 ....Pages 373-389