Electrodynamics of Quantum-Critical Conductors and Superconductors

This thesis presents and discusses recent optical low-temperature experiments on disordered NbN, granular Al thin-films, and the heavy-fermion compound CeCoIn5, offering a unified picture of quantum-critical superconductivity. It provides a concise introduction to the respective theoretical models employed to interpret the experimental results, and guides readers through in-depth calculations supplemented with supportive figures in order to both retrace the interpretations and span the bridge between experiment and state-of-the art theory. Front Matter ....Pages I-XX Field-theoretical basics on superconductivity (Uwe Santiago Pracht)....Pages 1-20 Experimental studies on disorderd NbN thin films (Uwe Santiago Pracht)....Pages 21-56 Experimental studies on granular Al thin films (Uwe Santiago Pracht)....Pages 57-98 Experimental studies on the Heavy Fermion metal CeCoIn5 (Uwe Santiago Pracht)....Pages 99-133 Back Matter ....Pages 135-176