Many-body Approaches at Different Scales : A Tribute to Norman H. March on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday

This book presents a collection of invited research and review contributions on recent advances in (mainly) theoretical condensed matter physics, theoretical chemistry, and theoretical physics. The volume celebrates the 90th birthday of N.H. March (Emeritus Professor, Oxford University, UK), a prominent figure in all of these fields. Given the broad range of interests in the research activity of Professor March, who collaborated with a number of eminent scientists in physics and chemistry, the volume embraces quite diverse topics in physics and chemistry, at various dimensions and energy scales. One thread connecting all these topics is correlation in aggregated states of matter, ranging from nuclear physics to molecules, clusters, disordered condensed phases such as the liquid state, and solid state physics, and the various phase transitions, both structural and electronic, occurring therein. A final chapter leaps to an even larger scale of matter aggregation, namely the universe and gravitation. A further no less important common thread is methodological, with the application of theoretical physics and chemistry, particularly density functional theory and statistical field theory, to both nuclear and condensed matter. The search for microscopic models to explain the many superconducting substances has introduced seminal concepts and techniques in many-body physics and in statistical mechanics. The complexity of the high-temperature superconductors has required a remarkable refinement of experimental techniques in order to allow a reliable characterization of the samples, and is partly the reason why so many different microscopic models have so far been proposed. This Enrico Fermi Course on Superconductivity was provided an up-to date presentation of selected experimental and theoretical theories on the (so called) conventional superconductivity and on the high temperature superconductivity. The attention was focused on those reliable measurements which are expected to provide the theory with key constraints, viz: Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy, Nuclear Spin Resonance, Angular Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy, transport measurements, Josephson effect. The lectures devoted to the overview of the BCS theory and to the discussion of minimal models and of the crossover from BCS to Bose-Einstein condensation may be particularly useful. The remaining part of the program was shared between phonon and non-phonon based mechanisms. On the one hand, special emphasis has been devoted to the breakdown of the Migdal theorem and to polaronic theories. On the other, the book contains an overview of strongly correlated electron theories, including magnetic interactions. A survey of the physics of vortices completes the theoretical part of the lectures. This Book Is P.w. Anderson's Long-awaited Full Presentation Of His Theory Of High-t[subscript C] Superconductivity In The Cuprates. The Fundamental Insight Contained In The Book Is That The Conditions For Validity Of The Renormalized Quasiparticle Theory Of Metals (fermi Liquid Theory) Are Much More Restrictive Than Had Been Thought, And Are Not Satisfied In The Cuo[subscript 2] Planes Of High-t[subscript C] Materials (among, Probably, Many Other Examples). This Requires A New State Of Matter To Be Invented, New Transport Theories, And New Mechanisms For Superconductivity. The Cuprate Superconductors: Basic Theory. High-t[subscript C] Superconductors As A Magnetic Mott Phenomenon. The Central Dogmas Normal State Properties In The High-t[subscript C] Superconductors: Evidence For Non-fermi Liquid States. The Superconducting State. The One-dimensional Hubbard Model. Normal State Of The 2d Hubbard Model: Tomographic Luttinger Liquid And T[subscript C] = 0 Superconductor. Theory Of Superconductivity In The High-t[subscript C] Materials -- Supplementary Material. Luttinger-liquid Behavior Of The Normal Metallic State Of The 2d Hubbard Model. Singular Forward Scattering In The 2d Hubbard Model And A Renormalized Bethe Ansatz Ground State. P.w. Anderson. On T.p. C̳ Is Subscript. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. This book is P. W. Anderson's long-awaited full presentation of his theory of high-Tc superconductivity in the cuprates. He realized that this striking new phenomenon needed for its explanation not just a new mechanism or "gimmick" but a radical reworking of the electronic theory of metals, especially those of low dimension. The many fundamentally new ideas that are first fully presented here will require a rewriting of the textbooks of many-body theory, which may take decades. The book incorporates full discussions of the experimental situation in these complex materials, both the normal and the superconducting states. The latest advances are contained in a selection of re-and pre-prints of recent work by Anderson and collaborators. The fundamental insight contained in the book is that the conditions for validity of the renormalized quasiparticle theory of metals ("Fermi Liquid Theory") are much more restrictive than had been thought, and are not satisfied in the CuO2 planes of high-Tc materials (among, probably, many other examples). This requires a new state of matter to be invented, new transport theories, and new mechanisms for superconductivity. This book will supersede all theoretical discussions of superconductivity that are now available in book form. 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. This book is P. W. Anderson's long-awaited full presentation of his theory of high-T[subscript c] superconductivity in the cuprates. The fundamental insight contained in the book is that the conditions for validity of the renormalized quasiparticle theory of metals ("Fermi Liquid Theory") are much more restrictive than had been thought, and are not satisfied in the CuO[subscript 2] planes of high-T[subscript c] materials (among, probably, many other examples). This requires a new state of matter to be invented, new transport theories, and new mechanisms for superconductivity. This is a collection of lectures given at the CXXXVI Course of the "Enrico Fermi" International School on Superconductivity. It aims to give a pedagogical as well as a presentation of experimental and theoretical theories on conventional superconductivity and high-temperature superconductivity.