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Three new insights on the theory of quantum critical points

Speaker Dr. Catherine Pépin
Affiliation Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT) CEA, Saclay
Date November 27, 2012 (Tue)
Time 4:30 p.m.
Venue Room 522, 5/F, Chong Yuet Ming Physics Building, HKU

Abstract

In this talk we will review the field of strongly correlated materials in the vicinity of a quantum critical point. We will focus on several class of materials, including heavy fermion compounds, cuprate superconductors and organic superconductors and highlight a few enduring mysteries of this compounds. We will show that around an AFM quantum critical point in d=2 a pseudo-gap state emerges, which breaks the symmetry between a new quadrupolar order and d-wave superconducting fluctuations. We will see that the theory of this QCP is very analogous to the re-summation of cooperons and diffusons in the theory of Anderson localization.

We then will turn onto a study of anomalous transport in strongly correlated materials and will give two new scenarios related to quantum criticality which might explain the linear in T resistivity in various compounds. The first scenario concerns the proximity to a quasi one dimensional QCP in organic superconductors. The second scenario is related to hybridization fluctuations in heavy fermion compounds.

Coffee and tea will be served 20 minutes prior to the seminar.