PHYSICS 242: Superconductivity
Fall 2004
- Instructor: Prof. Warren E. Pickett
- Office: Physics/Geology 427
- Phone: 530-752-0926
- E-mail: pickett@physics.ucdavis.edu
- Office Hours: TBA
- Lecture: 9:00-10:20 TR, Room 158 RO
Content: Topics in Superconductivity, with the
background material necessary to build the basis for some understanding
of this unparallel collective phenomenon and its consequewnces.
Course content will
emphasize basic phenomenology, historical development of the theory, and
and an understanding the microscopic processes that are involved.
The later lectures will touch on exotic pairing symmetries, and
on the recent unexpected observations
of several instances of coexisting superconductivity and magnetism.
Prerequisites: PHY 240AB
Materials: The required text for the course is
Introduction to Superconductivity, 2nd Edition, by Michael
Tinkham. In Dover paperpack (1996) it is about $25.
There will be several handouts, drawn mainly from published papers
that the student will be encouraged to delve into. There are many
texts that are excellent in their own way:
- J. Robert Schrieffer, Theory of Superconductivity.
- URL for this course:
http://yclept.ucdavis.edu/course/242/Class.html.
Syllabus, schedule, assignments, etc. will be posted at this URL.
Assignments: to be posted at this URL.
Grading : Grades will be based on one written paper,
and a few assignments.
Course Topics (number of classes):
- (2) Phenomenology: signatures of superconductivity in resistivity,
susceptibility, heat capacity, IR reflectivity, etc.
- (2) Language and use of second quantization formalism.
- (1) Superconductors: the various classes. historical development.
- (1) Cooper pairing: instability of the Fermi sea.
- (3) BCS theory. Rigorous SSW formulation of el-ph superconductivity.
- (3) Electron-phonon coupling: electron & phonon self-energy,
weak and strong coupling.
- (2) Magnetic mechanisms of pairing.
- (2) Ginzburg-Landua theory: Hc2, Abrikosov vortex lattice.
- (1) Exotic symmetries of the order parameter.
- (1) Coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism.