This book originated from a course given at the Univcrsidad Aut6noma of Madrid in the Spring of 1994 and in the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in 1995. The goal of these courses is to give the non-specialist an introduction to some old and new ideas in the field of strongly correlated systems, in particular the problems posed by the high-1~ superconducting materials. As theoretical physicists, our starting viewpoint to address the problem of strongly correlat ed ferlnion systems and related issues of modern condensed matter physics ·is the renormalization group approach applied both to quantU111 field theory and statistical physics. In recent years this has become not only a powerful tool for retrieving the essential physics of interacting systems but also a link between theoretical physics and modern condensed matter physics. Furthermore, once we have this common background for dealing with apparently different prob lems, we discuss more specific topics and even phenomenological aspects of the field. In doing so we have tried to make the exposition clear and simple, with out entering into technical details but focusing ill the fundamental physics of the phenomena under study. Therefore ,ve expect that our experience ll1ay have some value to other people entering this fascinating field. We have divided these notes into three parts and each part into chapters, which correspond roughly to one or two lectures. Part I, Chaps. 1-2 (A. H. V.

A broad introduction to high Tc superconductors, their parent compounds and related novel materials, covering both fundamental questions of modern solid state physics (such as correlation effects, fluctuations, unconventional symmetry of superconducting order parameter) and applied problems related to short coherence length, grain boundaries and thin films. The information that can be derived from electron spectroscopy and optical measurements is illustrated and explained in detail. Descriptions widely employ the clear, relatively simple, phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau model of complex phenomena, such as vortex physics, vortex charge determination, plasmons in superconductors, Cooper pair mass, and wetting of surfaces. The first comprehensive reviews of several novel classes of materials are presented, including borocarbides and chain cuprates.

This book consists of over 600 selected descriptions and abstracts of books, book chapters, patents and journal articles from throughout the world dealing with this high-profile topic. Each citation contains complete bibliographic data plus key words. The entries are grouped under the headings of: Theory of Superconductivity; Superconducting Devices; Superconducting Properties of Materials; Applications of Superconductors: Author Index; Subject Index.

High-Temperature Superconductors provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the properties of these fascinating materials. Much has been learned about the behavior and mechanism of this novel type of superconductivity over the past five years, but many questions remain unanswered. This book gives an invaluable survey which will help students and researchers to consolidate their knowledge and build upon it. A large number of illustrations and tables give valuable information for specialists. A critical comparison of different theoretical models involving strong electron correlations, spin fluctuations, phonons and excitons provides a background for understanding modern trends in the theory of high-temperature superconductivity.

An understanding of the effects of electronic correlations in quantum systems is one of the most challenging problems in physics, partly due to the relevance in modern high technology. Yet there exist hardly any books on the subject which try to give a comprehensive overview on the field covering insulators, semiconductors, as well as metals. The present book tries to fill that gap.It intends to provide graduate students and researchers a comprehensive survey of electron correlations, weak and strong, in insulators, semiconductors and metals. This topic is a central one in condensed matter and beyond that in theoretical physics. The reader will have a better understanding of the great progress which has been made in the field over the past few decades.

The articles in this exceptional book contain regular papers, extended papers and reviews, and thus vary in length and are useful for all kinds of audience. They describe, as the book's name suggests, HTSC models and methodologies. Physical models (like extended BCS model, bipolaron model, spin bag model, RVB (resonating valence bond) model, preformed Cooper pairs and antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation (AFSF) based models, stripe phase, paired cluster (spin glass (SG) frustration based) model, Kamimura-Suwa (Hund's coupling mechanism based) model, electron- plasmon interaction, electron- phonon interaction, etc.), theoretical methods (methodologies) (like generalised BCS-Migdal-Eliashberg theory, Hubbard model, t-J model, t-t'-U model, Hubbard-Holstein model, Fermi-, non Fermi- and marginal Fermi- liquid concepts, generalised Hartree-Fock formalism, etc.) and, experimental status and methodologies are all described there. For comparison with cuprates, fullerenes, ruthenates, organic-, non Cu-containing oxide-and conventional (elemental, A15)- superconductors, molecular crystals, nickelates, manganites, borides etc. are also discussed.

High-Temperature Cuprate Superconductors provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the properties of these fascinating materials. The essential properties of high-temperature cuprate superconductors are reviewed on the background of their theoretical interpretation. The experimental results for structural, magnetic, thermal, electric, optical and lattice properties of various cuprate superconductors are presented with respect to relevant theoretical models. A critical comparison of various theoretical models involving strong electron correlations, antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, phonons and excitons provides a background for understanding of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. Recent achievements in their applications are also reviewed. A large number of illustrations and tables gives valuable information for specialists. A text-book level presentation with formulation of a general theory of strong-coupling superconductivity will help students and researches to consolidate their knowledge of this remarkable class of materials.