The object of this book is the quantum mechanism that allows the macroscopic quantum coherence of a superconducting condensate to resist to the attacks of high temperature. Solution to this fundamental problem of modern physics is needed for the design of room temperature superconductors, for controlling the decoherence effects in the quantum computers and for the understanding of a possible role of quantum coherence in living matter that is debated today in quantum biophysics. The recent experimental results on nanoscale phase separation and the two component scenario in high Tc in doped cuprate and the lower symmetry in the superconducting elements at high pressure area presented. The compelling evidence for multiband superconductivity in MgB2 that provides the simplest system for testing the high Tc theories, and plays the same role as atomic hydrogen for the development of the quantum mechanics in the twenties, is one of the main points of the book. The multiband superconductivity enhances the critical temperature from the low Tc range Tc

With this book, we wish to honor the lifework of K. Alex Müller and present him with this book on the occasion of his 94th birthday. We are convinced that he will very much enjoy reading it. We would like to thank all contributors to this book, who addressed topics complementary and related to his work. The articles of the book represent the efforts in solid state physics – spanning more than 60 years – which have been groundbreaking in scientific and applied sciences. Many of the current hot topics are derived from this earlier work which has pioneered the way toward new experimental tools and/or refined techniques. From this point of view, the book presents, on one hand, a historical review and, on the other hand, a directory of possible future research.

According to its tradition, the EUCAS Conference focused on the role of superconductivity in bridging various aspects of research with a variety of concrete advanced applications. The wide interactions among scientists operating worldwide in the field of superconductivity and the sharing of their knowledge and experience represented the main result of the event. The EUCAS Conference has been an ideal forum for presentation and discussion of recent developments in the field of applied superconductivity in the area of power and electronic applications. Great emphasis has been given to materials research directly connected to such applications. For this conference, 515 plenary, invited, and contributed papers were accepted, covering different areas of applications that strongly benefit from the use of superconductivity, such as energy transportation, large magnet systems, biomedical instrumentation, digital electronics, wireless communications, and quantum computing. Forty-two plenary and invited papers are included in Applied Superconductivity 2003, along with a CD-ROM that contains PDF files of all the contributed papers linked from contents lists (and, for completeness, plenary and invited papers). These proceedings are addressed to international physicists, electrotechnical and electronic engineers, material scientists, and chemists interested in the most recent and exciting advances in the field of applied superconductivity.

This book is devoted to superconductivity, which is one of the most interesting problems in physics. In accordance with the outline of the book, it treats the key problems in the field of superconductivity, in particular, it discusses the mechanism(s) of superconductivity. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students in the fields of solid state physics, quantum field theory, and many-body theory.

The articles collected in this book cover a wide range of materials with extraordinary superconducting and magnetic properties. For many of the materials studied, strong electronic correlations provide a link between these two phenomena which were long thought to be highly antagonistic. The book reports both the progress in our understanding of fundamental physical processes and the advances made towards the development of devices.

Recent advances in nanoscience have demonstrated that fundamentally new physical phenomena are found when systems are reduced to sizes comparable to the fundamental microscopic length scales of the material investigated. There has been great interest in this research due, in particular, to its role in the development of spintronics, molecular electronics and quantum information processing. The contributions to this volume describe new advances in many of these fundamental and fascinating areas of nanophysics, including carbon nanotubes, graphene, magnetic nanostructures, transport through coupled quantum dots, spintronics, molecular electronics, and quantum information processing.