Monday, April 5, 2010

A quantum critical point


This figure summarises one of the key ideas associated with quantum phase transitions: a quantum critical region.
Diagrams such as this appear in many papers (particularly theory ones) but unless I am mistaken there is an actual paucity of real materials for which there is clear unambiguous evidence for actual quantum critical behaviour (i.e. no quasi-particles and only a single energy scale, k_B T).

I welcome readers posting their best examples.

1 comment:

  1. you might enjoy this talk

    http://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/adscmt_m09/sondhi/

    because Prof.Sondhi points out some of the finer points of said diagram, both the implicit cutoff and the other effects...

    ReplyDelete

Remembering the student protestors who died 36 years ago

Memorial plaque in the Great Court of the University of Queensland today.