The general problem of decoherence in disordered systems and its application to superconductor-insulator transition
by
Lev Ioffe(Rutgers University)
→
Europe/Stockholm
132:028
132:028
Description
I begin with a general introduction to the problem posed by decoherence in
disordered quantum systems which are composed entirely of local elements
(spins, localized electrons, etc). I will argue that one of the most
straightforward applications of this problem is the properties of paired
insulators that appear when the superconductivity is destroyed by disorder
in bulk materials or in Josephson arrays characterized by large charging
energy. I will reviewing the experimental data on the
superconductor-insulator transition in InO, TiN and similar films and argue
that the transition in these materials is driven entirely by the
competition of the disorder and attraction. I will discuss the solution of
the simplest mathematical model that has these ingredients and show that the
resulting quantum critical point and disordered phase has many anomalous
and unexpected features. I will present very recent data that confirm some
of the predictions of the theory.
