Dimitri N. Basov (University of California San Diego)
The mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity is one of the most challenging unresolved problems in contemporary physics. The recent discovery of high Tc superconductivity in the iron pnictides, while interesting in itself, offers a new perspective on several aspects of cuprate high-Tc superconductors. In this talk, I will overview common patterns as well as contrasting trends between the two classes of high-Tc materials, focusing on the information generated through infrared/optical probes. Infrared methods enable experimental access to energy gaps in a superconductor, strong coupling effects responsible for pairing, the collective response of the superfluid and allow one to quantify the strength of electronic correlations [Nature-Physics 5, 647 (2009)]. With this panoramic view of effects central for our understanding of superconductivity I will attempt to identify factors favoring higher Tc in exotic superconductors.
(more info at: http://infrared.ucsd.edu).
