Charge Density Wave Order and Nematicity in High-Temperature Superconductors
| Date/Time: | Monday, 27 Nov 2017 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
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| Location: | Phys 0003 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract: The discovery of superconductivity in cuprate high temperature superconductors in 1986 set off a massive worldwide research effort aimed at developing superconductors for practical applications - perfect conductors, levitating trains, quantum electronics. Equally important was an intense theoretical and experimental effort to understand the physics responsible for the superconductivity in the cuprates, physics which differs from well understood "conventional" superconductors. Recently, important breakthroughs have shed new light on this 30-year-old problem. It has now been found that charge density wave order (CDW) and nematicity (rotational symmetry breaking) occur generically in the cuprates, are intertwined with superconductivity and are of central importance to many aspects of the cuprate problem. In this colloquium, I will review high temperature superconductivity, the CDW state, nematicity and some of our group's recent investigations of these orders using a novel experimental technique, resonant soft x-ray scattering.
Bio: "Prof. David Hawthorn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. He is an expert in experimental condensed matter physics, specifically utilizing x-ray scattering and spectroscopy to investigate high-temperature superconductors and other quantum materials. Recent work has included the development of instrumentation for resonant x-ray scattering at the Canadian Light Source and investigations of charge-density wave order and nematicity in high-temperature superconductors using resonant X-ray scattering."