Materials with Strong Electronic Correlations: Solid-state physics from an Atomic Viewpoint
Speaker:
Antoine Georges, Ecole Polytechnique, France
Date & Time:
February 6, 2008 - 4:45pm
Location:
Physics Lecture Hall | Materials with Strong Electronic Correlations: Solid-state physics from an Atomic Viewpoint Physics and Astronomy |
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| Antoine Georges, Ecole Polytechnique, France Colloquium 4:45 PM, Physics Lecture Hall From copper-oxide superconductors to rare-earth based environmentally-friendly pigments, materials with strong electronic correlations have focused enormous attention over the last two decades. Solid-state chemistry, new elaboration techniques and improved experimental probes are constantly providing us with examples of new materials with surprising electronic properties. In this colloquium, I will emphasize that the classic paradigm of solid-state physics, in which electrons form a gas of wave-like quasiparticles, must be seriously revised for these materials. Instead, a description in which atomic-like excitations also retain a well-defined meaning in the solid state is in order. The "dynamical mean-field theory" of strong electronic correlations has been forged in order to achieve this goal. In an inter-disciplinary endeavor bringing together the many-body and electronic structure communities, this approach has been combined with first-principles calculations, so that theory can now address the properties of specific materials in a realistic setting. |