228,642 research outputs found
Soft Condensed Matter Physics
Soft condensed matter physics is the study of materials, such as fluids,
liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, and emulsions, that are ``soft" to the
touch. This article will review some properties, such as the dominance of
entropy, that are unique to soft materials and some properties such as the
interplay between broken-symmetry, dynamic mode structure, and topological
defects that are common to all condensed matter systems but which are most
easily studied in soft systems.Comment: 11 Pages, RevTeX, 7 postscript figures. To appear in Solid State
Communication
Superfluid Helium 3: Link between Condensed Matter Physics and Particle Physics
The discovery of the superfluid phases of Helium 3 in 1971 opened the door to
one of the most fascinating systems known in condensed matter physics.
Superfluidity of Helium 3, originating from pair condensation of Helium 3
atoms, turned out to be the ideal testground for many fundamental concepts of
modern physics, such as macroscopic quantum phenomena, (gauge-)symmetries and
their spontaneous breakdown, topological defects, etc. Thereby the superfluid
phases of Helium 3 enriched condensed matter physics enormously. In particular,
they contributed significantly - and continue to do so - to our understanding
of various other physical systems, from heavy fermion and high-Tc
superconductors all the way to neutron stars, particle physics, gravity and the
early universe. A simple introduction into the basic concepts and questions is
presented.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; to be published in Acta Physica Polonica B
[Proceedings of the XL Jubilee Cracow School of Theoretical Physics on
"Quantum Phase Transitions in High Energy and Condensed Matter Physics"; 3-11
June, 2000, Zakopane, Poland
The Onset of Phase Transitions in Condensed Matter and Relativistic QFT
Kibble and Zurek have provided a unifying causal picture for the appearance
of topological defects like cosmic strings or vortices at the onset of phase
transitions in relativistic QFT and condensed matter systems respectively.
There is no direct experimental evidence in QFT, but in condensed matter the
predictions are largely, but not wholly, supported in superfluid experiments on
liquid helium. We provide an alternative picture for the initial appearance of
strings/vortices that is commensurate with all the experimental evidence from
condensed matter and consider some of its implications for QFT.Comment: 37 pages, to be published in Condensed Matter Physics, 200
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