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477. Heraeus-Seminar "Unconventional Superconductivity"

 

477. Heraeus-Seminar
"Unconventional Superconductivity"
April 11-13, 2011 in Bad Honnef, Germany
 

 

 

Scope of the seminar

 

In 2011 we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of superconductivity in mercury, at very low temperature (~4 K). Soon after, superconductivity was discovered also in many other elementary metals and metallic alloys. However, for this first generation of conventional superconductors the critical temperature Tc at which superconductivity, i.e. the vanishing electrical resistivity sets in, remained restricted to rather low values (~10 K) for quite a long time. The about seven decades later discovered cuprate superconductors lose their resistivity at much higher temperatures (up to ~150 K). In contrast to the conventional superconductors (BCS theory), their mechanism of superconductivity remains unexplained until now. A similar scarce understanding is also peculiar to the recently synthesized iron onictide superconductors which exhibit Tc's up to, at present, about 55 K. Their discovery has triggered an enormous interest and research activity that resembles very much the gold rush-like times of the cuprate research in the late 80's.

The 477th Heraeus-Seminar will address the most actual fundamental riddles in the physics of unconventional superconductors, in particular the youngest ones, iron-pnictides, discovered about three years ago. We expect that the leading scientists active in the fields of cuprates, heavy-fermion systems, ruthenates as well as organic superconductors will considerably contribute to the program and thereby generate a mutual inspiration of the fields. We hope that 100 years after the discovery of superconductivity the 477th Heraeus Seminar will be a unique platform for discussions and the generation of new research directions.


Goals of the Seminar

• Clarification of the state of the art and definition of new approaches to understanding the nature of superconductivity in iron pnictides.
• Comparison of the physical properties of iron pnictides and related compounds from different experimental techniques and validification of the universality of theoretical models beyond particular experiments and materials.
• Joining the efforts of experimentalists and theorists through intense exchange of information in talks , posters and discussions.
• Discussion of parallels and differences between the physics of pnictides and that of other unconventional superconductors such as cuprates, heavy-fermion systems, ruthenates and organic superconductors.
• Establishment of new collaboration for performing novel experiments with complementary methods and for focusing experimental and theoretical approaches on particular problems.
• Promotion of young scientists. The seminar addresses established experts as well as young scientists. Contributing participants will have the possibility to present a poster.

 

 Scientific Organizers 

Dr. Christian Hess IFW Dresden
Dr. Sergey Borisenko IFW Dresden
Prof. Dr. Bernd Büchner IFW Dresden