Applications of Field Theory to Condensed Matter Physics

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This grant supports theoretical research in condensed matter physics. In particular, the research is aimed at advancing the theoretical understanding of condensed matter systems involving many strongly correlated degrees of freedom. Attention will be focused on the following: phases of doped Mott insulators, including electronic liquid crystal phases, their smectic-nematic-isotropic transitions and superconductivity; quantum critical behavior of Kondo impurities in d-wave systems, the quantum Hall effect, including strong coupling behavior of quantum Hall tunnel junctions; Ginzburg-Landau theory for Pfaffian states; and superfluids and superconductors, including d-wave spectral flow and vortex motion in dirty systems, and tunneling of magnetization in mesoscopic spin systems. The underlying theme, which unifies this entire research program, is that the problems of statistical physics raised by such systems are best attacked using the ideas and concepts of field theory.Theoretical research will be conducted on a variety of problems of great interest in condensed matter physics. The methods of field theory will be used which are particularly relevant to dealing with these problems involving strongly interacting electrons. Among the problems to be addressed are the high temperature superconductors and the quantum Hall states.