RUI: Thermal Properties of Strongly-Coupled Extreme Type-II Superconductors in the Mixed State

技术总结作为NSF本科生研究所(RUI)计划的一部分，这项建议支持研究和教育，并涉及对强耦合超导体性质的理论研究。最近在2008年1月发现了铁基超导体，并在2001年发现了二硼化镁超导体，这引起了人们极大的科学兴趣。这些超导体都是极端的第二类超导体，允许超导性与强磁场共存，并具有高转变温度。PI的目的是从朗道能级对方案的高场极限出发，计算强耦合极端第二类超导体的热力学性质。首先，将推导出一个理论模型，并根据实验确定的参数进行数值计算，这些参数有助于深入了解这些超导体的热力学和输运性质。该项目的最终目标是阐明第二类超导体混合态的本质。该项目的计算方面将为物理、数学和计算机科学本科生提供各种学习机会。这项研究还将被整合到古彻学院的学术项目中，它将有助于物理课程中已经到位的跨学科材料科学重点。本提案支持位于马里兰州巴尔的摩县的独立男女同校文科学院古彻学院物理系的一项研究和教育工作。该计划的研究内容将侧重于增进我们对过去十年中发现的两类新型超导材料的了解，这两种材料分别是2001年的二硼化镁和2008年的铁基超导体。作为这项研究的一部分，改进的超导材料的开发为提高国家电网的可靠性、容量和效率提供了潜在的前景。这项研究将专注于开发描述这些新型超导体性质的理论模型，然后进行数值模拟，以帮助了解这些材料在不同条件下的行为，如温度变化。该项目的计算方面将为物理、数学和计算机科学本科生提供各种学习机会。这项研究还将被整合到古彻学院的学术项目中，它将有助于物理课程中已经到位的跨学科材料科学重点。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis proposal supports research and education as part of the NSF Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program, and involves the theoretical study of the properties of strongly-coupled superconductors. The recent discovery of iron-based superconductors in January 2008, and the discovery of the magnesium diboride superconductors in 2001, has stimulated great scientific interest. These superconductors are all of the extreme type-II variety which permits coexistence of superconductivity with high magnetic field as well as having high transition temperatures. The PI aims to calculate the thermodynamic properties of strongly coupled extreme type-II superconductors starting from the high-field limit of the Landau level pairing scheme. First, a theoretical model will be derived and used to perform numerical calculations based on experimentally-determined parameters that help provide insight into the thermodynamic and transport properties of these superconductors. The ultimate goal is to elucidate the nature of the mixed state of type-II superconductors.The computational aspects of the project will provide a variety of learning opportunities for physics, mathematics, and computer science undergraduate students. The research will also be integrated into the academic program at Goucher College, where it will contribute to an interdisciplinary materials science emphasis already in place in the physics curriculum. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis proposal supports a research and education effort in the Department of Physics at Goucher College, an independent, co-educational liberal arts college located in Baltimore County, Maryland. The research component of this program will focus on enhancing our understanding of two new classes of superconducting materials that have been discovered in the past decade, magnesium diboride in 2001 and iron-based superconductors in 2008. Development of improved superconducting materials of the type studied as part of this research offer potential promise for upgrading the reliability, capacity, and efficiency of the national power grid. The research will focus on developing theoretical models that describe the properties of these novel superconductors, and then carry out numerical simulations to help understand how these materials behave under different conditions, such as changes in temperature. The computational aspects of the project will provide a variety of learning opportunities for physics, mathematics, and computer science undergraduate students. The research will also be integrated into the academic program at Goucher College, where it will contribute to an interdisciplinary materials science emphasis already in place in the physics curriculum.