1998/11/27 by Adriaan M. J. Schakel
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat
published as in Correlations, Coherence, and Order, edited by D. N. Shopova and D. I. Uzunov (Plenum, New York, 1999), p. 295 · 78 pages, 12 figures. Lectures presented at the 1st Pamporovo Winter Workshop, 7th--15th March, 1998, Pamporovo, Bulgaria. To be published in "Correlations, Coherence, And Order", edited by D. V. Shopova and D. I. Uzunov (Plenum Press, London--New York, 1999)
These lectures provide a pedagogical introduction to the theory of continuous quantum phase transitions. Various two-dimensional condensed matter systems, such as a superconducting film, a quantum Hall liquid, and an array of Josephson junctions, undergo such a phase transition at the absolute zero of temperature. The universality classes defined by repulsively interacting bosons with and without disorder are shown to play a central role in understanding these systems.