Condensed matter physics

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. (June 2009)

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Physics or the Physics Portal may be able to help recruit one. (June 2009)

Condensed matter physics

Phases · Phase transition States of matter Solid · Liquid · Gas · Bose-Einstein condensate · Fermionic condensate· Fermi gas · Fermi liquid · Supersolid · Superfluid · Luttinger liquid Phase phenomena Order parameter · Phase transition Electronic phases Insulator · Mott insulator · Semiconductor · Semimetal · Conductor · Superconductor · Thermoelectric · Piezoelectric · Ferroelectric Electronic phenomena Quantum Hall effect · Spin Hall effect · Kondo effect Magnetic phases Diamagnet · Superdiamagnet Paramagnet · Superparamagnet Ferromagnet · Antiferromagnet Ferrimagnet · Metamagnet Spin glass Quasiparticles Phonon · Exciton · Plasmon Polariton · Polaron · Magnon Soft matter Amorphous solid · Granular matter · Liquid crystal · Polymer Scientists Bardeen · Bloch · Born · Cooper · Debye · Fermi · Landau · Pauli · Schrieffer · Schockley

This box: view • talk • edit

Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter. In particular, it is concerned with the "condensed" phases that appear whenever the number of constituents in a system is extremely large and the interactions between the constituents are strong. The most familiar examples of condensed phases are solids and liquids, which arise from the bonding and electromagnetic force between atoms. More exotic condensed phases include the superfluid and the Bose-Einstein condensate found in certain atomic systems at very low temperatures, the superconducting phase exhibited by conduction electrons in certain materials, and the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases of spins on atomic lattices. Condensed matter physics is that branch of physics which deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter namely, solid and liquid, when their constituents are large and strong.

Condensed matter physics is by far the largest field of contemporary physics. Much progress has also been made in theoretical condensed matter physics. By one estimate, one third of all United States physicists identify themselves as condensed matter physicists. Historically, condensed matter physics grew out of solid-state physics, which is now considered one of its main subfields. The term "condensed matter physics" was apparently coined in 1967 by Philip Anderson and Volker Heine when they renamed their research group at Cavendish Laboratory - previously "solid-state theory". In 1978, the Division of Solid State Physics at the American Physical Society was renamed as the Division of Condensed Matter Physics.^[1] Condensed matter physics has a large overlap with chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology and engineering.

One of the reasons for calling the field "condensed matter physics" is that many of the concepts and techniques developed for studying solids actually apply to fluid systems. For instance, the conduction electrons in an electrical conductor form a type of quantum fluid with essentially the same properties as fluids made up of atoms. In fact, the phenomenon of superconductivity, in which the electrons condense into a new fluid phase in which they can flow without dissipation, is very closely analogous to the superfluid phase found in He 4 at low temperatures and He 3 when two of these atoms pair and thus take on boson properties.

Topics in condensed matter physics

• Phases
  • Generic phases - Gas(* uncondensed); Liquid; Solid
  • Low temperature phases - Bose-Einstein condensate; Fermi gas; Fermi liquid; Fermionic condensate; Luttinger liquid; Superfluid; Composite fermions; Supersolid
  • Phase phenomena - Order parameter; Phase transition; Cooling curve
• Interfaces
  • Surface tension
  • Domain growth - Nucleation; Spinodal decomposition
  • Interfacial growth - Dendritic growth; Solidification fronts; Viscous fingering
• Crystalline solids
  • Types - Insulator; Metal; Semiconductor; Semimetal
  • Electronic properties - Band gap; Bloch wave; Conduction band; Effective mass (solid-state physics); Electrical conduction; Electron hole; Valence band
  • Electronic phenomena - Kondo effect; Plasmon; Quantum Hall effect; Superconductivity; Wigner crystal; Thermoelectricity
  • Lattice phenomena - Antiferromagnet; Ferroelectric effect; Ferromagnet; Magnon; Phonon; Spin glass; Topological defect; Multiferroics
• Non-crystalline solids
  • Types -Amorphous solid; Granular matter; Quasicrystals
• Soft condensed matter
  • Types - Liquid crystals; Polymers; Complex fluids; Gels; Foams; Emulsions; Colloids
• Nanotechnology
  • Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS)
  • Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy
  • Heat Transport in Nanoscale Systems
  • Spin Transport

See also

References