Cartwright and her collaborators have elaborated a provocative view of science which emphasises the independence from theory &unknown;in methods and aims&unknown; of phenomenological model building. This thesis has been supported in a recent paper by an analysis of the London and London model of superconductivity. In the present work we begin with a critique of Cartwright's account of the relationship between theoretical and phenomenological models before elaborating an alternative picture within the framework of the partial structures version of the semantic (...) approach to theories. Drawing on the recent histories of superconductivity by Dahl and Gavroglu, together with the original works by London and London and by F. London separately, and taking due consideration of the heuristic aspects, we argue that the historical details fail to support Cartwright et al.'s claims but that they fit comfortably within the partial structures framework. (shrink)

A superconducting transition temperature as high as 100 K was recently discovered in one monolayer FeSe grown on SrTiO3. The discovery ignited efforts to identify the mechanism for the markedly enhanced Tc from its bulk value of 8 K. There are two main views about the origin of the Tc enhancement: interfacial effects and/or excess electrons with strong electron correlation. Here, we report the observation of superconductivity below 20 K in surface electron-doped bulk FeSe. The doped surface layer possesses all (...) the key spectroscopic aspects of the monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3. Without interfacial effects, the surface layer state has a moderate Tc of 20 K with a smaller gap opening of 4.2 meV. Our results show that excess electrons with strong correlation cannot induce the maximum Tc, which in turn reveals the need for interfacial effects to achieve the highest Tc in one monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3. (shrink)

This book is about the work of 10 great scientists; who they were and are, their personal background and how they achieved their outstanding results and took their prominent place in science history. We follow one of physics and science history's most enigmatic phenomena, superconductivity, through 100 years, from its discovery in 1911 to the present, not as a history book in the usual sense, but through close ups of the leading characters and their role in that story, the Nobel (...) laureates, who were still among us in the years 2001-2004 when the main round of interviews was carried out. Since then two of them already passed away. For each one of the 10 laureates, the author tells their story by direct quotation from interviews in their own words. Each chapter treats one laureate. The author first gives a brief account of the laureates' scientific background and main contribution. Then each laureate tells his own story in his own words. This book is unique in its approach to science history. (shrink)

In 1993, after an optimistic beginning followed by a half-decadeof conflict, the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project wasabandoned. In an era of `Big Science', a major scientificenterprise collapsed. Why? We employ the metaphor of the`frontier outpost' to analyse a critical moment in the history ofthis vastly expensive project, when the physicists who designedthe machine were forced to recognize that traditional post-warscientific values were no longer in harmony with governmentpriorities.

It is shown that the existence of d-wave superconductivity in the two-dimensional Hubbard model close to half-filling can be inferred from a renormalization group analysis at one-loop level.

Following the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson, physicists explained the discovery to the public by appealing to analogies with condensed matter physics. The historical root of these analogies is the analogies to models of superconductivity that inspired the introduction of spontaneous symmetry breaking into particle physics in the early 1960s. We offer a historical and philosophical analysis of the analogies between the Higgs model of the electroweak interaction and the Ginsburg-Landau and Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer models of superconductivity, respectively. The conclusion of (...) our analysis is that both sets of analogies are purely formal in virtue of the fact that they are accompanied by substantial physical disanalogies. In particular, the formal analogies do not map the temporal, causal, or modal structures of SSB in superconductivity to temporal, causal, or modal structures in the Higgs model. These substantial physical disanalogies mean that analogies to models of superconductivity cannot supply the basis for the physical interpretation of EW SSB; however, an appreciation of the contrast between the physical interpretations of SSB in superconductivity and the Higgs model does help to clarify some foundational issues. Unlike SSB in superconductivity, SSB in the Higgs sector of the Standard Model is neither a temporal nor a causal process. We discuss the implications for the `eating' metaphor for mass gain in the Higgs model. Furthermore, the distinction between the phenomenological GL model and the dynamical BCS model does not carry over to EW models, which clarifies the desiderata for so-called `dynamical' models of EW SSB. Finally, the development of the Higgs model is an illuminating case study for philosophers of science because it illustrates how purely formal analogies can play a fruitful heuristic role in physics. (shrink)

Its is pointed out that the low-energy effective theory that describes the low-lying glueballs of the pure Yang-Mills theory sustains static classical stringlike solutions. We suggest that these objects can be identified with the QCD flux tubes and their energy per unit length with the string tension.

How does a predecessor theory relate to its successor? According to Heinz Post's General Correspondence Principle, the successor theory has to account for the empirical success of its predecessor. After a critical discussion of this principle, I outline and discuss various kinds of correspondence relations that hold between successive scientific theories. I then look in some detail at a case study from contemporary physics: the various proposals for a theory of high-temperature superconductivity. The aim of this case study is to (...) understand better the prospects and the place of a methodological principle such as the Generalized Correspondence Principle. Generalizing from the case study, I will then argue that some such principle has to be considered, at best, as one tool that might guide scientists in their theorizing. Finally I present a tentative account of why principles such as the Generalized Correspondence Principle work so often and why there is so much continuity in scientific theorizing. (shrink)

Pure quantum phenomena are characterized by intrinsic recurrences in space and time. We use this intrinsic periodicity as a quantization condition to derive a heuristic description of the essential quantum phenomenology of superconductivity. The resulting description is based on fundamental quantum dynamics and geometrical considerations, rather than on microscopical characteristics of the superconducting materials. This allows us to investigate the related gauge symmetry breaking in terms of the competition between quantum recurrence and thermal noise. We also test the validity of (...) this approach to describe the case of carbon nanotubes. (shrink)

Decoherence is one of the most serious drawback in quantum mechanical applications. We discuss the effects of noise in superconducting devices (Josephson junctions) and suggest a decoherence-control strategy based on the quantum Zeno effect.

The first lecture provides an introduction to the physics of color superconductivity in cold dense quark matter. The main color superconducting phases are briefly described and their properties are listed. The second lecture covers recent developments in studies of color superconducting phases in neutral and β-equilibrated matter. The properties of gapless color superconducting phases are discussed.

Based on three earlier papers which treat electromagnetic, elastogravitational, and radiant-nonradiant thermal phenomena in terms of six types of electric or nonelectric charges, the authors classify states of matter as hyperefficient, efficient, semiefficient, and hypoefficient in transmitting a particular type of charge, by means of a generalization of Ohm's law to two or three dimensions. Conventional states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, vacuum) are associated with torsional (gravitational) charges. Applications are made to electric superconductivity of crystals at elevated temperatures, and (...) to frequency shift (gravitational red shift, Lamb shift, and Zeeman and Stark effects). (shrink)

In this letter we demonstrate that the fermionic zero modes on a superconducting domain wall can be associated to an one dimensional \ supersymmetry that contains non-trivial topological charges. In addition, the system also possesses three distinct \ supersymmetries with non-trivial topological charges and we also study some duality transformations of the supersymmetric algebras.

This article argues that phenomenological treatment of physical problems is more powerful than fundamental treatment. Developments in the field of superconductivity present us with a clear example of such superiority. The BCS (Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer) was accepted as the fundamental theory of superconductivity for a long time. Nevertheless, Landau and Ginzburg phenomenological model has so far proven to be a more fruitful theoretical representation to understand and to predict the features of superconductivity and superconductive materials.

We call for a new philosophical conception of models in physics. Some standard conceptions take models to be useful approximations to theorems, that are the chief means to test theories. Hence the heuristics of model building is dictated by the requirements and practice of theory-testing. In this paper we argue that a theory-driven view of models can not account for common procedures used by scientists to model phenomena. We illustrate this thesis with a case study: the construction of one of (...) the first comprehensive model of superconductivity by London brothers in 1934. Instead of theory-driven view of models, we suggest a phenomenologically-driven one. (shrink)

The demise of the Superconducting Supercollider is often explained in terms of the strain that it placed on the federal budget of the United States, and change in national security interests with the end of the Cold War. Recent work by Steve Fuller provides a framework to re-examine this episode in epistemological terms using the work of Kuhn and Popper. Using this framework, it is tempting to explain the demise as resulting from the overly Kuhnian character of its proponents, who (...) supposedly argued for its construction by appealing to the importance of testing the predictions of a specific paradigm. On this reading, the SSC case appears as an example of how Kuhn’s paradigm-driven view of science was invoked to keep science closed and autonomous from society. I argue that the SSC episode should not be viewed as giving support to the displacement of Kuhn’s view of science for Popper’s, and that such a displacement is detrimental to the project of integrating discussion on science into the public sphere. Drawing upon Rouse and Wimsatt, I argue that understanding paradigms as practices blunts some criticisms against Kuhn’s model, and that his model should play an important epistemological role in the aforementioned project.Keywords: Thomas S. Kuhn; Karl Popper; Steve Fuller; Big Science; Superconducting Supercollider. (shrink)

We investigate electromagnetically induced transparency and Autler–Townes splitting in a superconducting quantum circuit with a four-level V-type energy spectrum constructed by two coupled superconducting charge qubits. We show that it is possible for this four-level superconducting system to exhibit multiple dips in the absorption spectrum of a probe field, with at most three dips resulting from a combination of two ATS subsystems, which indicates the breakdown of the traditional correspondence between a \\) -level system and \ dips. It is also (...) shown that the switching from EIT to ATS can be realized in a three-level ladder-type subsystem. (shrink)

This paper argues that historical research is an important tool for modeling problem-solving in scientific invention and discovery. Two important cases in the history of modern physics—the invention of the transistor by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain and the development of the theory of superconductivity by Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and J. Robert Schrieffer—reveal factors essential to include in such a model. The focus is on problem-solving practices: problem decomposition, analogy, bridging principles, team-work, empirical tinkering, and library research. A complete framework (...) must encompass the full range of factors, including contingent individual traits and environmental circumstances. (shrink)

(1984). Some methodological and historical considerations in low temperature physics: The case of superconductivity 1911–57. Annals of Science: Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 135-149.

There has been a lot of interest in generalizing orthodox quantum mechanics to include POV measures as observables, namely as unsharp obserrables. Such POV measures are related to symmetric operators. We have argued recently that only maximal symmetric operators should describe observables.1 This generalization to maximal symmetric operators has many physical applications. One application is in the area of quantization. We shall discuss a scheme, to he called quantization by parts,which can systematically deal with what may be called quantum circuits. (...) As a specific application we shall present a novel derivation of the famous Josephson equation for the supercurrent through a Josephson junction in a superconducting circuit. An interesting effect emerges from our quantization scheme when applied to a superconducting Y-shape circuit configuration. We also propose an experimental test for this effect which is expected to shed light on some conceptual problems on the quantum nature of the condensate. (shrink)

Experimental tests of various trace formulas, which in general relate the density of states for a given quantum mechanical system to the properties of the periodic orbits of its classical counterpart, for spectra of superconducting microwave billiards of varying chaoticity are reviewed by way of examples. For a two-dimensional Bunimovich stadium billiard the application of Gutzwiller's trace formula is shown to yield correctly locations and strengths of the peaks in the Fourier transformed quantum spectrum in terms of the shortest unstable (...) classical periodic orbits. Furthermore, in two-dimensional billiards of the Limaçon family the transition from regular to chaotic dynamics is studied in terms of a recently derived general trace formula by Ullmo, Grinberg and Tomsovic. Finally, some salient features of wave dynamical chaos in a fully chaotic three-dimensional Sinai microwave billiard are discussed. Here the reconstruction of the spectrum is not as straightforward as in the two-dimensional cases and a modified trace formula as suggested by Balian and Duplantier will have eventually to be applied. (shrink)

The article retraces the social and institutional circumstances that in 1986 led two researchers at the IBM laboratory near Zurich, Müller and Bednorz, to discover high-temperature superconductivity. After confirmation of the unexpected breakthrough an unprecedented mobilization of research groups all over the world took place while simul taneously high-temperature superconductivity turned into a subject of intense media interest. The authors discuss these events under three perspectives: the closer interlinkage capacity of researchers and the relationship between the social organization of research (...) and unforeseen cases of scientific creativity. (shrink)

Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson and Adrienne W. Kolb, Tunnel Visions: The Rise and Fall of the Superconducting Super Collider (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2015), xiii+448 pp.

Einstein's early thoughts about superconductivity are discussed as a case study of how theoretical physics reacts to experimental findings that are incompatible with established theoretical notions. One such notion that is discussed is the model of electric conductivity implied by Drude's electron theory of metals, and the derivation of the Wiedemann-Franz law within this framework. After summarizing the experimental knowledge on superconductivity around 1920, the topic is then discussed both on a phenomenological level in terms of implications of Maxwell's equations (...) for the case of infinite conductivity, and on a microscopic level in terms of suggested models for superconductive charge transport. Analyzing Einstein's manuscripts and correspondence as well as his own 1922 paper on the subject, it is shown that Einstein had a sustained interest in superconductivity and was well informed about the phenomenon. It is argued that his appointment as special professor in Leiden in 1920 was motivated to a considerable extent by his perception as a leading theoretician of quantum theory and condensed matter physics and the hope that he would contribute to the theoretical direction of the experiments done at Kamerlingh Onnes' cryogenic laboratory. Einstein tried to live up to these expectations by proposing at least three experiments on the phenomenon, one of which was carried out twice in Leiden. Compared to other theoretical proposals at the time, the prominent role of quantum concepts was characteristic of Einstein's understanding of the phenomenon. The paper concludes with comments on Einstein's epistemological reflections on the problem. (shrink)