"The Effect of Quenched Impurities on First-Order Transitions"John Cardy , IAS and Oxford University [Host: Paul Fendley]
ABSTRACT:
In two dimensions, it is known that the presence of any
finite concentration of quenched impurities drives a first-order phase
transition into a continuous one (or destroys it completely). In three
dimensions, this is believed also to occur, above some critical
concentration. However, the nature of the continuous transition which
may result is very poorly understood. This talk will review the
physics behind these results, discuss some of the numerical efforts at
understanding the problem, and finally describe one model for which a
more complete picture is available.
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Condensed Matter Seminar Thursday, February 13, 2003 2:30 PM Physics Building, Room 313 Note special time. Note special room. |
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