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

Goucher College, Towson MD

Investigators

Abstract

TECHNICAL SUMMARY This 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 SUMMARY This 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.