Karl Alex Muller - Böcker

The main objective of this workshop was to review and discuss the electronic and chemical properties of layered cuprate superconductors. These are doped antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulators, and there is the possibility of a dynamic phase separation into metallic clusters and AFM areas. A clarification on the existence and the mechanism of such a phase separation is believed to be crucial for the understanding of high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates.On the one hand, theoretical and recent experimental indications in favor of this possibility were presented, on the other hand experimental papers expressing more skeptical views were also delivered. Related work on phase separations of chemical and structural origin was also included, followed by contributions on the question; “If phase separation is present, what is the pairing mechanism in the metallic clusters?”.

This volume deals with an important aspect of the physics of high-temperature superconductors. In recent years a wealth of experimental and theoretical work has accumulated on the subject of anharmonicity in connection to either superconductivity or lattice properties of superconducting oxides. The papers, by leading experts, are the proceedings of the first workshop dedicated to dealing with these issues.

This volume commemorates the 10th anniversary of the discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS). The historical framework and present status of HTS are reviewed, and the future of the field contemplated so that the HTS science can be unraveled and the HTS technology developed. This book contains the works of about 200 members of the international HTS community — from universities, government centers and laboratories, major industries and small businesses. It focuses on early and major new findings in the physics and mechanisms, materials and applications of HTS, with a projection to the emerging and future areas in science and technology.

“This collection of reprints allows the reader to chart the course of Müller's scientific development, from his early papers in the late 1950s all the way to high-temperature superconductivity in 1985 … A particular highlight is Müller's work on the Jahn-Teller effect … written in 1967 and appearing only as an article in a conference proceedings is a gem. Other treasures include the reviews on structural phase transitions (from 1981 and 1991, respectively) that are otherwise only obtainable in specialist books.”Contemporary PhysicsIn this book some 50 papers published by K A Müller as author or co-author over several decades, amplified by more recent work mainly by T W Kool with collaborators, are reproduced. The main subject is Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) applied to the study of perovskites and other oxides with related subjects. This wealth of papers is organized into eleven chapters, each with an introductory text written in the light of current understanding. The contributions of the first editor on structural phase transitions have been immense, and because K A Müller and J C Fayet have published a review paper on the subject, the latter is reproduced in chapter VII. Not related to EPR is a part of chapter VIII on the dipolar and quantum paraelectric behavior with dielectric studies. In chapter X two papers proving the existence of Fermi glasses are reproduced.The year 1986 bears some significance: early in this year the paper by Bednorz and Müller on the possible observation of superconductivity was published. This resulted in a substantial shift in the paradigm of condensed matter physics, to which the present first editor has contributed scientifically with others and which will be reviewed in a second volume.

“This collection of reprints allows the reader to chart the course of Müller's scientific development, from his early papers in the late 1950s all the way to high-temperature superconductivity in 1985 … A particular highlight is Müller's work on the Jahn-Teller effect … written in 1967 and appearing only as an article in a conference proceedings is a gem. Other treasures include the reviews on structural phase transitions (from 1981 and 1991, respectively) that are otherwise only obtainable in specialist books.”Contemporary PhysicsIn this book some 50 papers published by K A Müller as author or co-author over several decades, amplified by more recent work mainly by T W Kool with collaborators, are reproduced. The main subject is Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) applied to the study of perovskites and other oxides with related subjects. This wealth of papers is organized into eleven chapters, each with an introductory text written in the light of current understanding. The contributions of the first editor on structural phase transitions have been immense, and because K A Müller and J C Fayet have published a review paper on the subject, the latter is reproduced in chapter VII. Not related to EPR is a part of chapter VIII on the dipolar and quantum paraelectric behavior with dielectric studies. In chapter X two papers proving the existence of Fermi glasses are reproduced.The year 1986 bears some significance: early in this year the paper by Bednorz and Müller on the possible observation of superconductivity was published. This resulted in a substantial shift in the paradigm of condensed matter physics, to which the present first editor has contributed scientifically with others and which will be reviewed in a second volume.