Synopsis
Superconductivity has undergone tremendous advances in recent years. Most notable of course was the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the cuprates. This discovery resulted in an enormous influx of new workers to the field representing a host of experimental and theoretical disciplines. When we combine this with the discovery of superconductivity in other materials such as heavy-fermion metals, MgB2, various organics, fullerenes, field-effect devices, magnetic metals under pressure, and presumably non s-symmetry triplet Cooper-pairing in ruthenates (e. g. Sr2Ru04) we have an enrichment of the phenomena superconductivity. This resulted in an explosion of interest in the field. Many of the new superconductors are being called unconventional, either with respect to the pairing mechanism or the symmetry of the under lying order parameter. Yet in spite of these new materials and directions, continuing studies of conventional electron-phonon based superconductivity remain interesting. With the aid of historical hindsight, we expect the field to continue to advance in unexpected directions. Nonetheless it is our view that a state of the art treatise on superconductivity is justified at this time, not only to summarize the present understanding, but also to introduce newcomers to the field, as was the case with the two justly-famous 1968 "bibles of super conductivity" by our former colleague R. D. Parks for an earlier generation. Hopefully the present books might help to point the way for future workers, research and discoveries.
From the Back Cover
This is the first volume of a comprehensive two-volume treatise on superconductivity. It is the first such publication since the earlier widely acclaimed books of R. Parks. It systematically reviews the basic physics and recent advances in the field. Leading researchers describe the state of the art in conventional phonon-induced superconductivity, high-Tc superconductivity, and in novel superconductivity, including triplet pairing in the ruthenates. Progress in many-body physics, a topic of central and general interest in physics, is presented in many chapters. Volume 1 primarily addresses conventional and high-Tc superconductivity in the cuprates. Many illustrations, figures and numerous tables are included, making this volume especially useful for students, teachers and researchers. The underlying general theory of superconductivity, including the use of Green's functions, is also presented for pedagogical completeness. The second volume (ISBN 3-540-44232-4) is largely concerned with novel supercondutors, such as heavy-fermion metals and organic materials, and also includes granular superconductors. Important new results on current problems are presented in a manner designed to stimulate further research. Together these two volumes will take on the role of the new 'bible' of superconductivity and should become a standard reference work in the field for many years to come. K. Bennemann is professor of physics at the FU Berlin. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he also worked with J. Bardeen. He has also been a research Sloan-fellow. He is known particularly for his research on cluster physics, nonlinear mangneto-optics, and superconductivity. J. Ketterson is professor of physics at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. During earlier years he headed a group at the Argonne National Laboratory working on superfluidity. He is known especially for his research on the de Haas-van Alphen effect in metals and superfluidity.
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