MATERIALS SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM

Refreshments will be served at 10:45 a.m.

ABSTRACT: Strongly correlated electron systems are one of the most fertile areas for surprising discoveries such as high temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, volume collapses and metal to insulator transitions. For theorist, correlated electron systems, pose one of the greatest non perturbative challenges in physics. For many years, and for good reasons, strongly correlated solids were thought to be off limits for ab-initio approaches. The development of Dynamical Mean Field Theory, DMFT allowed has lead to many advances in this direction. In this talk we will introduce the main Dynamical Mean Field Theory concepts, and provide some illustrations on how they can be used to understand the properties of correlated electron materials in close connection with experiment. We will present the results in the form of theoretical spectroscopies, paralleling elastic and inelastic neutron scattering, inelastic X ray scattering, photoemission and optical spectroscopy of interesting correlated materials applied of materials which are under current intensive investigations such as the cerium and plutonium based 115 materials, and the iron pnictides and chalcogenide based high temperature superconductors. We will conclude with some perspectives on future possibilities for theory assisted material design.