Quantum phase transitions in atomic nuclei
Jose-Enrique García-Ramos (Huelva, Spain)
11h room 105 GANIL
Phase transitions are phenomena appearing everywhere: boiling water, magnetic materials, superconductivity, superfluidity, etc. All these cases correspond to macroscopic systems (very large number of constituents) and develop at finite temperature. In recent years, people start to study phase transitions in finite systems at zero temperature, i.e. Quantum Phase Transitions (QPT). In particular, a very active field is the study of QPT in the atomic nuclei. In this seminar I will present the particularities of QPT in the atomic nuclei and other finite systems: experimental observables, critical point symmetries, influence of the finiteness of the system, different techniques to deal with QPT and its influence on other phenomena such as quantum decoherence. Many of the examples will be given in the framework of the Interacting Boson Model.
