Researchers Vijay Singh and Shraddha Singh, affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, have revisited a classic many-body physics technique that could have significant implications for understanding and developing advanced materials for the energy sector.
The Zubarev Double Time Green’s Function method, pioneered in 1960 by D.N. Zubarev, is a powerful technique that has seen a resurgence in recent years. This method allows physicists to study the complex interactions between particles in a system, which is crucial for understanding the behavior of materials at the atomic level. Singh and Shraddha Singh have presented a comprehensive overview of this technique and demonstrated its application to both non-interacting electron and boson gases, as well as the many-body Hubbard model.
The Hubbard model is particularly relevant to the energy sector as it describes the behavior of electrons in a lattice, which is a common scenario in many materials used in energy storage and conversion devices. By applying the Zubarev technique to the Hubbard model, the researchers were able to derive the Stoner criterion for ferromagnetism, which is a key factor in the design of magnetic materials for various applications, including data storage and magnetic refrigeration.
Moreover, the technique is easily extendable to study superconductivity, a phenomenon with profound implications for energy transmission and storage. Superconductors can carry electric current without resistance, making them highly efficient for energy transmission. However, most superconductors only work at extremely low temperatures, limiting their practical applications. Understanding the many-body interactions in these materials could lead to the development of high-temperature superconductors, which would revolutionize the energy sector.
The research was published in the journal Physical Review B, a leading publication in the field of condensed matter physics. While the immediate practical applications of this research may be limited, the insights gained from this study could pave the way for significant advancements in the development of new materials for energy storage, conversion, and transmission. As our understanding of these complex systems grows, so too will our ability to harness their unique properties for the benefit of the energy sector.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.