C10. Commission on Structure and Dynamics of Condensed Matter

Report to the 2002 General Assembly for 1999-2002
Berlin, Germany
October 9-12, 2002

Commission Activities

The scientific activities covered by the Commission C10 are related to the Structure and Dynamics in Condensed Matter.

During the period of 1999 to the fall 2002, the following international conferences in the C10 field have been sponsored by IUPAP.

• The International conference on luminescence and optical spectroscopy of condensed matter in Osaka, Japan (1999); Organizer: Prof. T. Kushida.
  
• The 6th International conference on the Structure of Surfaces in Vancouver, Canada (1999); Organizer: Prof. Mitchell).
  
• The 5th. International Conference on Excitonic Processes in Condensed Matter in Darwin, Australia (2002); Organizer: Prof. Jai Singh.
  
• The 7th International Conference on the Structure of Surfaces in Newcastle, Australia (2002); Organizer: Prof. J. O'Connor

New Developments

The research activities covered by the Commission C10 are related to the Structure and Dynamics in Condensed matter. This area is very broad including materials with different ground states (metallic, semi-conducting or insulating), very often complex disordered systems (granular, polymeric, nano-structured, …). The techniques used for the study of these materials are numerous and include luminescence, optical spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation and neutron scattering.

An intense activity concerns the determination of crystallographic and magnetic structural phase transitions, as a function of external parameters, namely temperature and pressure, in numerous materials: perovskites, molecular crystals, super-alloys, hybrids, carbon nanotubes, incommensurate and quasi-crystalline materials.

New subjects have emerged during the last years. The study of Complex Electronics Systems, including ruthenates manganites, mixed valence and Kondo systems, needs long-term tenacious experimental efforts coupled to new theoretical developments to unravel intricate effects due to the interplay between numerous degrees of freedom (charge, spin, lattice). New concepts are emerging such as the competition between several ordered ground states, the presence of quantum critical points, the importance of charge ordering and charge segregation phenomena, low dimensional effects. Very active domains concern nano-magnetism, specifically in confined media, as well as in thin films and hetero-structures, and molecular magnetism.

The common trend now in Soft Matter is the study of more complex systems with two or more components, as polymer systems mechanically reinforced by nano-particle fillers, vesicles with membranes stabilized by polymers, poly-electrolytes with charged particles

MAIN CONFERENCE IN THE FIELD OF C10

Most other commissions meet at one of the major conferences sponsored by those commissions: International Conference on Low Temperature, Physics for C5, International Conference in Semiconductor Physics for C8, International Magnetism Conference for C9, …

There is not a general large conference sponsored by C10 which can attract a large part of the members of the Commission. Therefore, unfortunately, it has not been possible for the Commission to meet during the last years. The most appropriate solution would of course be to give to the Commission the organization of a conference which would cover the largest area of physics for which C10 has a mandate.

LARGE-SCALE FACILITIES

Neutron scattering and synchrotron radiation for the investigation of the structure and dynamics of condensed matter is of direct relevance for the subject areas covered by C10.

The Commission is represented in the "Working Group on Facilities for Condensed Matter Physics" (WGFCMP) formed by a resolution of the IUPAP council in 1998. The charge of this working group was broadened at the council meeting in October 1999.

The activity of the WGFCMP has concentrated on the problem of the future of neutron sources. There has been a first meeting in Mito (Japan) on November 3-4, 2000 and another meeting during the "International Conference on Neutron Scattering" (Münich) on September 9, 2001.

The Mito meeting was an effort the WGFCMP to appoint an "International Committee on the Future of Neutron Sources (ICFNS)", including members of the IUPAP Commissions, representatives of regional user groups, appropriate labs, developing countries, and other involved organizations. The presentation at these meetings have shown that the neutron scattering methods have unique power and may be even enlarged when used complementary to synchrotron radiation and other advanced structural method for the study of physical, chemical, biological, earth and engineering sciences.

Pierre Monceau
Secretary