Order Parameters, Broken Symmetry, and Topology
arXiv:cond-mat/9204009
Abstract
We introduce the theoretical framework we use to study the bewildering variety of phases in condensed--matter physics. We emphasize the importance of the breaking of symmetries, and develop the idea of an order parameter through several examples. We discuss elementary excitations and the topological theory of defects.
Lectures Given at the Santa Fe Complexity Institute Summer School, 1991. Jeffrey Goldstone's name corrected