For distribution

[CM ICTP - Trieste]

SEMINAR on

Disorder and strong electron correlations



Thursday, 2 October      -  11:00 a.m.





Seminar Room,  Leonardo Bldg.- first floor





V. KRAVTSOV ( I.C.T.P. )

"Super insulator: What is it?"



Abstract



We analyze the recent experiments in InO films which show a dramatic  
jump in the resistance as a function of the applied voltage.  These  
experiments provoke speculations about a "super-insulator" as a "new  
state of matter".  We show that all the qualitative details of recent  
experiments and many

quantitative estimations follow from the model that assumes lack of  
equilibrium  between electron system and phonon bath which arises at  
low enough temperatures at a finite voltage bias.