This article reviews, from a very personal point of view, the origins and the early work on
transitions driven by topological defects such as vortices in the two dimensional planar rotor …

The main aspects of the theory of phase transitions in two-dimensional degenerate systems
(Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless, or BKT, transitions) are reviewed in detail, including the …

Topological superconductors (TSCs), featuring fully gapped bulk and gapless surface states
as well as Majorana fermions, have potential applications in fault-tolerant topological …

Control and understanding of ensembles of skyrmions is important for realization of future
technologies. In particular, the order-disorder transition associated with the 2D lattice of …

The best understood crystal ordering transition is that of two-dimensional freezing, which
proceeds by the rapid eradication of lattice defects as the temperature is lowered below a …

The critical current of a superconducting nanostructure can be suppressed by applying an
electric field in its vicinity. This phenomenon is investigated throughout the fabrication and …

Novel schemes based on the design of complex three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale
architectures are required for the development of the next generation of advanced electronic …

Novel physical properties appear when the size of a superconductor is reduced to the
nanoscale, in the range of its superconducting coherence length (ξ0). Such …

We provide a comprehensive quantitative analysis of localized and extended topological
defects in the steady state of 2D passive and active repulsive Brownian disk systems. We …

A superconductor in a magnetic field acquires a finite electrical resistance caused by vortex
motion. A quest to immobilize vortices and recover zero resistance at high fields made …