Superconductivity: Introduction to Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology and microscopic BCS theory

This set of four Lectures has the limited objective of presenting (i) some standard experimental facts about the conventional superconductors, (ii) the Ginzburg-Landau phenomenological description of superconductors based on the concept of a complex order parameter that acts as the macroscopic wavefunction, and (iii) the microscopic theory of BCS based on the idea of momentum-space pairing, in the weak-coupling limit. The discussion ends with some general remarks relating to the all important question - are the novel oxide superconductors with their high Tc and small coherence length really different fundamentally. These discussions are intended to prepare the mixed audience of this School for the Lectures on high Tc superconductivity that will follow later in the course. (author). Refs and figs