High temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides, with a critical temperature Tc in excess of 55ºK, was discovered in early 2008. The enormous impact of this discovery upon the scientific community was comparable to that of the discovery of the high-Tc cuprates in 1986. The complexity of these materials surpasses that of cuprates: unlike the latter, they involve multiorbital (multiband) physics and correlation effects distinct from the Hubbard-dominated correlations in cuprates. This new development has rekindled a belief that broad practical application of high-Tc superconductivity is a viable goal.  It also demonstrated that cuprates are not a unique family of unconventional, high-Tc superconductors.

New data and ideas are rapidly emerging, and the objective of this rapid response workshop is to bring theorists and experimentalists together to discuss fundamental issues for Fe-based high-Tc superconductors, such as the symmetry of the superconducting state, the pairing mechanism, the magnetic properties, the strength and character of electronic correlations, and the role of orbital degrees of freedom.

The workshop will primarily be organized around 30-minute talks leading to extended discussions, with a few longer talks reserved for an overview or new, unpublished results.  There will be ample time for thorough discussions besides the seminars.  During the last three days of the workshop, we plan to hold some round table discussions to gauge the progress in our understanding of Fe-pnictides. Strong preference will be given to those applicants who can stay the full two weeks, although exceptions can be made for experimentalists if necessary.