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Fluctuation and gauge effects on the critical behavior of superconductors

Gauge effects on the fluctuation properties of the normal-to-superconducting phase transition in bulk and thin film superconductors are reviewed. Similar problems in the description of other natural systems (liquid crystals, quantum field theory, early universe) are also discussed. The relatively strong gauge effects on the fluctuations of the ordering field at low spatial dimensionality $D$ and, in particular, in thin (quasi-2D) films are considered in details. A special attention is paid to the fluctuations of the gauge field. It is shown that the mechanism, in which these gauge fluctuations affect the phase transition order and other phase transition properties varies with the variation of spatial dimensionality $D$. The problem for the experimental confirmation of theoretical predictions about the order of phase transitions in gauge systems is discussed. Related topics: gauge effects on the critical behavior of unconventional superconductors, disorder, quantum fluctuations in a close vicinity of ultra-low phase transition temperatures, are also briefly discussed.