I work in condensed matter physics and complex systems, with a central interest in the constructive role of disorder. In many natural systems, functionality does not arise from perfect order, but from a specific organization of chaos. It is in this intermediate regime—between ideal order and complete disorder—that new structures, new geometries, and new properties emerge. A significant part of my research focuses on high-temperature superconductors and quantum materials, where electrons do not behave as independent particles but interact, fluctuate, and give rise to collective states, such as the superconducting state, in which coherent currents propagate without resistance. To investigate these materials, I employ synchrotron X-rays and advanced diffraction and spectroscopy techniques, combining experimental measurements with tools from complexity science, including statistical physics, spatial statistics, and network theory.

Over the years, I have applied this approach to a variety of complex systems. In addition to high-temperature superconductors [1,2], I have studied new electronic devices based on artificial heterostructures [3,4], engineered at the nanoscale to control the interaction between different electronic states, as well as out-of-equilibrium biological systems [5,6], where nanoscale structural fluctuations generate functional disorder.

My work therefore spans physics, chemistry, and biology [1,7], with the aim of understanding how disorder—far from being a limitation—can become a fundamental resource for the emergence of new properties and functionalities in natural and artificial systems.

References

[1] Campi, G., Bianconi, A., Poccia, N., Bianconi, G., Barba, L., Arrighetti, G., … & Ricci, A. (2015). Inhomogeneity of charge-density-wave order and quenched disorder in a high-T c superconductor. Nature, 525(7569), 359-362.

[2] Fratini, M., Poccia, N., Ricci, A., Campi, G., Burghammer, M., Aeppli, G., & Bianconi, A. (2010). Scale-free structural organization of oxygen interstitials in La2CuO4+ y. Nature, 466(7308), 841-844.

[3] Campi, G., Logvenov, G., Caprara, S., Valletta, A., & Bianconi, A. (2024). Kondo versus Fano in superconducting artificial high-Tc heterostructures. Condensed Matter, 9(4), 43.

[4] Valletta, A., Bianconi, A., Perali, A., Logvenov, G., & Campi, G. (2024). High-T c superconducting dome in artificial heterostructures made of nanoscale quantum building blocks. Physical Review B, 110(18), 184510.

[5] Campi, G., Di Gioacchino, M., Poccia, N., Ricci, A., Burghammer, M., Ciasca, G., & Bianconi, A. (2017). Nanoscale correlated disorder in out-of-equilibrium myelin ultrastructure. ACS nano, 12(1), 729-739.

[6] Campi, G., Fratini, M., Bukreeva, I., Ciasca, G., Burghammer, M., Brun, F., … & Cedola, A. (2015). Imaging collagen packing dynamics during mineralization of engineered bone tissue. Acta biomaterialia, 23, 309-316.

[7] Cannas, C., Ardu, A., Musinu, A., Suber, L., Ciasca, G., Amenitsch, H., & Campi, G. (2015). Hierarchical formation mechanism of CoFe2O4 mesoporous assemblies. ACS nano, 9(7), 7277-7286.

Experimental:

• X Ray Scattering and Diffraction
• X Ray Spectroscopy (EXAFS-XANES)
• X Ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy
• Neutron Diffraction and Spectroscopy
• Instrumentation, Control and Automation

Data analysis:

• Statistical Physics
• Spatial Statistics
• Graph Theory
• Optimization and Modelling
• Time series

RICMASS – Rome International Center for Materials Science of Superstripes:   Antonio Bianconi,  Maria Vittoria Mazziotti

Università La Sapienza – Dipartimento di Fisica, Roma:  Naurang Lal Saini

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma –  Dipartimento di MATEMATICA e FISICA:  Gabriele Ciasca

Università di Camerino, Scuola di Farmacia – Unità di Fisica: Andrea Perali

Università di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Chimica e Scienze Geologiche:  Carla Cannas

Istituto di Struttura della Materia – ISM CNR:   Lorenza Suber,   Patrizia Imperatori, Emmanuele Cappelluti

CNR Nanotec:  Michela Fratini,  Inna Bukreeva, Alessia Cedola

Istituto per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi – IMM CNR:   Antonio Valletta

ENEA:  Gruppo SUPERCONDUTTIVITA: Andrea Augieri,  Francesco Rizzo,  Andrea Masi, Giuseppe Celentano

INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati:  Augusto Marcelli

IFW DRESDEN – Institute for Metallic Materials: Nicola Poccia

DESY – Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron – P10 beamline: Michael Sprung

ESRF – European Synchrotron Radiation Facility – Id13 beamline: Manfred Burghammer

ELETTRA – Sincrotrone Trieste – XRD1 beamline: Luisa Barba, Giuseppe Chita – XPRESS beamline: Boby Joseph – SAXS beamline: Heinz Amenitsch

Duferco Corporate Innovation, Lugano, Switzerland – Alessandro Ricci

Percolating Puddles in Rich Quantum Landscapes