The Gaussian Effective Potential in a fixed transverse unitarity gauge is studied for the static three-dimensional U(1) scalar electrodynamics (Ginzburg-Landau phenomenological theory of superconductivity). In the broken-symmetry phase the mass of the electromagnetic field (inverse penetration depth) and the mass of the scalar field (inverse correlation length) are both determined by solution of the coupled variational equations. At variance with previous calculations, the choice of a fixed unitarity gauge prevents from the occurrence of any unphysical degree of freedom. The theory provides a nice interpolation of the experimental data when approaching the critical region, where the standard mean-field method is doomed to failure.

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Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor, which is considered as a possible alternative to silicon for particles and photons detection. Its characteristics make it very promising for the next generation of nuclear and particle physics experiments at high beam luminosity. Silicon Carbide detectors for Intense Luminosity Investigations and Applications (SiCILIA) is a project starting as a collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and IMM-CNR, aiming at the realization of innovative detection systems based on SiC. In this paper, we discuss the main features of silicon carbide as a material and its potential application in the field of particles and photons detectors, the project structure and the strategies used for the prototype realization, and the first results concerning prototype production and their performance.

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