Descripción del proyecto
Desarrollo de nuevos métodos y herramientas para estudiar las propiedades exóticas de nuevos materiales cuánticos
El ámbito de la física de la materia condensada que aborda los líquidos y sólidos se concentra en las propiedades emergentes de la materia a gran escala. Los sistemas de electrones estrechamente correlacionados forman una categoría importante de materiales cuánticos que presentan propiedades magnéticas y electrónicas exóticas difíciles de explicar a través de las propiedades de sus componentes, que no interactúan. Las propiedades cuánticas de materiales exóticos, como semimetales y superconductores, influyen directamente en el transporte de electrones y calor. Aunque la mayor parte de la investigación sobre materia condensada se ha centrado en las propiedades de los estados fundamentales cuánticos, los estados cuánticos de la materia con diferentes patrones de entrelazamiento cuántico de largo alcance podrían tener importantes aplicaciones. El proyecto TRANSPORT, financiado con fondos europeos, está desarrollando herramientas y protocolos para estudiar el transporte de electrones y calor en importantes sistemas cuánticos.
Objetivo
The last decade has witnessed a revolution in the prediction and understanding of new phases of matter characterized by topology and entanglement. This includes topological insulators, semimetals, superconductors, quantum spin liquids, topological Kondo systems, etc.. However, most of the theory is directed at the classification of ground state properties and elementary excitations, and most successful experiments are spectroscopic. The big frontier is transport. The latter is the key for nearly all applications in condensed matter. It is also the most sensitive probe, and gives access to the lowest frequencies and energies. Yet its understanding remains much more primitive than that of many techniques, at a time when the body of transport experiments is rapidly growing. Responding to the need to tackle this problem extensively, the proposed ERC will provide a broad and detailed understanding of heat and electrical transport in a wide variety of quantum systems in various regimes: quantum magnets at low/high temperatures, near critical points, and semimetals. It will provide key tools and guidelines to study and understand transport in experiments.
I propose to focus on two goals that I deem most direly needed for the understanding of transport: 1. Develop the theory of thermal conductivity in complex magnets, both in quantum spin liquids and more generally at high temperatures and quantum critical points, 2. Investigate transport in novel conducting and superconducting states with controllable topology induced by spontaneous symmetry breaking phenomena.
Achieving these goals will enable informed interpretation of a growing body of modern experiments on correlated states. The proposed work will add to fundamental theory, develop new tools and methodologies, and forge ties to specific experiments, laying the groundwork for future applications. It will train students and postdocs in cutting-edge theory and the art of applying it to quantum materials.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitución de acogida
75794 Paris
Francia