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Fracton as windows to topology, interaction and constraints in Emerging Phases of Matter

Project description

Finding the ‘words’ to describe one of the weirdest hypothetical quasi-particles yet

Words are not enough when it comes to describing the physical world. Mathematics put concrete relationships into focus, first as proposed ways of working and later as ‘proven’ through rigorous experimentation or, less often, serendipitous discovery. Field theories are one of the languages of mathematics, comprising theoretical frameworks that describe the physical behaviours of matter owed to phenomena such as magnetism or gravity. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the fracton project is developing a novel field theory framework to describe the behaviours of the exotic and as yet hypothetical ‘fracton’ phase of matter with far-reaching applications in quantum information storage and processing.

Objective

We propose to study a novel class of quantum phases of matter -- so-called `Fracton' phase of matter, whose quasiparticle excitations, known as sub-dimensional particles, have restricted mobility or kinetic motions. Fracton phases emerge from a rich interplay of correlations, symmetry, topology, and dynamics in strongly interacting many-body systems. These exotic phases extend and challenge our existing notions of topological order and have attracted broad interdisciplinary interest including topological physics, quantum field theory, gravity, quantum information, and elasticity theory. This proposal aims to build an effective field theory framework to classify, characterize, simulate, and detect distinct fracton phases and search for potential application of fracton for quantum memory and quantum computing both at equilibrium and in dynamical processes. We will apply a multidisciplinary approach combining the latest advances in quantum field theory, quantum information, and condensed matter to design new characterization tools to reveal exotic features of fracton dynamics, explore the microscopic realization of fracton physics and seek new experimental fingerprints to probe these phases. Our research will gravitate around the important question of how dynamical constraints and higher-moment conservation law can engender new types of quantum matter or critical points, and how constraint motion of the quasiparticle can engender robust information storage at intermediate time-scales in quantum many-body systems. We expect the research outcome can expand our understanding of new types of quantum phenomena with constraint dynamics, and shed light for investigating how strong interactions can potentially help identify promising platforms for quantum information storage and processing.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Net EU contribution
€ 212 933,76
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 212 933,76