Notice Board

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Presents

Prairie Universities Physics Seminar Series

Topological Quantum Materials

Joseph Maciejko

University of Alberta

Thursday March 26th, 2015

1:40 pm, Room C640, U Hall

Abstract:

Topology is the branch of mathematics that studies those properties of geometrical shapes that remain unchanged under smooth deformations – such as the number of holes (one!) in a play dough doughnut, which does not change if the doughnut is fashioned into a coffee mug without tearing the play dough. Applied to condensed matter physics, topology enters in the mathematical description of an exotic class of recently discovered materials known as topological quantum materials, whose physical properties remain rigorously unchanged under reasonably weak physical disturbances such as material imperfections or small changes in material parameters. In this talk, I will survey the development of the field of topological quantum materials, from the discovery of the quantum Hall effect in the 1980s to the prediction and discovery of topological insulators in 2005-2008 and the current search for topological superconductors and topological semimetals. I will conclude with a theorist’s perspective on outstanding challenges in the field of topological quantum materials.