This award supports theoretical research and education on materials that can be tuned to display seemingly contradictory properties of matter, such as electrical insulation and superconductivity, an electronic state that can conduct electricity without dissipation. The goal of the research is to develop a better mathematical description of the underlying dynamical processes that cause such differentiation in the observed properties of the same physical system. The ultimate motivation is that understanding how the constituents of the system globally organize in different states will allow improved material design and control that take advantage of the proximity and interplay between these states. In a parallel project, the PI plans to study the mechanisms of Hall transport of heat in a class of superconductors with unusual properties compared to the simple, elemental superconductors. Hall transport of heat occurs in a material in the presence of magnetic field, and results in a temperature difference in the sample in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field. Analysis and interpretation of experimental measurements of this type of heat transport in superconductors can help researchers distinguish between the various possible mechanisms that can cause superconductivity, and clarify the degree of competition between them. In addition, this project will enable training and mentoring of young scientists via participation in cutting-edge research.
This award also supports the continuation of a Wiki textbook project which delivers freely available textbooks written by students based on faculty lecture notes. The PI plans to further build on this project expanding to new courses to become a vehicle for the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
This award supports theoretical research and education aimed to develop a comprehensive theoretical description for a class of poorly understood phenomena in correlated quantum condensed matter systems, in which spontaneous symmetry breaking, quasiparticles, and their topology are inextricably linked. The projects involves analytical and numerical work on theoretical models that display on equal footing propensity towards spontaneous symmetry breaking into correlated non-superconducting states, as well as unconventional superconducting states that emerge in the vicinity of the latter. In addition, it explores Berry phases as a novel mechanism for thermal Hall transport of non-Landau quasiparticles, with the goal of developing a reliable tool for extracting valuable spectroscopic information from experimental data. Among the objectives are: determining the energy distribution of the Berry curvature of the quasiparticle wavefunctions in the mixed state of unconventional superconductors with different pairing symmetries; identifying the physical processes which control the recently discovered thermal activation scale of thermal Hall conductivity in what may otherwise be gapless systems; development of models of the vortex core which capture strong correlations; constructing a theory which would allow the study of the physical states both above and below the transition temperature in model systems with a multitude of interfering ordering tendencies; exploring the effects of charge-carrier doping of the quantum critical point associated with the transition between the Dirac semi-metal and the antiferromagnetic insulator on the honeycomb monolayer; further development of a theory of two- and three-dimensional quadratic band touching in physically motivated systems. The approach to all of these projects involves a combination of analytical and numerical methods of quantum many-body and/or field theory.
This award also supports the continuation of a Wiki textbook project which delivers freely available textbooks written by students based on faculty lecture notes. The PI plans to further build on this project expanding to new courses to become a vehicle for the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
