This award supports integrated research and education in theoretical condensed matter physics. In the past two decades, as low-density two-dimensional electronic systems with increasingly high mobility have become available, there has accumulated compelling experimental evidence of a fascinating set of low temperature phenomena associated with conducting states which cannot be understood in the context of traditional, Fermi liquid-based, metal physics. Previously, the research project established that in an ideal two dimensional system there must exist new electronic micro-emulsion phases which consist of various sorts of micro-phase separated mixtures of regions of Wigner crystal and regions of Fermi liquid. This effort develops theoretical descriptions allowing predictions of these phases and develops explanations of the associated experiments.
Another component of the effort further develops the mesoscopic physics of metals and superconductors. The main research is an investigation of the role of the electron-electron interactions in low dimensional mesoscopic conductors and the role of quantum fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter in the transport properties of disordered superconducting samples. This work contributes to the development of the theory of strongly correlated and disordered electronic systems. Transport properties of low dimensional superconductors, electronic two dimensional microemulsons and one dimensional Luttinger liquids, are the experimetnally-oriented focus of these investigations.
Graduate students will participate in this research effort and benefit by learning the theoretical techniques and acquiring expert understanding the materials and technology associated with nanoscience. This work will be the basis for dissertation research leading to the PhD for the students. The principle investigator has record of acting as a mentor of graduate students and post doctoral researchers.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
This award supports integrated research and education in theoretical condensed matter physics. The project studies the properties of electrons that are confined to regions of reduced dimensionality, such as a narrow two dimensional region between two planes or along a one-dimensional region such as a long conducting polymer chain. In the past two decades, as the construction of ultra small devices has advanced though the development of nanotechnology, more examples of confined electronic systems have become available for study. Experiment has shown that rather than uniform and unstructured liquids, the electrons in such confined geometries can be made to arrange themselves in patterns of enormous complexity, not previously anticipated. Some of these phases are striped patterns and the researchers of this project are furthering the work which established theoretically that a mixture of phases must also exist with the same kind of inhomogeneity as one finds in emulsion that are common in the macroscopic world such as mixtures of oil and water.
The full project of theoretical investigations develops theories used to predict when such patterns will form and which can then be used to theoretically predict materials and device characteristics. A focus of the research addresses the relevance of these unusual patterns of electrons in the small devices of nanotechnology. In such devices their operation depends critically on the presence or absence of electronic order, but the small size alters materials properties and so does not allow prediction of functionality to be deduced from larger version of the device. Theoretical investigation then permits the necessary device characterization needed for device design.
Graduate students will participate in this research effort and benefit by learning the theoretical techniques and acquiring expert understanding the materials and technology associated with nanoscience. This work will be the basis for dissertation research leading to the PhD for the students. The principle investigator has record of acting as a mentor of graduate students and post doctoral researchers.
