Electronic phases and transport in quantum matter at strong coupling

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY This award supports theoretical research on quantum materials where the strong electron-electron interaction leads to unique transport, thermodynamic and magnetic properties. The research agenda addresses both fundamental physics of electronic interactions in complex materials and practical physics of mesoscopic devices relevant for applications in the domain of quantum science with micro and nanostructures. The conversion of heat into electricity in solid state systems is governed by thermoelectric effects. The thermoelectric transport in quantum materials and devices is at the heart of various modern electronics applications. Over the last decade, transport measurements in atomically thin two-dimensional materials, such as graphene composed of a single layer of carbon atoms, provided overwhelming evidence that the flow of electrons in such systems exhibits hydrodynamic behavior that resembles the flow of a viscous fluid. These advances pushed the limits of hydrodynamics, providing new perspectives on old fundamental problems and opening doors for completely new discoveries of emergent physics phenomena. This project is, in part, devoted to new research on thermoelectric resistance of such systems as they are subjected to magnetic fields. The PI will also extend these studies to other forms of low-temperature electronic behavior in solids such as superconductivity, where electrons flow without any resistance, and magnetism, as well as their coexistence. This award also supports the PI's educational and outreach activities. The project places significant emphasis on training graduate and undergraduate students by engaging them in research in a highly collaborative environment with a postdoctoral scholar and colleagues from other groups. The PI will reach out to the public and high-school student audiences through (i) collaboration with the USA Physics Olympiad team to foster new generation of physicists and train high-school students for international scholastic competition and (ii) public education via entertaining Wonders of Physics shows. The PI will also be involved in the scientific coordination of a physics summer school as well as organization of international conferences and workshops. TECHNICAL SUMMARY This award supports theoretical research on topics of strongly correlated electron systems which are at the center of experimental and theoretical attention in the areas of modern condensed-matter physics. The research agenda addresses both fundamental physics of electronic correlations in complex materials as well as practical physics of mesoscopic devices relevant for applications in the domain of quantum science with micro and nanostructures. The project has two main thrusts with several interconnected sub-topics motivated by recent and ongoing experiments. In the first thrust focused on superconductivity, the PI will develop (i) models and mechanisms for experimentally observed manifestations of quantum critical points in thermodynamic and transport properties of multicomponent superconductors; (ii) group theoretical methods for symmetry-constrained classification of superconducting order and methods adapted from the integrable nonlinear equations to construct new crystalline solitonic phases; and (iii) microscopic methods to describe nonequilibrium dynamics of superconductors with unconventional pairing glue at strong coupling. In the second thrust focused on hydrodynamics and topology in quantum matter, the PI will investigate (i) viscous electronics in Dirac and Planckian materials; (ii) electronic magnetohydrodynamics in topological crystals; and (iii) generalized hydrodynamics of superfluid condensates in cold atomic traps. This award also supports the PI's educational and outreach activities. The project places significant emphasis on training graduate and undergraduate students by engaging them in research in a highly collaborative environment with a postdoctoral scholar and colleagues from other groups. The PI will reach out to the public and high-school student audiences through (i) collaboration with the USA Physics Olympiad team to foster new generation of physicists and train high-school students for international scholastic competition and (ii) public education via entertaining Wonders of Physics shows. The PI will also be involved in the scientific coordination of a physics summer school as well as organization of international conferences and workshops. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.