Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Advanced Beowulf Cluster for Quantum Information and Materials Research and Education

The University Corporation, Northridge, Northridge CA

Investigators

Abstract

Non-technical abstract: This Major Research Instrumentation award support the acquisition of a CPU/GPU cluster to expand research activities and capability in quantum information and quantum material science at California State University Northridge (CSUN), a Hispanic-serving and Minority-serving institution. The cluster supports project aiming to address a wide range of fundamental outstanding questions on research on: (1) the emergent topological states and high temperature superconductivity in strongly interacting electron systems to provide fundamental understanding and significant advancement for strongly correlated quantum materials; (2) on novel quantum phases in realistic materials and make experimentally relevant predictions; and (3) quantum dynamics in driven interacting quantum matter enabling new application in quantum information of the out-of-equilibrium quantum matter. The CSUN group with its collaborating partners, including Princeton and Caltech, will expand and strengthen its educational and outreach programs to nurture collaborations in quantum research/education, and to enhance the infrastructure for the broader community. Activities enabled by the MRI cluster will significantly advance the quality of research and education at CSUN, help achieve national competitiveness, and promote accessibility of frontier research/education experience in quantum matter, information and computing to students from underrepresented groups with diverse backgrounds. Technical abstract: This MRI project aims to develop state-of-the-art computational approaches to address a wide range of fundamental outstanding questions in quantum materials and information science enabled by the new advanced cluster for CPU/GPU simulations. The research includes (1) a project to investigate fundamental problems of cuprate high temperature superconductors, topological states and emergent superconductivity in Moirè superlattices and Kitaev materials to demonstrate novel physical phenomena and reveal the underlying mechanisms in strongly correlated systems, (2) research focused on searching for material candidates that realize novel quantum phases, including two-dimensional Moiré magnetic materials based on transition-metal trihalides and phosphorous trichalcogenides, and rare-earth tellurides, which may exhibit a plethora of intriguing phases, including superconducting, topological, magnetic, and charge density wave, including the computational studies will provide fundamental understanding and guidance for ultra-low-power electrically controllable nonvolatile memory and spintronic applications; and (3) theoretical/numerical studies of the relationships between fundamental symmetries and properties of quantum dynamics, which will provide theoretical prediction and guidance for the experimental engineering of the out-of-equilibrium quantum matter. The research aims at making breakthrough and transformative progress in providing fundamental understanding and solving open questions in these strongly correlated systems and complex materials. The research team will develop new computational approaches and share the computational codes and data extensively with the research community, which will have immediate and long-term impact to the data driven scientific discoveries. 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.