The Hubbard Model: From Solids to Cold Atoms and Back Again
| Date/Time: | Monday, 17 Sep 2018 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
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| Location: | TBA |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract: Over the last half-century, the Hubbard Hamiltonian has been extensively studied and applied to some of the most fundamental problems in solid-state physics. I will first discuss how it provides simple physical pictures, which lead to a qualitative understanding of the origin of magnetism and insulating behavior in transition metal oxides, and even Cooper pairing and density inhomogeneities in high temperature superconductors. Unfortunately, exact solution (either analytic or numeric) of the Hubbard model is not possible except in special limits.
In an effort to understand its properties better, attempts have been made over the last decade to emulate the Hubbard model with ultracold atoms. A description of these experiments, and their successes and failures, will be presented. Finally, in just the least year or so, a new proposal has emerged to emulate the Hubbard Hamiltonian using engineered defects in thin silicon sheets. This suggestion returns the model to its solid-state roots, and may offer at last a quantitatively accurate revelation of its mysteries.
Bio: Richard Scalettar received his PhD in physics in 1986 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1989, after a post-doc in the Chemistry Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, he joined the Physics faculty at the University of California, Davis, where he presently holds the position of Distinguished Professor. His research is in the application of Quantum Monte Carlo methods to problems in quantum magnetism, superconductivity, and disorder/localization. He was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2004, and served as chair of the APS Division of Computational Physics in 2010. In 2009, he received the Chancellor's Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor Award at UC Davis. He was selected for the Charlie Nash Award in 2018.