Strange Quantum Matter without Electronic Quasiparticles
| Date/Time: | Wednesday, 27 Mar 2019 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | MacKay 0117 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract: One of the most successful approaches for describing the collective properties of a large number of interacting electrons in a solid-state system relies on a profound concept introduced originally by Landau in the 1950s. The notion of electronic 'quasiparticles', in terms of which the complex many-electron problem becomes much simpler, is one of the cornerstones of the theory of quantum materials. However, a growing number of strongly correlated quantum materials display phenomenology that has forced us to confront the existence of quantum matter for which the concept of electronic quasiparticles does not apply. I will present examples of qualitatively new experimental phenomena that emerge in parent states of high-temperature superconductors and candidate topological materials, purely as a result of strong interactions. I will show interesting connections between these interesting phases of quantum matter and their description in terms of solvable examples of certain field theories and emergent gauge theories.
Bio: I am a Moore fellow, supported by the EPiQS initiative of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, in the Physics Department at MIT. I completed my Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University under the guidance of Prof. Subir Sachdev. Prior to that, I did my Masters (Integrated-5 year) in Physics from IIT Kanpur, India.
I work in the branch of Theoretical Physics, known as Condensed Matter Physics, and my aim is to understand the interesting properties of exotic materials, such as unconventional superconductors and quantum spin liquids, from a fundamental microscopic point of view. More recently, I have also become interested in understanding various formal aspects of thermalization and quantum chaos in quantum field theories. In the past, I have worked on many interesting problems in a number of different areas, with a major emphasis on non-equilibrium phenomena in biophysics, synchronization and integrable quantum spin systems.
Recent news:
o A paper with my experimental colleagues from MIT has appeared in Science Advances!
o My paper attempting to construct a framework for describing universal properties of a family of non-Fermi liquid metals has appeared in Physical Review X!
o My latest paper proposing an explanation for interesting recent experiments in quantum hall bilayers has now appeared in Physical Review Letters!
o My paper on strongly correlated mixed-valence insulators appeared in Nature Communications!