CAREER: Dynamics, Transport and Novel Phenomena at Quantum Phase Transitions

该职业奖支持理论凝聚态物理学的综合研究，教育和推广活动。研究重点是量子相位和相变及其与各种固态系统和冷原子气体中的现象的联系。研究的重点是量子临界点。第1部分主要集中在量子临界点的热电输运性质，以及在动量空间中的表面上存在低位量子涨落的问题。第二部分着重于量子临界点的非平衡动力学。第3部分涉及调查量子相变的情况下，传统的描述相变的顺序参数是不够的。PI将研究量子临界玻色子模型中的相变，以更好地理解这些量子相变。这些易于处理的系统可以显示出经典模型中看不到的有趣行为，特别是当临界波动来自分数激发时。教育和推广活动旨在传达现代量子凝聚态物理学的知识兴奋和广度。在大学内，将根据上述研究的基本思想，编写研究生一级的新教材，这些教材将跨越传统学科，并在一个公共网站上提供课堂讲稿。在大学之外，教育和推广工作计划与伯克利的一个受欢迎的博物馆劳伦斯科学馆合作。将为访问量很大的劳伦斯科学馆主页建立一个动态的物理教育网络资源，并将包含当地物理教师的持续投入。这个“物理学”资源将使非科学公众，特别是年轻人，接触到奇怪的量子世界及其对材料特性的惊人影响。它将包括最近的研究结果，并将每月更新。评估和持续反馈将由一个从当地学校挑选的五人教师小组提供。劳伦斯科学大厅将举办一个外联活动，涉及PI和一组来自这些学校的学生的直接互动。非技术总结：这个职业奖支持基础理论凝聚态物理学的综合研究，教育和外联活动。该研究的重点是在绝对零度下发生的物质状态之间的转换。人们认为，这些导致在有限温度下显示在材料中的不寻常特性，对我们的理解提出了挑战。物质在这些被称为量子临界点的变换附近显示出全新的性质。其中一些转变超出了相变的标准理论，部分研究旨在了解这些从根本上起源于量子力学的奇特相变。教育和推广活动旨在传达现代量子凝聚态物理学的知识兴奋和广度。在大学内，将根据上述研究的基本思想，编写研究生一级的新教材，这些教材将跨越传统学科，并在一个公共网站上提供课堂讲稿。在大学之外，教育和推广工作计划与伯克利的一个受欢迎的博物馆劳伦斯科学馆合作。将为访问量很大的劳伦斯科学馆主页建立一个动态的物理教育网络资源，并将包含当地物理教师的持续投入。这个“物理学”资源将使非科学公众，特别是年轻人，接触到奇怪的量子世界及其对材料特性的惊人影响。它将包括最近的研究结果，并将每月更新。评估和持续反馈将由一个从当地学校挑选的五人教师小组提供。科学的劳伦斯大厅将举办一个外展活动，涉及PI和来自这些学校的一组学生的直接互动。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This CAREER award supports integrated research, education and outreach activities in theoretical condensed matter physics. The research emphasis is on quantum phases and phase transitions and their connection to phenomena in a variety of solid-state systems and cold atomic gases. The research focuses on quantum critical points. Part 1 focuses on the largely unexplored thermoelectric transport properties of quantum critical points and on problems where the low-lying quantum fluctuations live on a surface in momentum space. Part 2 focuses on non-equilibrium dynamics of sweeping through quantum critical points. Part 3 involves investigating quantum phase transitions in situations where a conventional description of phase transitions based on an order parameter is not adequate. The PI will study phase transitions in bosonic models of quantum criticality to better understand these kinds of quantum phase transitions. These tractable systems can display interesting behavior not seen in classical models, especially when the critical fluctuations arise from fractionalized excitations.The educational and outreach activities are aimed to convey the intellectual excitement and breadth of modern quantum condensed matter physics. Within the university, new course material at the graduate level that cuts across traditional disciplines, based on ideas that underpin the research above will be developed, and lecture notes made available on a public web-site. Beyond the University, education and outreach efforts are planned in collaboration with a popular museum in Berkeley, the Lawrence Hall of Science. A dynamic physics educational web resource for the much visited Lawrence Hall of Science home page will be set up and will contain sustained input from local physics teachers. This 'Physics Mysteries' resource will expose the non-scientific public, especially young adults, to the strange quantum world and its striking consequences for materials properties. It will include results of recent research and will be updated monthly. Evaluation and continuing feedback will be provided by a five member teacher panel picked from local schools. The Lawrence Hall of Science will host an outreach event involving direct interaction of the PI and a set of students from these schools.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This CAREER award supports integrated research, education and outreach activities in fundamental theoretical condensed matter physics. The research focuses on transformations between states of matter that occur at the absolute zero of temperature. It is believed that these lead to unusual properties at finite temperature displayed in materials that have presented challenges to our understanding. Matter displays fundamentally new properties in the vicinity of these transformations that are called quantum critical points. Some of these transformations lie outside the standard theory of phase transitions and part of the research aims to understand these curious phase transitions that are fundamentally quantum mechanical in origin.The educational and outreach activities are aimed to convey the intellectual excitement and breadth of modern quantum condensed matter physics. Within the university, new course material at the graduate level that cuts across traditional disciplines, based on ideas that underpin the research above will be developed, and lecture notes made available on a public web-site. Beyond the University, education and outreach efforts are planned in collaboration with a popular museum in Berkeley, the Lawrence Hall of Science. A dynamic physics educational web resource for the much visited Lawrence Hall of Science home page will be set up and will contain sustained input from local physics teachers. This 'Physics Mysteries' resource will expose the non-scientific public, especially young adults, to the strange quantum world and its striking consequences for materials properties. It will include results of recent research and will be updated monthly. Evaluation and continuing feedback will be provided by a five member teacher panel picked from local schools. The Lawrence Hall of Science will host an outreach event involving direct interaction of the PI and a set of students from these schools.