Strong Correlations in Chiral Electron Systems

技术总结该奖项支持理论研究、教育和推广相结合，以通过手性费米液体理论研究各种材料中的自旋-轨道耦合的结果。该提案的研究部分将探索具有强自旋轨道耦合的二维电子系统中电子物质新相的可能性，重点是镓-铝-砷化合物异质结构中的电子和空穴气体、氧化物的表面态、氧化物界面的状态以及三维拓扑绝缘体。该项目的主要内容包括发展手性费米液体的一般理论；将这一理论应用于手性费米液体的三个主要原型：具有线性和立方自旋-轨道耦合的系统，以及拓扑绝缘体表面的狄拉克费米子；识别和分类这些系统中电子-电子和自旋-轨道相互作用可能产生的新相；分析通过p-镓砷量子阱中的重空穴间接相互作用而产生的核自旋的铁磁顺序；发展手性费米液体中新的集体模的理论，并提出探测这些模式的实验；了解在铝酸镧/钛酸锶界面的2D超导体中超导电性和自旋轨道耦合之间的相互作用。该奖项还支持面向佛罗里达大学研究生和本科生的不同受众的教育和外联活动，以及通过FloridaTeach计划面向更广泛的STEM教师社区。利用密歇根大学物理系现有的高级多教员课程框架，PI将为研究生开发为期一个月的与该项目相关的主题讲座课程。这些讲座的教育材料将通过密歇根大学物理网站向更广泛的研究生和研究人员提供。在本科生层面，PI将让现有REU计划的参与者参与与这项提议相关的一些研究项目。最后，PI将为佛罗里达州的STEM教师提供关于纳米科学进展的受欢迎的讲座。非技术总结该奖项支持横跨材料研究中两个非常活跃的研究领域的理论研究。第一个是强关联电子系统和巡回电子系统中的量子相变的场。这个领域的主要目标是了解多电子系统中的电子选择将自己组织成有序状态的机制，例如液体状态上的磁性。第二个领域是半导体自旋电子学和自旋量子比特量子计算领域。这个场的主要物理成分是几个或多个电子及其自旋的相关动力学。在这两个区域之间有一些有趣的“重叠区域”，PI的目标是调查这些区域。这些结果将有助于提高我们对这两个领域的基础物理的理解，因此将引起更广泛的社区的兴趣。费米液体理论所使用的基于对称性的现象学的通用语言应该同样为从事强关联电子系统和自旋电子/量子计算的大量研究人员所熟悉。对研究生的培训不仅将为他们在学术界的生活做好准备，还将为他们提供有用的解决问题的技能，这些技能可以在学术界以外的地方使用。PI的团队在安置博士生方面有着良好的记录，他们中的一些人在学术上取得了成功，另一些人选择了同样成功的工业界职业。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports combined theoretical research, education, and outreach to pursue the consequences of spin-orbit coupling in various materials through a chiral Fermi liquid theory. The research part of the proposal will explore possibilities of new phases of electronic matter in two-dimensional electron systems with strong spin-orbit coupling, focusing on electron and hole gases in gallium-aluminum-arsenide heterostructures, surface states of oxides, states at oxide interfaces, and three-dimensional topological insulators. The main thrusts of the project include+ developing the general theory of chiral Fermi liquids;+ applying this theory to three main archetypes of chiral Fermi liquids: systems with linear and cubic spin-orbit couplings, and Dirac fermions on the surface of topological insulators;+ identifying and classifying possible novel phases resulting from the interplay between the electron-electron and spin-orbit interactions in these systems;+ analyzing ferromagnetic order of nuclear spins coupled by an indirect interaction via heavy holes in p-gallium arsenide quantum wells; + developing a theory of novel collective modes in chiral Fermi liquids and proposing experiments for detecting these modes;+ understanding the interplay between superconductivity and spin-orbit coupling in a 2D superconductor at lanthanum aluminate/strontium titanate interfaces.This award also supports educational and outreach activities that will address diverse audiences of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Florida, as well as a broader community of STEM teachers via the FloridaTeach program. Using the already existing framework of the advanced multi-faculty course at the UF Department of Physics, the PI will develop month-long courses of lectures on the topics relevant to this project for graduate students. Educational materials for these lectures will be available for a broader audience of graduate students and researchers via the UF Physics website. At the undergraduate level, the PI will involve participants of the existing REU program in some of the research projects related to this proposal. Finally, the PI will deliver popular lectures on advances in nanoscience to Florida STEM teachers. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research that crosscuts two very active research areas in materials research. The first one is the field of strongly correlated electron systems and quantum phase transitions in itinerant electron systems. The main goal of this field is to understand the mechanisms by which the electrons in a many-electron system choose to organize themselves into an ordered state, such as magnetism over a liquid-like state. The second one is the field of semiconductor spintronics and quantum computation with spin qubits. The main physical ingredient of this field is correlated dynamics of just a few or many electrons along with their spins. There are interesting "overlap regions" between these two areas, and the PI aims to investigate them. The results will help to improve our understanding of fundamental physics in both areas, and thus will be of interest to a broader community. The universal language of symmetry-based phenomenology employed by the theory of Fermi liquids should be equally familiar to large communities of researchers working in strongly correlated electron systems and in spintronics/quantum computation. Training of graduate students will prepare them not only to life in academia but would also give them useful problem-solving skills that can be used outside of academia. The PI's group has a strong record for placement of PhD students some of whom made successful academic careers and some chose equally successful careers in industry.