Collaborative Research: Topics in Many-Body Theory

协作研究：多体理论主题

• 批准号: 1401449
• 负责人: Theodore Kirkpatrick
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1401449&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Topics; Many; Body

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research and education with the aim to advance understanding of the electronic properties of both traditional and exotic metals. The PI will focus on quantum mechanical effects that become increasingly important as the dimensions of electronic devices continue to shrink. The PIs will investigate electronic and magnetic properties, as well as quantum mechanical noise that has important consequences for the manipulation of quantum mechanical states to perform computation, and for quantum information science in general. The research involves in part the study of a new kind of material, Weyl metals, that are predicted to exist from the application of new ideas forged from the fusion of concepts from theoretical condensed matter physics and the branch of mathematics that describes the properties of objects that remain unchanged under deformation, twisting, and bending. The PIs will also investigate the possibility that the standard model for the electronic properties of metals naturally fails as the strength of interactions among electrons increases, leading to a new kind of quantum mechanical state of electrons. The PIs will also harness ideas from quantum information science to develop a way to measure the strength of the correlation in the motion of electrons in a material. Progress on these problems contributes to the knowledge base leading to the discovery of new materials and materials-related phenomena that may lead to future technological innovation. This research provides a training environment for Ph.D. students in an area that can spawn new technologies. The PIs aim to convey the excitement of modern condensed matter physics and materials science by working with a local education consortium to develop a science kit for K-12 classrooms. TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research and education with an aim to explore electronic properties of metals at low temperatures, making use of field-theoretic methods. The PIs will focus on low-temperature phases where broken symmetries lead to strong fluctuations, and on phase transitions between such phases. A unifying physical aspect of the entire project is the concept of soft or gapless modes, and the fluctuations and long-ranged correlations that result from them. Using this concept, the PIs will investigate the properties of a new class of materials known as Weyl metals, which are theoretically predicted to occur due to accidental band crossing and would represent a realization of relativistic fermions in materials. They will also investigate more broadly mechanisms for the breakdown of the Fermi-liquid concept; in particular, the PIs will search for instabilities of the Fermi liquid that are caused by strong fluctuations. A third project deals with measures of the correlation strength in electronic systems, and in particular with relations between the entanglement entropy and more directly measurable physical properties or phenomena. The PIs will continue to mentor students and postdoctoral researchers and will develop educational materials that aim to convey the excitement of quantum materials and matter to high school students.

该奖项支持理论研究和教育，旨在促进对传统和异国情调金属电子特性的理解。PI将专注于量子力学效应，随着电子设备尺寸的不断缩小，量子力学效应变得越来越重要。PI将研究电子和磁性，以及量子力学噪声，这对量子力学状态的操作具有重要影响，以执行计算，并为量子信息科学一般。这项研究部分涉及到对一种新材料--外尔金属的研究，人们预测这种金属的存在是因为应用了新的思想，这些新的思想是从理论凝聚态物理学和数学的分支（描述物体在变形、扭曲和弯曲下保持不变的性质）的概念融合而来的。 PI还将研究金属电子性质的标准模型随着电子之间相互作用强度的增加而自然失效的可能性，从而导致一种新的电子量子力学状态。 PI还将利用量子信息科学的思想来开发一种测量材料中电子运动相关性强度的方法。这些问题的进展有助于知识基础，从而发现可能导致未来技术创新的新材料和材料相关现象。本研究为博士生培养提供了一个良好的环境。学生所在的领域可以催生新技术。PI旨在通过与当地教育财团合作，为K-12教室开发科学套件，传达现代凝聚态物理和材料科学的兴奋。该奖项支持理论研究和教育，旨在利用场论方法探索金属在低温下的电子特性。PI将专注于打破对称性导致强烈波动的低温阶段，以及这些阶段之间的相变。整个项目的一个统一的物理方面是软模式或无间隙模式的概念，以及由此产生的波动和长期相关性。利用这一概念，PI将研究一类称为Weyl金属的新材料的性质，理论上预测这是由于意外的能带交叉而发生的，并将代表材料中相对论费米子的实现。他们还将更广泛地研究费米液体概念崩溃的机制;特别是，PI将寻找由强烈波动引起的费米液体的不稳定性。第三个项目涉及电子系统中相关强度的测量，特别是纠缠熵与更直接可测量的物理性质或现象之间的关系。 PI将继续指导学生和博士后研究人员，并将开发旨在向高中生传达量子材料和物质的兴奋的教育材料。