Collective phenomena in condensed matter systems

在凝聚态系统中，电子的行为是相当复杂的。有趣的是，产生这种物理现象的成分非常简单——电子相互作用，具有离子背景电位，在某些情况下，系统中存在缺陷。然而，出现的现象确实令人惊奇，有时甚至是异国情调。这是因为一个电子的动力学不是独立于另一个电子的。相反，所有的电子必须协调它们的动力学，共同运动。这种行为被雄辩地描述为“量子华尔兹”。我们的工作将集中在两个不同但互补的领域——无序电子系统和通过纳米结构的传输。无序的系统是现实的事实——没有一个系统是完美无缺的；它们都含有某种形式的不完美。这些不完美之处可能看起来令人讨厌，有时确实如此。然而，人们认识到，紊乱可能是显著现象的根源。我们的调查旨在识别和分类可能由于混乱而产生的阶段。纳米结构，如量子点和碳纳米管，表现出丰富的显著特性；它们有望应用于电子、化学甚至医学等各个领域。我们对纳米结构传输的研究是由了解其电子应用特性的愿望驱动的，并最终设计出利用这些结构的新型电子设备。

The behavior of electrons in condensed matter systems can be quite complex.  Amusingly, the ingredients giving rise to the physics are quite simple - electrons which interact with each other, with an ionic background potential, and in some cases with imperfections in the system.  However, the phenomena which arise are truly amazing and at times exotic.  This occurs because one electron's dynamics is not independent of another's.  Rather, all of the electrons must coordinate their dynamics and move together collectively.  Such behavior has been eloquently described as a "quantum waltz".            Our work will focus on two distinct, but complementary areas - disordered electronic systems and transport through nanostructures.  Disordered systems are a fact of reality - no systems are immaculate; they all contain some form of imperfection.  These imperfections may seem like a nuisance, and at times they certainly are.  However, it is appreciated that disorder can be the source of remarkable phenomena.  Our investigations intend to identify and classify the phases that can arise due to disorder.  Nanostructures such as quantum dots and carbon nanotubes exhibit a wealth of remarkable properties; they are promising for applications in a variety of areas such as electronics, chemistry, and even medicine.  Our investigations of transport through nanostructures are driven by the desire to understand their properties for electronics applications, and to ultimately design novel electronics devices utilizing these structures.