Oxford Condensed Matter Theory Programme Grant
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
Condensed Matter Physics is the study of the structure and behaviour of the matter that makes up most of the usual (and unusual) stuff that surrounds us every day. It takes for granted that most of these are made up of electrons and nuclei interacting according to the well-established laws of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics,and tries to explain their properties.Why, then, is it at least as interesting as more 'fundamental' physics? It turns out that large assemblies of electrons and nuclei often exhibit so-called cooperative behaviour which is quite different from that of the individual parts. Superconductivity / the amazing fact that at low enough temperatures some materials have essentially zero electrical resistance, for example. The study of this new behaviour requires theoretical methods which can be every bit as sophisticated as those of particle theory or relativity. But while there is only one 'theory of everything', at intermediate scales there are any number of 'effective' theories which account for the wealth of phenomena which we observe. Thus the subject is very diverse.Condensed matter physics has been studied for about 100 years. Why do we hope to make new progress now (particularly on the subjects in this proposal)? There are at least four reasons: 1. New experimental techniques have allowed the discovery of phenomena and the construction of new materials whose properties cannot be accounted for using old ideas.2. At the same time, new theoretical techniques have become available which go beyond the older methods, which could only study systems which were weakly interacting. Our group is particularly strong in its development and knowledge of these 'non-perturbative methods,' which apply to much of the 'strongly correlated' physics which is ubiquitous in modern condensed matter / examples being the understanding of why some materials become superconducting at higher temperatures than expected; the behaviour of thin layers of electrons in strong magnetic fields (the quantum Hall effect); the behaviour of a magnetic impurity in a material, or of a 'quantum dot' / a tiny region in which electrons are confined; the behaviour of atoms in traps at low temperatures, when they condense into a single quantum state.3. The speed and memory of digital computers has increased so much that we now can simulate quite large and complicated systems, difficult to study analytically. Our group uses computers in a number of ways, in particular to study 'soft' condensed matter problems like how a fluid wets the walls of its container, or how complex fluids move. These have potentially important applications to industrial processes. Computers are also often used to check the correctness of approximations made in analytic approaches.4. Condensed matter theory relies on the fact that, although these systems are made of a large number of atoms or electrons, we can treat them in a statistical way. This is the old subject of statistical mechanics, which quantifies the role of the statistical fluctuations in such system. More recently its ideas and methods have been applied to many problems outside physics, for example in biology and economics. It is not the aim of members of our group to become experts in these other fields, but nevertheless there are certain problems, for example in studying market fluctuations, or the progress of certain rare diseases, which offer well-defined applications.
Organisations
Publications
Parameswaran S
(2013)
Fractional quantum Hall physics in topological flat bands
in Comptes Rendus Physique
Abraham D
(2009)
Equilibrium Stranski-Krastanow and Volmer-Weber models
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)
Andreanov A
(2009)
Mode coupling as a Landau theory of the glass transition
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)
Sotiriadis S
(2009)
Quantum quench from a thermal initial state
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)
Cardy J
(2012)
QUANTUM NETWORK MODELS AND CLASSICAL LOCALIZATION PROBLEMS
in International Journal of Modern Physics B
Ikhlef Y
(2009)
Discretely holomorphic parafermions and integrable loop models
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
De Gier J
(2008)
Slowest relaxation mode of the partially asymmetric exclusion process with open boundaries
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Rajabpour M
(2007)
Discretely holomorphic parafermions in lattice Z N models
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Delfino G
(2010)
Universal amplitude ratios of two-dimensional percolation from field theory
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Calabrese P
(2009)
Entanglement entropy and conformal field theory
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Galpin MR
(2009)
A local moment approach to the degenerate Anderson impurity model.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Calabrese P
(2007)
Entanglement and correlation functions following a local quench: a conformal field theory approach
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Essler F
(2009)
On the spin-liquid phase of one-dimensional spin-1 bosons
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Sotiriadis S
(2008)
Inhomogeneous quantum quenches
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Calabrese P
(2007)
Quantum quenches in extended systems
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Calabrese P
(2011)
Entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals in conformal field theory: II
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Calabrese P
(2009)
Entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals in conformal field theory
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Calabrese P
(2010)
Universal corrections to scaling for block entanglement in spin-1/2 XX chains
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Calabrese P
(2010)
Corrections to scaling for block entanglement in massive spin chains
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Cardy J
(2010)
Unusual corrections to scaling in entanglement entropy
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Essler F
(2009)
Finite-temperature dynamical correlations in massive integrable quantum field theories
in Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
Cardy J
(2009)
Discrete Holomorphicity at Two-Dimensional Critical Points
in Journal of Statistical Physics
Ledesma-Aguilar R
(2011)
Controlled drop emission by wetting properties in driven liquid filaments.
in Nature materials
Roy R
(2010)
Characterization of three-dimensional topological insulators by two-dimensional invariants
in New Journal of Physics
Powell S
(2009)
Magnetic phases and transitions of the two-species Bose-Hubbard model
in Physical Review A
Bhaseen M
(2011)
Magnetic properties of the second Mott lobe in pairing Hamiltonians
in Physical Review A
Bhaseen M
(2012)
Discrete symmetry breaking transitions between paired superfluids
in Physical Review A
Essler F
(2010)
Threshold singularities in the one-dimensional Hubbard model
in Physical Review B
Mitchell A
(2010)
Two-channel Kondo phases and frustration-induced transitions in triple quantum dots
in Physical Review B
Kovrizhin D
(2011)
Equilibration of integer quantum Hall edge states
in Physical Review B
Conlon P
(2010)
Absent pinch points and emergent clusters: Further neighbor interactions in the pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet
in Physical Review B
Kovrizhin D
(2010)
Multiparticle interference in electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers
in Physical Review B
Manmana S
(2011)
Phase diagram and continuous pair-unbinding transition of the bilinear-biquadratic S = 1 Heisenberg chain in a magnetic field
in Physical Review B
Kovrizhin D
(2009)
Exactly solved model for an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer
in Physical Review B
Sotiriadis S
(2010)
Quantum quench in interacting field theory: A self-consistent approximation
in Physical Review B
Parameswaran S
(2012)
Fractional Chern insulators and the W 8 algebra
in Physical Review B
Andreanov A
(2010)
Spin-glass transition in geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets with weak disorder
in Physical Review B
Mitchell A
(2011)
Two-channel Kondo physics in odd impurity chains
in Physical Review B
Nahum A
(2013)
Phase transitions in three-dimensional loop models and the C P n - 1 sigma model
in Physical Review B
Chalker J
(2010)
Anderson localization in tight-binding models with flat bands
in Physical Review B
Goetze W
(2010)
Low-temperature dynamical structure factor of the two-leg spin- 1 2 Heisenberg ladder
in Physical Review B
Willans A
(2011)
Site dilution in the Kitaev honeycomb model
in Physical Review B
Mitchell A
(2009)
Quantum phase transition in quantum dot trimers
in Physical Review B
Rufino M
(2013)
Solution of a model for the two-channel electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer
in Physical Review B
Galpin M
(2010)
Interplay between Kondo physics and spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotube quantum dots
in Physical Review B
Schuricht D
(2011)
Boundary effects on the local density of states of one-dimensional Mott insulators and charge density wave states
in Physical Review B
Bhaseen M
(2009)
Magnetothermoelectric response near quantum critical points
in Physical Review B
Chalker J
(2011)
Spin quantum Hall effect and plateau transitions in multilayer network models
in Physical Review B
Gurarie V
(2008)
Excitations of one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates in a random potential.
in Physical review letters
Pooley CM
(2007)
Hydrodynamic interaction between two swimmers at low Reynolds number.
in Physical review letters
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £1,202,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I032487/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | European Union EU Brussels |
Amount | £90,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NMP3-CT-2006-031980 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start |
Description | European Union EU Brussels |
Amount | £90,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NMP3-CT-2006-031980 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start |
Description | Office of Naval Research |
Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | N00014-08-1-0401 |
Organisation | US Navy |
Department | US Office of Naval Research Global |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United States |
Start |
Description | Office of Naval Research |
Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | N00014-08-1-0401 |
Organisation | US Navy |
Department | US Office of Naval Research Global |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United States |
Start |