Quantum matter
Peter Holdsworth, Fabio Mezzacapo, Edmond Orignac, Tommaso Roscilde, Lucile Savary
The theme of Quantum Matter refers to the study of the key role of quantum effects in describing the phases of matter. It aims to understand the interaction mechanisms among numerous quantum particles, both fermions and bosons, whether through their electric charge or their spin, in one, two, or three dimensions. These particles can be electrons in solids, as well as neutral atoms or ultracold trapped ions.
The Theoretical Physics team works on various theoretical research directions in the field of quantum matter, with the goal of elucidating the physical properties of new quantum phases of matter, particularly magnetic properties, electrical and thermal transport. They employ and develop a diverse array of theoretical tools, including numerical techniques such as variational Monte Carlo methods, finite-temperature quantum Monte Carlo, exact diagonalization, as well as analytical methods such as bosonization, diagrammatic methods in field theory, renormalization group, and variational methods. This allows them to tackle a wide range of situations where correlations, quantum fluctuations, or long-range interactions play important roles.
Among other topics, the team investigates spin ice and its magnetic excitations, non-equilibrium dynamics and droplet formation in cold atom gases, spin liquids, as well as the effects of disorder-induced localization in Dirac and Weyl semimetals, in connection with the theme of Topological Systems.