Quantum Matter in and out of Equilibrium

平衡态和非平衡态的量子物质

基本信息

批准号：
EP/N01930X/1
负责人：
J Chalker
金额：
$ 189.74万
依托单位：
University of Oxford
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2016 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FN01930X%2F1
关键词：
Quantum Matter out Equilibrium

项目摘要

Matter -- substance in the world around us -- is "condensed" when its many pieces act in concert. Examples of condensed matter are virtually limitless, since any material is comprised of many individual atoms. The study of condensed matter on a microscopic scale inevitably involves quantum physics -- the laws of nature that apply to small objects such as individual atoms or electrons. Using quantum theory to study condensed matter lies at the heart of our research. Quantum condensed matter theory contains some of the most important, most difficult, and most intriguing questions in modern science. The reason is that the effects of quantum mechanics are all the more complex and surprising when many constituent parts of a large system behave collectively. Unexpected phenomena can "emerge" on large scales that bear no similarity to the microscopic properties. For example, many electrons can collectively "superconduct", carrying electrical current over huge distances with absolutely no loss of energy. An even more spectacular emergent behaviour in some systems is electron "fractionalisation", where the electron effectively has split into pieces!Quantum condensed matter theory is of fundamental academic interest because of the strange and surprising things that occur. It is also essential for the development of a vast range of technologies; it is no exaggeration to say that the computer and communications industries are built upon a foundation of discoveries and understanding in the quantum condensed matter theory of the last century. While our work is mainly academic in nature, our current explorations may very well pave the way for new industries in the years to come. The Oxford quantum condensed matter theory group use modern tools and techniques to unravel the puzzles of quantum condensed matter, to push forward the boundaries of knowledge, and to lay the groundwork for technologies of the future. The research is motivated by the overarching goal of finding structure and patterns in complex quantum systems, and the particular projects are coherent directions united by both specific motivations and methods. The work is summarized by four themes, all at the forefront of modern research:(1) Characterisation and Detection of Topological Matter, a particularly promising type of matter for future quantum technologies, only discovered recently, which so far has defied thorough understanding both theoretically and experimentally. One of its specific features is fractionalization.(2) Non-equilibrium Quantum States of Matter, quantum systems which are not well described by the conventional tools of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics developed in the last century. (3) Geometric Descriptions of Topological Phases -- the best approach to understanding topological matter from Theme (1) often uses a geometrical language. (4) Disorder in Correlated Quantum Matter -- some types of matter appear only in systems with many impurities or irregularities in the arrangements of atoms.The understanding we gain from these explorations will in turn open up new scientific directions.

当它的许多作品演唱会时，物质 - 我们周围世界的实质是“凝结的”。凝结物质的示例实际上是无限的，因为任何材料都由许多单独的原子组成。在微观范围内对凝结物质的研究不可避免地涉及量子物理学 - 适用于单个原子或电子等小物体的自然定律。使用量子理论研究凝结物质是我们研究的核心。量子凝结理论包含现代科学中一些最重要，最困难，最有趣的问题。原因是当大型系统的许多组成部分集体行为时，量子力学的影响就会更加复杂和令人惊讶。意外的现象可以在与微观特性没有相似性的大规模上“出现”。例如，许多电子可以集体“超导体”，在巨大的距离上携带电流，而绝对不会损失能量。在某些系统中，更壮观的紧急行为是电子“分数化”，电子有效地分为零件！量子冷凝的物质理论具有基本的学术兴趣，因为发生了奇怪而令人惊讶的事情。这对于开发各种技术也是必不可少的。毫不夸张地说，计算机和通信行业是建立在上个世纪量子凝结物质理论中的发现和理解的基础上的。尽管我们的工作主要是学术性的，但我们目前的探索很可能为未来几年的新行业铺平道路。牛津量子浓缩物质理论小组使用现代工具和技术来揭示量子凝结物质的难题，以推动知识的界限，并为未来的技术奠定基础。这项研究是由在复杂量子系统中找到结构和模式的总体目标所激发的，而特定的项目是由特定动机和方法结合在一起的连贯方向。这项工作是由四个主题总结的，这都是现代研究的最前沿：（1）对拓扑问题的表征和检测，这是未来量子技术的特别有希望的物质类型，直到最近才发现，这在理论上和实验上都没有彻底理解。它的特定特征之一是分数化。（2）物质的非平衡量子状态，量子系统的传统热力学工具和上个世纪开发的统计力学的传统工具没有很好地描述。（3）拓扑阶段的几何描述 - 从主题（1）理解拓扑问题的最佳方法经常使用几何语言。（4）相关量子问题的障碍 - 某些类型的物质仅出现在原子安排中有许多杂质或违规性的系统中。我们从这些探索中获得的理解将依次打开新的科学方向。