Physics & Astronomy Colloquium

3:30 PM, Friday, October 17, 2008
Room 155, Chem-Phys Building

Dr. Smitha Vishveshwara
Department of Physics
University of Illinois at Urbana

Probing fractional statistics in quantum Hall systems: Anyon there?
One of the most fascinating aspects of the two dimensional world is the possible existence of anyons, particles which obey 'fractional' statistics different from fermionic and bosonic statistics. The quantum Hall system is one of the prime candidates for hosting such entities. In this colloquium, following an introduction to fractional particles in quantum Hall systems, some of the tantalizing experiments detecting the fractional charge of these particles will be described. Proposals for detecting signatures of fractional statistics will be discussed, including those inspired by the studies by Hanbury Brown and Twiss in the 1950s which explored the bosonic properties of photons.

Refreshments will be served in CP 155 at 3:15 PM