Send Email
Office: CP 383
Mailing Address: Chemistry-Physics Bldg., 503 Rose Street,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0055.
Phone: (859) 257-1697
Send Email
Office: CP 383
Mailing Address: Chemistry-Physics Bldg., 503 Rose Street,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0055.
Phone: (859) 257-1697
PA.UKY // CV // PUBLICATIONS// TEACHING
2012 KENTUCKY CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS SYMPOSIUM: THE IRIDATES
For a technical account of my research activities, please follow the link to my list of publications.
To learn about condensed matter physics research at the University of Kentucky, please visit the webpage of the condensed matter group @uky.edu
For a brief non-technical introduction to my research, please read on!
Introduction to my research:
My research focuses on the consequences of quantum mechanics on systems of infinite particles. Many-body quantum physics forms the basis of our understanding of the properties of a growing number of complex materials that are being synthesized in laboratories all over the world. The enormous number of electrons in these artificial materials find themselves in an extreme environment in which they lose their individual character acquiring a collective identity that is governed by the fascinating laws of quantum mechanics. While a theoretical description of our material world is of fundamental interest in our comprehension of nature, predictive powers over such materials are also crucial in the search for the building blocks of future technologies.
I work in the fields of condensed matter theory and computational physics. Although I am a theorist, I have a serious interest in interpreting and predicting the outcome of experiments carried out in a number of research groups worldwide.
Han Purple is an artificial complex material that was first synthesized more than two millennia ago by Chinese scientists!! It was used to color terracotta sculptures, like the terracotta warriors of Xian. In recent experiments, it has been discovered that Han purple undergoes a zero temperature transition between two distinct states of matter, when subjected to a magnetic field. Remarkably, proximate to the quantum critical point that separates the two phases, Han purple acquires a collective description in terms of a universal quantum field theory. Understating such "universal" properties of materials that transcend their complexity is one of the central goals of my research.
Pictures: (left) Ancient warriors and the Chinese purple. (right) Nature Physics 4, 198-204 (2008)
The devices in the photograph above were made by Kirill Bolotin. They enable scientists to probe the electronic properties of ultra-small pieces of metal called "quantum dots" by connecting the "quantum dots" to the small gold wires in the photograph. (The devices are about the size of a finger nail. The "quantum dots" themselves cannot be seen in the picture: they are often smaller than the 1/100 of a wavelength of visible light and hence cannot be photographed with an optical camera!). One of my research interests is concerned with understanding how the theory of quantum mechanics manifests itself in the unusual electronic properties of these small pieces of metal.
Photo: Blaise Dipersia