Physics Department Colloquim

Title of the Talk:
“New Organizational Principle for Electronic Phases in Quantum Materials”

 

Abstract: The old language of symmetry breaking in which phases of matter have been understood for about a century has been found incomplete. In this talk I will point out the discovery of phases of electronic matter which can not be understood within the existing paradigm. I will then introduce the new language, which is still being written, in which phases of electronic matter are now understood.  I will present the specific example of quantum spin liquids in some detail to point out the unique features that such phases possess when compared to "conventional" states of matter.