Condensed Matter Analogies in Mechanics, Optics and Cold Atoms
Location: CECAM-ISR
Organisers
Additional information and REGISTRATION can be found on the CECAM IL site: http://tau.ac.il/cecam/cm2019
Outstanding conceptual breakthroughs in science are often rooted in the exchange of knowledge between disciplines. Seemingly unrelated fields of research can sometimes find common themes that are not easily unraveled, yet these common concepts can plant the seeds for revolutionary ideas. A particularly exciting example is the emerging field of topological phases of matter, where concepts from the mathematical theory of topology have revolutionized the understanding of the solid state and electronic properties in crystalline materials [1-7]. Additionally, high energy physics and relativistic effects have recently been linked to the low energy physics in such materials, tying together theories of traditional condensed matter, special and general relativity, and even cosmology [8-10].
Recently it has been shown that topological phases of quantum matter such as topological insulators and semimetals, can be realized in acoustic, optical and mechanical systems as well as ultra-cold atoms in designed potentials [11-15]. These artificial materials - or metamaterials - raise considerable interest in the hard-condensed-matter community, as they offer the ability to control the potential and image the internal dynamics in ways that are hard to realize in electronic systems [16,17]. Moreover, metamaterials offer a way of introducing new physical elements such as nonlinearities and interactions, thus enriching the scope of topological phenomena and possibly shedding some light on the role of interactions in electronic topological systems [18-20]. From the metamaterials perspective, motivation for drawing ideas from the condensed-matter community has increased due to the notion that topological effects may introduce new mechanical, acoustic or photonic properties, and that topological band theory can be applied to the classification of Hamiltonians and band structures in both systems [21,22]. This correspondence between fields raises profound questions regarding the similarities and differences between quantum mechanical phenomena occurring on a microscopic scale and classical phenomena occurring at the macro scale, on the role of interactions and more.
The purpose of this workshop is to bring together leading scientists from the fields of electronic systems and mechanical, optical and quantum metamaterials, to exchange ideas in order to facilitate rapid progress in these distinct fields. The interface between disciplines can have far-reaching effects not only on the conceptual level, but also on the practical and applied level. Systems in which phenomena can arise naturally and are well understood can also be such in which effects are difficult to isolate, measure or utilize. Therefore, finding analog phenomena in other systems can be beneficial. For example, the state of the art engineering of metamaterials recently enabled direct access to analogs of exotic effects predicted to appear in electronic systems where they are not easily accessed due to material limitations [23-25].
The workshop will include invited lectures from leading computational, theoretical and experimental researchers in the fields of optics, acoustical and mechanical metamaterials, and cold atoms. These will be supplemented by discussions as well as poster presentations.
References
Roni Ilan (Tel Aviv University) - Organiser
Yoav Lahini (Tel Aviv University) - Organiser
Erdal C. Oğuz (Tel Aviv University) - Organiser
Yair Shokef (Tel Aviv University) - Organiser
Yael Yogev (Tel Aviv University) - Organiser
Switzerland
Sebastian Huber (ETH Zürich) - Organiser