Topological phases in Condensed Matter and Cold Atoms systems
Location: Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargèse (IESC)
Organisers
Latest news: see program in "Files" section
The study of topological phases of matter has recently experienced a tremendous intensification, with much progress on both the experimental as well as theoretical side. Most notably are the newly discovered topological insulators (or superconductors), which combines physics from the quantum Hall effect and graphene. Currently, most of the interesting physics in topological insulators emerges from combining non-interacting band theory with the notion of topology, which has led to some spectacular results.
Most of the developments in the field of topological insulators, has focused on the effects of the topological properties, without taking the electron interactions into account. While giving rise to very interesting physics, combining the topological effects with electron interactions, will most certainly lead to many interesting discoveries. The fractional quantum Hall effect is a good example of where this interplay indeed has led to very exciting new physics.
For systems without interactions, the possible topological phases have been classified. It is known from some explicit examples, that taking interactions into account will change the picture. Phases that are distinct in the absence of interactions, can become equivalent in the interacting case. Classifying topological phases in the presence of interactions is a daunting task, but making even a little progress will greatly enhance our understanding of topological phases. This is the first main question that will be addressed during the workshop.
The second main question is, what are the realistic systems where interesting topological phases (be it interacting or non-interacting) can be expected to occur? Despite the recent promising results on realizing Kitaev's one-dimensional topological superconductor in several experiments, experimental realizations of topological phases with non-trivial excitations beyond the quantum Hall regime are few. This workshop will be an excellent platform to make progress on this important question.
The application should be done via the website https://www.azur-colloque.fr/DR14/AzurInscription/?lang=en&&iColId=31&NaiveForm_id=AzChoixColloque&btnAzurP=Preinscription before May, 31st 2015.
An email will be sent to all applicants during the first week of June to inform them if their application is accepted. The registration fees (550 euros) include transportation from/to Ajaccio airport, accommodation, lunches and coffee breaks. For young scientists based at a U.S. educational institution, they may be eligible for travel support via Professor Ceperley's travel award program. Please visit the website http://mcc.illinois.edu/travel
References
Didier Poilblanc (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique) - Organiser
Nicolas Regnault (CNRS, ENS -Paris) - Organiser
Germany
Roderich Moessner (MPIPKS) - Organiser
Sweden
Eddy Ardonne (Stockholm University) - Organiser