ICTP Colloquium 25 September

ICTP is pleased to announce a colloquium by Professor Thierry Giamarchi on "The Bizarre One-dimensional Quantum Physics". The talk will take place on Wednesday 25 September starting at 14:00 CET in the Budinich Lecture Hall, and will be livestreamed as well.

Thierry Giamarchi is a professor in the Department of Quantum Matter Physics (DQMP) at the University of Geneva, as well as a member of the French Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Physical Society.

His research deals with the effects of interactions in low dimensional quantum systems, such as Luttinger liquids, and on the effects of disorder in classical and quantum systems with works showing the existence of novel disordered phases such as the Bose glass and the Bragg glass. His research focusses both on condensed matter realizations of these systems, such as organic superconductors and quantum spin chains and ladders, but also on cold atomic gases systems that have provided a fantastic new playground for looking at quantum physics in low dimensions.

Refreshments will be served on the terrace of the Leonardo Building after the talk (if weather permits).

Abstract:

To describe the materials that surround us and that we use daily, quantum physics has proven to be an essential tool. Through a description largely based on a physics without interaction between particles, it has allowed to understand many properties of materials. However, this description without interaction has its limitations, and understanding the effects of interactions represents a huge challenge. In the case of systems that are one-dimensional, the interactions between particles even lead to a radically new physics compared to what we are familiar with in three-dimensional systems. What may seem like nothing more than a mathematical game or an academic curiosity is, in fact, extremely important for many systems existing in condensed matter or cold atomic gases.

The need to understand such systems has now become a central point in the physics of quantum systems, both in terms of the physics itself and in terms of the methods for solving such problems. In this presentation, Professor Giamarchi will provide an overview of this very particular physics and its consequences, such as the existence of fractional charge excitations and topological phase transitions. He will also showcase the experimental scenarios that recent advancements in materials science, nanotechnology, and ultracold gas physics have offered and discuss the state of the field and its prospects and challenges for the 21st century.