The trio of Nobel Prize award recipients --- David Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz--- have used mathematical methods to study unusual phases, or states, of matter, such as superconductors, superfluids or thin magnetic films.
They were recognized for their contributions to topology, a branch of mathematics that describes properties that only change step-wise. The exotic materials the Nobel Laureates examined manifest novel quantum properties that may improve future electronics, superconductors and lead to quantum computers.
The condensed matter physics group at WVU works to provide a better understanding of materials, their interfaces and interactions, and to lay the foundation for applications based on the discovery of new physics. Their work is supported by federal funding and in part by the WV Higher Education Policy Commission’s Research Challenge Grant Program.
- Lian Li, Carroll
Chair of Physics, explores the growth and microscopy of the electronic
properties of topological matter, including insulators and superconductors. Lian
recently joined the WVU from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, bringing
unique capabilities with him.
- Tudor Stanescu, associate
professor, has spent the last decade modeling the interfaces of topological
insulator in proximity to other materials, such as superconductors. He
contributes to the global hunt for Majorana Fermions – particles that are their
Aldo Romero, associate
professor, uses first principles computer simulations to model topological
matter and predicting new quantum phases of matter.
- Professors Mikel
(Micky) Holcomb (assistant) and Alan Bristow (associate) use optical methods to
isolate and control the surfaces. Optical methods may present a way to overcome
the challenges in determining the conduction properties.
Professor Cheng Cen explores exotic materials that contain very heavy atoms
that bind the electrons strongly, confining them and changing the conduction
properties. Her work is funded by prestigious early career awards from National
Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy.
In direct connection
to this year’s Nobel Prize, Professor Leonardo Golubovic was named as fellow of
the American Physical Society for his theory relating the Kosterlitz-Thouless
transition to interfaces of biological membranes.
President of Research Sheena Murphy, who also recently joined WVU’s faculty
from the University of Oklahoma, has previously worked with both superfluid
helium and conducting variants of the phases central to the Nobel prize.