R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminars |
Events on Thursday, March 10th, 2022
- Skyrmion pairing: a topological route to superconductivity
- Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Shubhayu Chatterjee, University of California Berkeley
- Abstract: Atomically thin Van der Waals materials have emerged as a highly versatile platform to advance our understanding of quantum matter driven by strong electron correlations. Recent experimental breakthroughs in stabilizing few-layered graphene structures with a “magic” relative twist between layers has led to the discovery of a wide variety of correlated states ranging from magnetism to superconductivity. Despite compelling experimental evidence for unconventional superconductivity, the glue which binds electrons into Cooper pairs remains a mystery. In this talk I will propose a novel resolution: the Cooper pairs are composed of electrically charged topological spin textures called “skyrmions,” rather than electrons. First proposed by Tony Skyrme to model baryons in particle physics, I will explain how their topological properties can give rise to superconductivity in an electronic model with purely repulsive interactions, and without recourse to phonons which are conventionally responsible for pairing.
- Host: Robert McDermott