Speaker: Ribhu K. Kaul, University of Kentucky, Lexington
Abstract: Close to the absolute zero of temperature, when pushed to the edge between
two phases of matter, simple lattice Hamiltonians of spins can display the
incredibly rich phenomena of "quantum criticality". Quantum critical
ground states are described by the most complex wavefunctions known to
physicists, yet they can be categorized by "universality classes" that are
independent of the details of the Hamiltonians that realize them. In this
seminar I will show how such quantum critical spin systems can arise in
real-world transition metal oxide materials, and explain our successes in
developing quantum many-body simulations of a new universality class of
"deconfined" quantum critical points.