Interplay between magnetism, superconductivity, and topological insulators/superconductors
Taylor L Hughes
 University of Illinois at Urbana-Chaopaign
Abstract
New states of matter have recently been discovered which are reminiscent of the quantum Hall effect found in two-dimensional electron systems, but which do not require the extreme environment to exist (e.g. high magnetic fields, low temperature). These states are the so-called time-reversal invariant topological insulators which were theoretically predicted and subsequently experimentally confirmed to exist in 2D and 3D. These states are nominally insulating in the bulk，but harbor low-energy metallic states on their edges/surfaces which are robust to disorder and other imperfections. I will first discuss the basic physics of topological insulators and superconductors. In addition to this discussion, I will mention some interesting topological insulator/ferromagnet/superconductor hetero-structures which have recently received attention due to possible quantum computation applications and other novel phenomena. 
　 
 
 
Time: May. 10th, 2012 (Thursday) 10:00am
Place: IOP D-210 Conference Room
Contact: Ying Deng 82649414