Lars Fritz

Abstract:

When we speak of electrical transport in solid state systems we always speak of the ‘flow of a current’. However, if we open a textbook we find that the standard theory seems to be that of diffusion, which has little in common with a collective flow like we encounter it in classical liquids like water or honey. I will first discuss why this is the case and how more recent experiments, most notably in graphene, overcome this hurdle and exhibit water-like flow of electrical charges. I will then discuss the role of plasmons and possibly other collective modes, especially in experiments that probe the thermo-electrical response and how it possibly connects to very recent experiments.