Topological Quantum Phases, Novel Superconductors, and Ultra-Thin Films Beyond Graphene

Arun Bansil

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts USA

13th December, 09:30 am IST, 2021

I will discuss some of our recent work aimed at understanding the electronic structure and spectroscopy of novel superconductors, topological materials, and atomically thin 2D films and battery materials. [1-5] Illustrative examples will include: (i) How by exploiting electronic structure techniques we have been able to successfully predict and understand the characteristics of many new classes of topologically interesting materials, including magnetic topological materials; (ii) How atomically thin beyond graphene 2D and layered materials offer exciting new possibilities for manipulating electronic structures and provide novel platforms for fundamental science studies and applications; And, (iii) with regard to the high-T_c’s, I will discuss recent breakthroughs in modeling the insulating pristine compounds and their transition from the insulating to the metallic state with doping without invoking free parameters such as the Hubbard U parameter. A first-principles description of the competing stripe and magnetic phases in the cuprates also then becomes possible, providing a new pathway for modeling correlated materials more generally.

[1] A. Gao, et al., Nature 595, 521 (2021).

[2] H. Hafiz, et al., Nature 594, 213 (2021).

[3] Y. Zhang et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, 68 (2020).

[4] D. J. Trainer et al., ACS Nano 14, 2718 (2020).

[5] A. Bansil, H. Lin and T. Das, Reviews of Modern Physics 88, 021004 (2016).