Emergent quantum phases in the iron pnictides and heavy fermion materials

Condensed Matter Seminars

Speaker: Andriy Nevidomskyy, Rice University
Date & Time: January 9, 2014 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Hennings 318
Local Contact: Joshua Folk
Intended Audience: Graduate

When interactions between constituent particles become sufficiently strong, quantum systems often display appearance of non-trivial collective excitations and novel phases of matter. I will elaborate this concept of quantum emergence on two examples: the “strange metal” (non-Fermi liquid) phase in heavy fermion materials, and the emergent nematic phase in the iron pnictide family. Intriguingly, unconventional superconductivity emerges in both these classes of materials, despite their seemingly very different nature. I will also discuss the role that magnetic frustrations play in these systems.