Event time:
Thursday, December 1, 2016 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location:
Sloane Physics Laboratory (SPL), 3rd Floor Lounge
(Location is wheelchair accessible)
217 Prospect St.
New Haven, CT
06511
Event description:
Phases of matter with the same symmetry may nevertheless be distinct. If a phase of matter has an energy gap that prevents excitations, and is distinct from a solid of weakly-bound atoms, we say that this phase of matter is a topological insulator. I will introduce the theory for a topological insulator with a symmetry commonly found in crystals, and describe the subsequent experimental discovery in the compound KHgSb.
Reference: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v532/n7598/full/nature17410.html
Popular article: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-electrons-hourglass-surface-bizarre-materia…