Canberra International Physics Summer School – Topological Matter

  •  8 Jan 2018 - 19 Jan 2018
     8:00 am - 5:00 pm

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

The Canberra International Physics Summer School invites Australian and international students to learn about cutting edge research in physical sciences. The School is an exciting opportunity to improve your knowledge in physics and meet inspiring academics from Australia and around the world.

This is a regular event which has been running at the Research School of Physics & Engineering since 1988. Past events included a broad range of topics including mathematical physics, complex systems, plasma physics, quantum optics, cosmology, biophysics, classical and quantum chaos and many others – visit ANU Summer School website.

The program combines intensive study with social and cultural events – guest lectures, afternoon teas, BBQ and more.

Funding is provided by the ANU College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences. Travel support and accommodation scholarships are available.

Topological Matter

Topological states of condensed matter and photonics is an extremely active field of modern physics. It has been the subject of major advances in the past few decades, leading to the 2016 award of the Nobel Prize in physics. Advances in Topological Matter are likely to govern the development of new technologies and applications in the 21st century.

The quote below is from Manuel Asorey, “Space, matter and topology”, Nature Physics 12, 616–618 (2016)

In the early 1960s George Gamow wrote a popular book that contained a very suggestive observation about the effectiveness of pure mathematics in physics. As a conclusion he remarked that “only number theory and topology (analysis situs) still remain purely mathematical disciplines without any application to physics. Could it be that they will be called to help in our further understanding of the riddles of Nature?” Fifty years later, the applications of topology in physics are so numerous that they cannot be covered in a short note. Gamow surely never dreamt that newly discovered phases of matter would be labelled with topological names. Topological phases, topological insulators, topological superconductors and topological semimetals — these are just a few examples of what is generally referred to as topological matter.

 

The target audience of this summer school is undergraduate and graduate students from across Australia and New Zealand. The plan is to cover the following current research topics in topological matter, explaining both fundamental theoretical concepts and prospective applications:

  1. Topological phases of matter (the 2016 Nobel Prize)
  2. Topological photonics
  3. Topological physics of ultra cold gases/engineered quantum systems
  4. Topological quantum computation
  5. Geometric topology of materials
  6. Mathematical foundations

In addition to the regular lectures there will be other activities such as tutorial sessions, lab visits, a poster session, a science communication workshop and an extended social event.

Physics lab tours will also be organised. Student travel, child support & living scholarships are available.

Keynote speakers
  • Duncan Haldane (Princeton U., USA) — 2016 Nobel Prize winner
  • Joachim Brand (Massey U., NZ)
  • Maja Cassidy (U. Sydney, Australia)
  • Michael Fuhrer (Monash University, Australia)
  • Victor Galitski (U. Maryland, USA)
  • Dimi Culcer (UNSW, Australia)
  • Victor Gurarie (U. Colorado Boulder, USA)
  • Stephen Hyde (ANU, Australia)
  • Alexander Khanikaev (U. New-York, USA)
  • Vanessa Robins (ANU, Australia)
  • Immanuel Bloch (MPQ Munich, Germany)
Organisers
  • Murray Batchelor
  • Jeffrey Davis
  • Joe Hope
  • Elena Ostrovskaia
  • Vanessa Robins
  • Cedric Simenel
  • Robert Ward
  • Elizabeth Williams
Sponsors

Funding provided by the United States Government is acknowledged.

Contact

Please contact the organisers at cpss@anu.edu.au for more information or go to http://cpss.anu.edu.au/.

Venue:  

Address:
Research School of Physics and Engineering, ANU College of Science, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia

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