Dr. Liang Fu

Harvard University

Topological Insulators and Superconductors

Abstract:

The discovery of quantum Hall effects at high magnetic fields in 1980s revealed the existence of topologically ordered phases of matter without spontaneous symmetry breaking. In the last few years, a variety of new topological phases has been theoretically discovered in band insulators with strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductors with unconventional pairing symmetry. In this talk, I will describe the unifying topological structure of these electronic phases, theoretical predictions and> experimental realizations of topological insulators, as well as ongoing efforts towards finding topological superconductors.