Macroscopic entanglement in strongly correlated superconductors

by Dr. Elio Konig

Rutgers University

at Condensed Matter Theory Seminar

Wed, 22 Jan 2020, 13:30
Sacta-Rashi Building for Physics (54), room 207

Abstract

The inherent challenges of strongly correlated superconductors, such as heavy fermion materials, cuprates, pnictides and potentially twisted bilayer graphene, are intimately linked to macroscopic patterns of entanglement -- a topic of prime importance in the era of quantum information. I will concentrate on iron based superconductivity and review selected experimental observations and theoretical scenarios. Motivated by this introduction, I will discuss a novel mechanism for superconductivity employing a heuristic triplet resonating valence bond wave function. In this scenario, superconductivity emerges from a metallized spin liquid and thus from conduction electrons in the background of a gauge theory. This poses a formidable theoretical question on its own which I address at the level of tractable abstract toy models. In particular, I present results on the soluble limit and deconfinement-confinement phase transition in Kitaev's toric code supplemented with fermions. The presented results not only pave the way towards a better understanding of strongly correlated superconductors, but also illustrate the anticipated common ground of materials science and quantum information theory.

Created on 30-11-2019 by Schechter, Moshe (smoshe)
Updaded on 18-01-2020 by Schechter, Moshe (smoshe)