Superfluids in Flatland: Topology, Defects, and the 2016 Nobel Prize
Theoretical Physics - From Outer Space to Plasma · Oxford University
November 3, 201743m 13s
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Show Notes
In this talk, Siddharth Parameswaran discusses how a topological approach to 2D systems reveal that they can indeed become superfluid, and lead to surprising and beautiful universal results whose implications continue to resonate today. Superfluids spontaneously break a continuous symmetry linked to the conservation of particle number in a many-body system. Standard lore holds that such symmetries must remain unbroken at any temperature above absolute zero in a two-dimensional material, such as a thin sheet or film, apparently precluding superfluidity in such systems.