KTH Materials Dialogue Day 2018: Quantum Materials
KTH Materials Dialogue Day is an annual event for materials related research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, including scientific presentations and policy information as is intended for a general audience. The topic of 2018 will be on Quantum Materials on December 13, in connection to the joint KTH and Nordita workshop on Dynamic Quantum Matter.
Topic 2018: Quantum Materials
Quantum materials is an area of intense contemporary research interest, both from fundamental and applied sciences. The field is unified by the search for and study of non-trivial or exotic electronic properties of materials. This is materials whose properties cannot be described by concepts found in contemporary condensed-matter physics textbooks, but rather has to be defined by quantum mechanical effects. Of specific interest is when these effects persist at high temperature and at macroscopic length scale. Strongly correlated electron systems, spin materials, and topological insulators are examples of research topics where quantum materials play an integral role. Application can be found within the fields of includes quantum computing, data storage, and superconductors.
Research within the field
Research on quantum materials requires state-of-the-art facilities for fabrication and characterization. Sweden’s involvement in the large-scale infrastructures MAX IV, ESS, Petra III, and the European XFEL is anticipated to open new opportunities to study the electronic and atomic structure of quantum materials at ultrashort time scales, or at unprecedented energy and space resolutions.