Topological Insulators
March Meeting 2010
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Meeting Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the hottest topics in condensed matter physics is the latest manifestation of the quantum Hall effect. In this phenomenon, the electrons at the interface between two semiconducting layers, kept at cold temperatures and held exposed to a high magnetic field, will lapse into fixed-energy quantum states; the conductivity of the material comes in multiples of a basic unit.
A few years ago an elaboration of this research, an effect called the quantum Hall spin effect, showed that the spin of the electrons can produce additional interactions and that it was possible to see Hall effects even in the absence of large magnetic fields. Now, with a species of materials called topological insulators, even the low temperatures are not necessary. The material acts as if it were a metal box: an insulator on the inside and a conductor on the outside. The currents that flow are not large; this is not a material that can support the transmission of high power. But it might be able to facilitate fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Related March Meeting Sessions
Session A2: Topological Insulators and Topological Superfluids
Session D2: Correlated System including Topological Insulators: Materials, Measurements, and Majorana Modes
About APS
The American Physical Society is the leading professional organization of physicists, representing more than 48,000 physicists in academia and industry in the United States and internationally. APS has offices in College Park, MD (Headquarters), Ridge, NY, and Washington, D.C.
About AIP
Headquartered in College Park, MD, the American Institute of Physics is a not-for-profit membership corporation chartered in New York State in 1931 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare.
