Inaugural Lecture by professor Kim Lefmann

Kim Lefmann was appointed professor of Condensed Matter Physics in January 2021. The Niels Bohr Institute invites for an inauguration lecture followed by a reception. All are welcome

Quantum Materials for the future - and the tools to study them.

Talk by: Professor Kim Lefmann

Abstract:

The development of society have to a large extent been driven by progress in materials. Most recently, the semiconductor industry has enabled computer power unimaginable a generation ago by being able to engineer the motion of electrons.

The next materials leap is by many believed to be quantum materials, where we utilize and control the quantum mechanical correlations between electrons.

The examples of this are many, including features like magnetism and superconductivity. Materials with these properties can, in turn, be utilized for improving electricity production and transport, to reduce power consumption in e.g. computers, and to build the ultra powerful quantum computers of the future. A necessary step towards these promising prospects are to measure and understand the electronic correlations.

This lecture will focus on the use of slow neutrons for this purpose. According to quantum mechanics, the neutrons will behave like waves and can therefore interact with several electrons simultaneously, directly probing their correlations. The lecture will present selected examples of this work. Remarkable research capabilities are soon opening up at future world leading research center for neutron research in Lund, Sweden.

This lecture will end by a presentation of this facility, the European Spallation Source (ESS), and will focus on its expected impact on research in quantum materials.