26 Aug 2020
10:00 am - 11:00 am

A collaboration between FLEET and our partner, Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, this United States – Australia Transpacific Colloquium will present novel developments in condensed matter and cold atomic physics. It aims to enrich connections between the physics communities.

This Colloquium series will start on 26 August 2020. Everyone is welcome to join! For more information, visit sites.google.com/monash.edu/transpacific-colloquium.

Speaker: Kin Fai Mak (Cornell University)

Simulating Hubbard model physics in semiconductor moiré superlattices

The Hubbard model, first formulated by physicist John Hubbard in the 1960s, is a simple theoretical model of interacting quantum particles in a lattice. The model is thought to capture the essential physics of high-temperature superconductors, magnetic insulators, and other complex emergent quantum many-body ground states. Although the Hubbard model is greatly simplified as a representation of most real materials, it has nevertheless proved difficult to solve accurately except in the one-dimensional case. Physical realizations of the Hubbard model in two or three dimensions, which can act as quantum simulators, therefore have a vital role to play in solving the strong-correlation puzzle. In this talk, I will discuss our recent efforts on simulating Hubbard model physics in semiconductor moiré superlattices. As a result of the strong Coulomb interactions, an abundance of correlated phases of matter, including the Mott insulating state, charge-ordered states, stripe phases and electronic liquid crystals, emerges. I will also discuss the magnetic phase diagram of the system and implications for future studies.