People | Center for Theory of Quantum Matter

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People	Brief Bio	Contact
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): high energy physics	Oliver DeWolfe Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio I am interested in string theory and supergravity, their applications to other phenomena via holography, particle physics, cosmology and quantum field theory. String theory is a leading candidate for a theory of quantum gravity, and also provides a framework for the unification of the forces of nature. It has both "direct" applications, by which one can investigate questions about the evolution of the early Universe, the nature of the dark energy and its connection to symmetry breaking, and the spectrum of subatomic particles and forces; as well as "indirect" applications, where through the concept of holography and the AdS/CFT correspondence one can study descriptions of strongly coupled phenomena, including nuclear and condensed matter systems. However, not everything is yet understood about the nature of the theory. I am interested in studying the characteristics of string theory, its predictions for the quantum nature of space and time, and both direct applications (particle physics, supersymmetry breaking, the cosmological constant, dynamics in the early Universe) and indirect applications (dual descriptions of heavy ion and strongly correlated systems).	Website: http://spot.colorado.edu/~dewolfe/ Email: oliver.dewolfe@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-3272 (office) Phone: 303-492-5119 (fax)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Administration & Support Research Area(s): condensed matter physics	Victor Gurarie Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio I am interested in emergent phenomena in condensed matter and many body physics, when the behavior of many-body systems cannot be reduced to a sum of their constituent parts. Common methods used in my work are the nonperturbative techniques of many-body theory and quantum field theory. My work has applications within the new field of the ultracold atomic gases, in the more conventional condensed matter physics, as well as to the mathematical aspects of quantum field theory.	Email: victor.gurarie@colorado.edu Phone: 303-735-5898 (office)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): condensed matter physics mathematical physics	Michael Hermele Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Waldo E. Rennie Professor of Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio Michael Hermele is a theoretical physicist interested in quantum phases of matter, strongly correlated systems, and other aspects and areas of quantum many-body systems. His background is in condensed matter physics, and much of his recent work also draws on ideas from quantum information science, high-energy physics, and mathematical physics. More specific current interests include topological and fracton phases of matter, and solid state materials with strong spin-orbit coupling and substantial electron interactions. He is the Deputy Director of the Simons Collaboration on Ultra-Quantum Matter.	Website: http://spot.colorado.edu/~hermele Email: michael.hermele@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-7466 (office) Phone: 303-492-3352 (fax)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): atomic, molecular, and optical physics quantum information science	Murray Holland Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Fellow of JILA Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio My research involves theoretical studies of Bose-Einstein condensation, including (1) the modes of oscillation, (2) the quantitative effect of interactions and loss processes, (3) the behavior of a condensate undergoing evaporative cooling, and (4) the thermodynamics of a small number of atoms. My future research interests include the damping processes of coherent excitations, quantum diffusion of the condensate phase, and new methods for treating quantum kinetic theory. I also investigate quantum optics, in which I study the properties of laser fields and their interaction with matter. My other interests include optical cavities and their interaction with atomic beams and quantum measurement theory.	Website: http://jila.colorado.edu/holland Email: mholland@jila.colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-4172 (office)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): quantum information science	Emanuel Knill Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Scientist/Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology Bio My research includes developing and applying mathematical and physical tools to better understand the limitations and utilize the capabilities of information processing resources. I use ideas and results from discrete mathematics, linear and multilinear algebra, information theory, probability theory, the theory of computation, and mathematical/theoretical physics. Current areas of interest include high-significance tests of quantum mechanics, characterization and benchmarks for digital and analog quantum devices, quantum measurement theory, emergence of subsystems in quantum matter and fields, and algebraic quantum information. Most of my work is available at arXiv.org.	Website: http://www.eskimo.com/~knill/ Email: knill@boulder.nist.gov
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): condensed matter physics high energy physics	Andrew Lucas Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio I have worked on a variety of topics at the interface of condensed matter, high energy and mathematical physics. Recent interests include: bounds and constraints on transport and quantum information scrambling, the emergence of hydrodynamics in closed quantum systems (especially fluids of electrons in metals), and the AdS/CFT correspondence.	Website: https://sites.google.com/colorado.edu/andrew-lucas/ Email: Andrew.J.Lucas@Colorado.EDU
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): condensed matter physics	Rahul Nandkishore Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Director of CTQM Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio Complex many-body systems can display qualitatively new physics. The search for such emergent phenomena is a central goal of condensed matter physics. My research is focused on the search for new emergent phenomena in quantum many body systems with strong interactions and/or strong randomness. I work on systems both in and out of equilbrium. Particular topics of interest include (but are not limited to): non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics, many body localization and thermalization, field theory of correlated systems, Dirac fermions, unconventional superconductors, and the interplay of disorder and interactions. Selected Publications 1. Non-local Adiabatic Response of a Localized System to Local Manipulations, V. Khemani, R. Nandkishore and S.L. Sondhi, Nature Physics 11, 560-565 (2015) 2. Rare region effects dominate weakly disordered 3D Dirac points, R. Nandkishore, D.A. Huse and S.L. Sondhi, Phys. Rev. B 89, 245110 (2014) 3. Localization Protected Quantum Order, D.A. Huse, R. Nandkishore, A. Pal, V. Oganesyan and S.L. Sondhi, Phys. Rev. B 88, 014206 (2013) 3. Chiral superconductivity from repulsive interactions in doped graphene. R. Nandkishore, L.S. Levitov and A.V. Chubukov, Nature Physics. 8, 158-163 (2012)	Website: https://sites.google.com/a/colorado.edu/rahul-nandkishore-webpage/ Email: Rahul.Nandkishore@Colorado.EDU Phone: 303-492-5404
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): high energy physics	Ethan Neil Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio My research interests are in physics beyond the standard model, particularly its signatures in collider and dark matter experiments, and more generally in the physics of strongly-coupled elementary particles, which I study numerically using large-scale computing. In closer connection to the CTQM, I am interested in renormalization and the emergence of conformal symmetry in quantum field theory, and in searches for light dark matter using high-precision tabletop experiments.	Email: ethan.neil@colorado.edu Phone: (303) 492-0513
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): mathematical physics	Markus Pflaum Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder	Website: http://euclid.colorado.edu/~pflaum/ Email: markus.pflaum@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-7717
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): condensed matter physics	Leo Radzihovsky Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio My research interests are: Degenerate Atomic Gases Liquid Crystals and Other 'Soft' Condensed Matter Disordered Systems Nonequilibrium Phenomena Quantum Hall Effect Superconductivity For more details, please see my Physics Department homepage.	Website: http://spot.colorado.edu/~radzihov/ Email: radzihov@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-5436 (office) Phone: 303-492-2998 (fax)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): atomic, molecular, and optical physics quantum information science	Ana Maria Rey Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Fellow of JILA Adjoint Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio My main research interest is ultracold atoms and molecules loaded in optical lattices, which are periodic trapping potentials created by illuminating the atoms and molecules with laser beams. Atoms in optical lattices are analogous to electrons in solid state crystals. Their big advantage is that these "artificial crystals of light" are perfectly clean and highly controllable. Therefore, they are ideal for exploring a whole range of fundamental phenomena that are extremely difficult — or impossible — to study in traditional condensed matter systems. My goal is to study how to control and manipulate these systems to engineer different quantum phases such as superfluids, insulators, quantum magnets, and topological matter. I plan to use them for understanding the physics of strongly correlated bosonic and fermionic systems and nonequilibrium phenomena. Additionally, I am interested in studying how to generate and manipulate entanglement in quantum systems for use in quantum information processing and precision measurements.	Website: https://jila.colorado.edu/arey Email: arey@jilau1.colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-8089 (office)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): nuclear physics	Romatschke Affiliations Fellow of CTQM Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Bio I am currently an assistant professor in the Physics Department of the University of Colorado, Boulder. My research interests include: Cold Dense Matter, Relativistic Viscous Hydrodynamics, Non-Abelian Plasma Instabilities, and Nonlinear Gravity. For more on these areas, please see my Physics Department homepage.	Website: http://hep.itp.tuwien.ac.at/~paulrom/ Email: paul.romatschke@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-1578 (office) Phone: 303-492-3352 (fax)
CTQM Role(s): CTQM Fellow Research Area(s): quantum information science	Graeme Smith Affiliations CTQM Fellow Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder Associate Fellow of JILA Bio My main research interests are quantum information and quantum computing. I try to identify the fundamental limits that physics places on communication, information processing, and sensing and understand the implications of these limits both in terms of practical technologies and fundamental physics. This involves finding new ways to think about information and computation, and new ideas for analyzing them. I have worked on error correction, quantum channel capacities, additivity questions, characterization of quantum annealers, and mathematical properties of entropy.	Email: graeme.smith@colorado.edu Phone: 303-492-1031