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INTRODUCTION TO MY RESEARCH IN THEORETICAL PHYSICS
photo: robert s whitney - rob whitney

I am a theoretical physicist studying quantum systems, which have wave-particle duality. I use quantum theory to understand the motion of electrons in nanometre-sized circuits.

KEYWORDS :
  • irreversibility in quantum systems
  • dissipation in quantum systems
  • quantum thermodynamics
  • quantum computing
  • thermoelectricity in nanostructures

These fields of research occupy scientists around the world, many of whom I work with. Our objective is to understand the laws of nature at the nanometre-scale. The answers to these questions may be useful for development new thermoelectric devices (refrigerators, power supplies,etc) or perhaps one-day for quantum computers.

FURTHER READING FOR NON-EXPERTS

This page contains some non-technical stuff about my work. Most of it should be clear for physics or engineering students, or anyone who has read a bit about quantum mechanics.

Focus: Thermodynamics Confronts Quantum Mechanics
Physics 7, 35 (2014)

Heat flow carried by electrons in a thermoelectric device requires a surprisingly wide "pipe" - a rare case where quantum effects have macroscopic consequences.

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A quick introduction to
quantum mechanics, quantum chaos & decoherence

My work in layman's terms : written in 2010

Quantum mechanics is the theory of wave-particle duality; it tells us that a particle - such as an electron - moves as a wave.

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Theory of irreversible effects in open quantum systems

A brief summary of my research activities from 2010-2012.
(I) Lamb shifts in quantum system coupled to environments, and
(II) thermoelectric effects in quantum system coupled to reservoirs.

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Feynman diagrams turned into abstract art.

A figure from our 2010 EPL paper (showing Feynman diagrams for the perturbation expansion in the number of Andreev-reflections from a superconductor) was chosen to be turned into cover art for EPL.

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PhD experiences of chaos and uncertainty principles

A very non-technical description of my PhD project on quantum chaos, written in 1998 during the third year of my PhD.

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Quantum Computers and Berry Phase

This is a non-technical summary of research that I carried out with Yuval Gefen at the Weizmann Institute, it was written in 2001.

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Articles in the I.L.L.'s Annual Reports

Non-technical descriptions of some works carried out at the Institut Laue Langevin (pdf format).

> Depolarization of 3He due to wall collisions [I.L.L. Annual Report (2011)]

> Noise enhancing coherent oscillations at a Landau-Zener transition [I.L.L. Annual Report (2011)]

> Quantum interference pierces opacity [I.L.L. Annual Report (2009)]

> From qubits to neutrons and back again [I.L.L. Annual Report (2006)]

Quantum chaos: routes to RMT and beyond

This is a non-technical introduction to research in quantum chaos , as it was in 2008. It was written as the final report for our workshop on the subject in Banff, Canada.

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FOR PHYSICS STUDENTS

Errors and Fidelity in Qubits

A brief introduction to the subject, followed by some project ideas.

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