Abstract: The axion is a hypothetical particle initially introduced to resolve problems in quantum chromodynamics. Despite being initially conceived in the context of high energy physics, the axion has more recently found a home in condensed matter physics. Notably, it has been shown that the electromagnetic responses of certain topological systems can contain a so-called axion-term. These systems -- known as axion insulators -- can display a number of unusual properties, such as half integer quantized surface Hall conductance and a quantized magneto electric effect. In this talk I will discuss how the axion term occurs in condensed matter systems, and how it leads to the aforementioned effects. I will also discuss how these effects can be detected in experimental settings.
Please email shreyaa5@illinois.edu for the Zoom link.
