Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Condensed Matter Seminar - "Quantum mechanics of 2D electron crystals"

Event Type: Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor: Physics - Condensed Matter
Location: ESB 190
Date: Oct 4, 2024 1:00 pm
Speaker: Ilya Esterlis, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Contact: Stephen Bullwinkel
E-Mail: bullwink@illinois.edu
Phone: 217-333-1652
Views: 196
Originating Calendar: Physics - Condensed Matter Seminar; The low-carrier density state of a 2D semiconductor is described in terms of the homogeneous two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), the ground state properties of which are determined by the electron density. Below a critical density, the electronic system freezes into a triangular lattice electron solid, or Wigner crystal. For experimentally relevant carrier concentrations the electron solid is highly quantum-mechanical, the significant overlap between localized electronic orbitals leading to frequent electron tunneling between Wigner crystal lattice sites. I will describe some new theoretical results exploring the consequences of these quantum effects in monolayer and bilayer 2DEG systems: In the monolayer case, increasing electron density may drive the Wigner crystal into a metallic charge-density wave state that can be understood as a quantum crystal with a finite concentration of itinerant ground-state defects, while in the bilayer case interlayer Coulomb interactions lead to new lattice geometries in which ring-exchange processes lead to a variety of interesting magnetic ground states.

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