Dr. Tomáš Bzdušek, Paul Scherrer Institute and University of Zurich

Mathematics of Topological Insulators and Semimetals

Many properties of crystalline materials, such as conductivity or the tendency to become magnetically ordered at low temperatures, derive from their so-called “electronic band structure.” Although this is an established notion in solid state physics, dating back to the early days of quantum mechanics, our understanding of electronic band structure has been greatly challenged and revolutionized over the past 15 years by the discovery of so-called topological materials.