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Physics Colloquium - G. Baskaran (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (Canada) and The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (India)) "Graphene - from Simplicity to Complexity "

Tue, May 29, 2012
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Smith Seminar Room - 1080 PRB - reception at 3:45 pm in atrium

Graphene, a 2 dimensional hexagonal net of p-pi bonded carbon atoms has received an enormous theoretical and experimental attention in the past years. I will sketch how complexity emerges from simplicity, in this mono-atomic 2-dimensional solid. Low energy electrons in graphene behave like 2 + 1 dimensional massless chiral Dirac particles. This underlies a variety of relativistic type phenomena that have been theoretically predicted: i) Klein tunnelling, ii) Zitterbewegung, iii) Lorenz boost, iv) Lorenz contraction, v) time dilation, vi) Majarona zero mode vii) parity anomaly and so on. There are also a variety of exciting possibilities: antilocalization, universal optical absorption, high-Tc magnetism, high-Tc chiral superconductivity in doped graphene. A pedagogic review, including some of our own work, will be presented.