2:45 p.m., Tuesday, October 26
MRSEC Conference Room (2120 Physics), Physics Building
Quantum Vortices and Competing Orders
Subir Sachdev
(Yale University)
Abstract: I discuss the theory of two-dimensional superfluids in
the vicinity of a quantum transition to a Mott insulator at fractional filling.
Vortices in the superfluid, with flux h/(2e), are argued to appear in multiple
flavors. These flavors of vortices can interfere with each other as they execute
their quantum zero point motion. This interference is proposed as an explanation
of recent scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on the cuprate
superconductors.