Dmitri Feldman
Brown University, RI·Physics
In some materials, electrons act together and form 'quasiparticles' that carry only a fraction of an electron's charge. These anyons behave strangely when they circle one another, and that behavior could make quantum computers far less error-prone.
- Fields
Physics
- Topics
topological matter
anyons
fractional statistics
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Classify the possible topological orders behind the fractional quantum spin Hall effect in twisted bilayer molybdenum telluride, where time-reversal symmetry is broken, and identify measurements that can show which order is present.
- Develop theory for interferometry in quantum Hall liquids with multiple edge channels, covering the device used at filling factor 2/5 and the PI's proposed geometry used to observe fractional statistics at 3/7.
- Study neutral anyonic excitons, chargeless anyon-carrying excitations recently discovered in bilayer graphene, and how they relate to heat transport and neutral modes.
More about the research
Yet whether particular anyons exist, and what their properties are, is still debated. This theory project studies topological matter, materials whose key properties resist defects and outside disturbance. It focuses on how heat and neutral modes, excitations that carry energy but no charge, move through these materials. The goal is to find new ways to predict anyons and to test for them in experiments.
Why it matters
Anyons could serve as building blocks for quantum computers that resist errors, because their quantum information is protected from outside disturbance. Clarifying which anyons exist in materials such as molybdenum telluride and graphene, and how to detect them, could help guide experimental groups building quantum information platforms. It also deepens understanding of many-body quantum systems.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Fereshte Ghahari Kermani
George Mason University, VA·Physics·Early-career
Measure the thermodynamic entropy carried by the emergent quasiparticles of fractional quantum Hall states using thermopower — the voltage produced by a temperature gradient — and test whether entropy can distinguish Abelian from non-Abelian states.
Lu Li
University of Michigan, MI·Physics
Use thermoelectric and thermal Hall measurements to determine the nature of the magnetic-field-driven insulator-to-metal transition and the origin of quantum oscillations in Kondo insulators.
Wei Li
DePaul University, IL·Mathematics & Statistics
Prove the existence of and characterize edge states, the waves that travel along a boundary, on sharp interfaces formed by joining photonic materials with various symmetries, within a partial differential equation framework.
The school
Brown University: 23 labs on PI Pages, $375M a year on research, 251 research doctorates a year.
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