Fellesseminar: Inhomogeneous Phases of Dense Nuclear Matter
Hovedinnhold
Why are we surrounded by objects that have size and shape rather than by uniform stuff? This trivial question is surprisingly difficult to answer. In fact, in theoretical physics it is most common to assume that the lowest-energy state of a quantum system is uniform, exceptions being considered exotic. I will give an overview of some of the known inhomogeneous phases of quantum matter together with theoretical constraints on their existence. Afterwards, I will focus on the phase diagram of hot and dense nuclear matter and discuss the recently discovered topological crystal phase of such matter in strong magnetic fields.
Om foredragsholderen
Tomas Brauner received his PhD in theoretical physics from Charles University in Prague in 2006, and subsequently worked as a postdoc in Frankfurt, Bielefeld, Helsinki and Vienna. He has been at the University of Stavanger since 2015. His research interests cover a range of topics within the physics of quantum many-body systems, including the phase diagram of dense nuclear matter, electroweak physics in the early universe, and general properties of spontaneously broken symmetries.
