Mechanical Topological Insulators
Jacob Moran with Harsh Mathur
In this project we will study mechanical topological insulators. Yu and Mathur have found that the elastic modes of bilayer graphene are analogous to the electronic states of topological insulators. Using a continuum elasticity model they find that the elastic waves are...
Mathur
Joseph Flannery with Harsh MathurDirac theory of topological insulator boundariesA topological insulator is a material that behaves as an insulator in its interior but whose surface contains bound conducting states. The bulk of a topological insulator may be described by a massive Dirac model while the gapless surface states follow the massless Dirac...
Michael Sammon with Harsh Mathur
Axion Electrodynamics
Axions were introduced in particle physics in the 1970s to explain CP violation in the standard model. Subsequently axions have become a leading candidate for dark matter in Cosmology. The axion field has an unusual coupling to electromagnetism leading to remarkable electromagnetic phenomena that...
Evan Telford with Harsh Mathur
The Relativistic Hofstadter Problem
Hofstadter studied electrons in a strong magnetic field perturbed by a weak periodic potential on a square lattice. He found that the energy levels plotted as a function of the magnetic field formed a beautiful pattern with a recursive structure now Hofstadter...
Mason Eastman with Harsh Mathur
Conductors as a model for elliptical coffee stains
In electrostatics, conductors exhibit a number of interesting properties. Among these is the ‘lightning rod’ effect, whereby electric fields are significantly greater near areas of high curvature. In 1997, Nagel et al. published a paper likening the behavior...