Speaker: Mohammad Hafezi, University of Maryland
Title: Topological physics: from photons to electrons
Abstract: There are many intriguing physical phenomena that are associated with topological features — global properties that are not discernible locally. The best-known examples are quantum Hall effects in electronic systems, where insensitivity to local properties manifests itself as conductance through edge states which are insensitive to defects and disorder. In the talk, we first discuss how similar physics can be explored with photons; specifically, how various quantum Hall Hamiltonians can be simulated in an optical system. We then discuss how strong interaction between photons can be created by the integration of topological photonic structures with solid-state quantum emitters. Our results may enable the development classical and quantum optical devices with built-in protection for next-generation optoelectronic and quantum technologies.
Bio: Mohammad Hafezi is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments at the University of Maryland and a fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute. He studied for two years at Sharif University before completing his undergraduate degree from École Polytechnique. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2009. His research interest includes quantum optics, topological physics, condensed materials, and quantum information sciences. He has had a number of pioneering contributions in exploring topological physics in synthetic systems such as photonic and atomic platforms, including the first proposal and realization of topological edge states for optical photons. He is the recipient of the Sloan Fellowship, the Young Investigator Award of the US Naval Research Office.