DiSAT Seminars 2026 - Seminar "The Hidden Geometry of Quantum Matter"
DiSAT is launching a new series of monthly departmental seminars, designed as an open forum to share and discuss the diverse research interests across the Department.
We are happy to announce the fifth event in the series, scheduled for June the 16th at 2:00 p.m. in Sala Didattica
The seminar, titled "The Hidden Geometry of Quantum Matter",” will be presented by Dr. Alessandro De Martino, Senior Lecturer, University of London, who has been invited by our phd students Niccolò di Eugenio and Giuliano Artale.
In condensed matter physics, different phases of matter have traditionally been classified by their symmetries. In recent decades, a fundamentally different organising principle has emerged: topology. Topological quantum materials display electronic properties that are insensitive to smooth changes of material parameters and robust against disorder. These properties are dictated not only by the energy spectrum, but also by the geometry of quantum states in momentum space. In this talk, I will discuss how concepts such as Berry curvature, Chern numbers and bulk-boundary correspondence distinguish new phases of matter, from quantum Hall and quantum spin Hall insulators to Weyl semimetals. Along the way, we will see how integers characterising the global twisting of electron wave functions give rise to precisely quantized conductances and topologically protected boundary states. These remarkable properties have potential implications metrology, low-power electronics, and quantum technologies.
Each seminar will be preceded by a coffee break to encourage networking among colleagues.
Attendance by PhD students will count toward their training credits.
All colleagues and students are warmly invited to join.
Commissione Research DiSAT
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