Carlo Beenakker
Leiden University
Leigh Page Prize Lectures
April 20-24,
2009
4:00 pm in SPL 59
Mesoscopic physics of graphene
Abstract: Graphene is a realization of "nano chicken wire": a plane hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms. It has been studied by theorists as an academic exercise for half a century, but it was only shown recently to exist in nature as a stable form of carbon. The dynamics of conduction electrons in graphene is the same as that of relativistic massless particles, with a velocity that is 300 times smaller than the speed of light. The appearance of concepts from relativistic quantum mechanics in condensed matter physics is unusual, and provides an entirely new and suprising phenomenology. Whether or not these new phenomena have useful applications, in particular for carbon-based electronics, remains to be seen, but there is certainly much interesting physics to explore - as we hope to show in this series of lectures.
Monday, April 20: What is special about graphene?
Wednesday, April 22: Relativity meets superconductivity in graphene
Friday, April 24: Majorana fermions in graphene and topological insulators
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