Hubbard Theory Consortium

The quantum many body problem in condensed matter is one of the grand challenges for 21st century physics. New states with striking properties emerge from the collective behaviour of interacting electrons in materials. Some of these materials lie at the heart of electronic devices that play an important part in our lives. Others are at the edge of our present understanding and will form the basis of future technologies -- for instance systems whose electrons are "strongly correlated". Due to the intrinsic difficulty of this field, an effective strategy for the discovery, understanding, and design of new strongly-correlated materials will increasingly involve experimentalists and theorists working closely together. This is the aim of the Hubbard Theory Consortium (HTC).

The HTC was initially founded by Royal Holloway University of London| (RHUL) within the framework of the South East Physics network| (SEPnet) and in partnership with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory| (RAL) in Harwell (including the ISIS| Facilities and the Diamond Light Source|) and with the London Centre for Nanotechnology| (LCN).

The HTC brings together condensed matter theorists in a growing and inclusive consortium to work in close collaboration with experimentalists using world-leading facilities at

• the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell (including the ISIS Facilities and the Diamond Light Source)
• the London Centre for Nanotechnology
• the Department of Physics at RHUL

In addition, the HTC aims to act as a hub of excellence to promote interactions with leading theorists and experimentalists from all over the world.

Current Projects

• The University of Kent and The Royal Holloway University of London set up a joint research program to study Complex States and Emergent Phenomena in Strongly Correlated Systems.

People

Director

• Prof Piers Coleman, faculty, CMT group, Royal Holloway University of London and CMT group, Rutgers University

Faculty Members

• Dr Claudio Castelnovo, lecturer, CMT group, Royal Holloway University of London and ISIS
• Dr Matthias Eschrig, senior lecturer, CMT group, Royal Holloway University of London and ISIS
• Dr Andrew Ho, lecturer, CMT group, Royal Holloway University of London
• Dr Jorge Quintanilla, lecturer, FMG, University of Kent and ISIS

Associates

• Dr Andrew Taylor, head of RAL and director of ISIS
• Prof Gabriel Aeppli, director of the LCN
• Prof Jörg Schmalian, faculty, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Activities

The activities of the Hubbard Theory Consortium currently include two series of scientific events:

Condensed Matter Physics in the City

Condensed Matter Physics in the City| is an annual one-month workshop held in central London (Royal Holloway Bedford College), with additional events at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and at Royal Holloway’s main campus in Egham. These workshops are devised to foster theory-theory, theory-experiment and experiment-experiment interactions both across the UK and internationally.

Advanced Working Groups

We organise one or two Advanced Working Groups (AWG)| per year. These are focused workshops (up to 30 people) based at Royal Holloway and ISIS, aimed to target open issues and latest results that would benefit from a direct discussion between theorists and experimentalists informed/active in the relative field(s).

Research

• Theory of Strongly Correlated Electron Systems
• Cuprates, Pnictides, Ruthenates, and Other Unconventional Superconductors
• Interface Physics, Spintronics, Nanostructures with Spin Polarise Elements
• Frustrated Magnetism
• Glassiness

Useful Links

• ISIS Facility
• London Centre for Nanotechnology
• RHUL Condensed Matter Theory group
• Kent Functional Materials Group
• SEPnet
• National Physics Laboratory (NPL)
• PhD/Postdoc openings at RHUL