Overview
Overview
The Group theoretically explores exotic quantum transport phenomena in low dimensional structures and complex materials including carbon nanotubes, DNA, graphene, organic crystals and topological insulators.
The targets of interest include the investigation of the effect of chemical and topological disorder, as well as electron-phonon coupling and spin-orbit interaction on quantum interferences, localization phenomena and decoherence mechanisms. The electromechanical coupling between charges flow and vibrations of the systems is also a subject of great concern. Methodological developments include innovative quantum transport approaches to describe charge, spin, phonon, or polaron dynamics in complex matter.
All research activities of the Group are closely connected to the experimental challenges endeavored at ICN spanning from nanoelectromechanical systems, to nanoelectronics, spintronics and phononics.
One key objective of the Group also lies in the establishment of a long-term collaborative research strategy with the “theory and simulation” group headed by Pablo Ordejon at CSIC, within the frame of the Centre d´Investigacio en Nanociencia I Nanotecnologia (CIN2 - www.cin2.es).
Background
The exploration of Nanosciences requires the development of specific theoretical tools to unveil the origin of complex quantum phenomena, strongly driven by the nanoscale chemical complexity of materials and devices, and sometimes out of reach from the unique experimental inspection.
Two research directions for theory are highly challenging. First it is often necessary to tackle quantum (transport) phenomena beyond conventional semiclassical treatments and mean field approaches. Second, there is a crucial need for the development of multiscale computational strategies, keeping the accuracy of state-of-the-art ab initio methods, but allowing the calculation of physical observables in realistic models.
These are the challenges that the Group aim to tackle, within the context of charge, spin, phonon or polarons dynamics in complex states of Matter and low dimensional structures.
