Exotic Probes and Extreme Conditions Reveal New States of Quantum Matter

Condensed matter systems provide an exciting laboratory for observing new states of quantum matter via emergence, where the collective behavior of electrons results in quasi-particles with fractional statistics, spin-charge separation, magnetic monopoles and Majorana fermions (particles that are their own anti-particles). I will describe how we design and synthesize new quantum materials that can host these exotic new states of matter and then use a variety of experimental techniques including muon spin relaxation and neutron scattering to probe their properties.

Graeme Luke is a Professor of Physics at McMaster University and a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He received his PhD in Physics from UBC in 1988 and a BASc from Queen’s University in 1984. He was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University, where he continued as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society who has published 296 papers and has an h-index of 54. His graduate students have gone on to faculty and permanent research staff positions as well as to industry.