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The Dirac sea is a theoretical model of the vacuum as an infinite sea of particles with negative energy. It was first postulated by the British physicist Paul Dirac in 1930 to explain the anomalous negative-energy quantum states predicted by the Dirac equation for relativistic electrons (electrons traveling near the speed of light). The positron, the antimatter counterpart of the electron, was originally conceived of as a hole in the Dirac sea, before its experimental discovery in 1932. In hole theory, the solutions with negative time evolution factors are reinterpreted as representing the positron, discovered by Carl Anderson. The interpretation of this result requires a Dirac sea, showing that the Dirac equation is not merely a combination of special relativity and quantum mechanics, but it also implies that the number of particles cannot be conserved. Dirac sea theory has been displaced by quantum field theory, though they are mathematically compatible. Origins Simila

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Emergence of Nontrivial Low-Energy Dirac Fermions in Antiferromagnetic EuCd2As2

Hang Li, Joël Mesot, Pierre Richard, Vladimir N. Strocov, Han Wang

Parity-time symmetry plays an essential role for the formation of Dirac states in Dirac semimetals. So far, all of the experimentally identified topologically nontrivial Dirac semimetals (DSMs) possess both parity and time reversal symmetry. The realization of magnetic topological DSMs remains a major issue in topological material research. Here, combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with density functional theory calculations, it is ascertained that band inversion induces a topologically nontrivial ground state in EuCd2As2. As a result, ideal magnetic Dirac fermions with simplest double cone structure near the Fermi level emerge in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase. The magnetic order breaks time reversal symmetry, but preserves inversion symmetry. The double degeneracy of the Dirac bands is protected by a combination of inversion, time-reversal, and an additional translation operation. Moreover, the calculations show that a deviation of the magnetic moments from the c-axis leads to the breaking of C3 rotation symmetry, and thus, a small bandgap opens at the Dirac point in the bulk. In this case, the system hosts a novel state containing three different types of topological insulator: axion insulator, AFM topological crystalline insulator (TCI), and higher order topological insulator. The results provide an enlarged platform for the quest of topological Dirac fermions in a magnetic system.

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2020

Quantum Monte Carlo Study of a Resonant Bose-Fermi Mixture

Gianluca Bertaina, Elisa Fratini

We study a resonant Bose-Fermi mixture at zero temperature by using the fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo method. We explore the system from weak to strong boson-fermion interaction, for different concentrations of the bosons relative to the fermion component. We focus on the case where the boson density nB is smaller than the fermion density nF, for which a first-order quantum phase transition is found from a state with condensed bosons immersed in a Fermi sea, to a Fermi-Fermi mixture of composite fermions and unpaired fermions. We obtain the equation of state and the phase diagram, and we find that the region of phase separation shrinks to zero for vanishing nB

2013

Fermi surface map of large-scale single-orientation graphene on SiO2

Huanyao Cun

Large scale tetraoctylammonium-assisted electrochemical transfer of graphene grown on single-crystalline Ir(1 1 1) films by chemical vapour deposition is reported. The transferred samples are characterized in air with optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and four point transport measurements, providing the sheet resistance and the Hall carrier concentration. In vacuum we apply low energy electron diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy that indicate transferred large-scale single orientation graphene. Angular resolved photoemission reveals a Fermi surface and a Dirac point energy which are consistent with charge neutral graphene.

2017

PHYS-415: Particle physics I

Presentation of particle properties, their symmetries and interactions. Introduction to quantum electrodynamics and to the Feynman rules.

PHYS-425: Quantum physics III

To introduce several advanced topics in quantum physics, including semiclassical approximation, path integral, scattering theory, and relativistic quantum mechanics

PHYS-416: Particle physics II

Presentation of the electroweak and strong interaction theories that constitute the Standard Model of particle physics. The course also discusses the new theories proposed to solve the problems of the Standard Model.

Paul Dirac

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (dɪˈræk; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.

Dirac equation

In particle physics, the Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation derived by British physicist Paul Dirac in 1928. In its free form, or including electromagnetic interactions, it describes all s

Wave function

In quantum physics, a wave function (or wavefunction), represented by the Greek letter Ψ, is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. In the Copenhagen interpr