Physics Colloquium: Graphene and the magic of physics in two dimensions

Abstract:

Since its first scotch-tape extraction from graphite in 2004, Graphene – a one atom-thick crystal of carbon - has metamorphosed from the poor relative of diamond into a “wonder material”. By now it has amassed an impressive string of superlatives (lightest, thinnest, strongest material, best electrical and thermal conductor) and a host of close 2D relatives extracted from other layered materials. Due to their remarkable properties 2D materials are rapidly moving from research laboratories into industrial, medical and electronics applications. For physicists much of the continuing excitement about graphene stems from its exotic charge carriers - Dirac fermions - which resemble two dimensional massless neutrinos.  I will review the story and physics of graphene with emphasis on its unusual electronic properties, the experiments which provided access to the world of 2D Dirac fermions, and the fascinating new physics that they uncovered. 

Event Organizer: Prof. Ben Svetitsky