Nature Physics has an editorial The Rise of Quantum Materials.
In a refreshing change for the Nature Publishing Group, it is devoid of hype.
The editorial nicely gives the scientific background to the sociological observation:
As it has become clear that the study of emergent properties is no longer restricted to strongly correlated electron systems, a new, broader description has become necessary. And the term that seems to be gaining currency on departmental websites and research programmes is quantum materials.
[Indeed, I just got a grant with a title "The bad metallic state in quantum materials"]
My only minor comment is that the editorial does not quite explain why "quantum" is appropriate nomenclature.
I would say that is because on some level they have macroscopic properties [e.g. quantised magnetic flux in superconducting vortices and quantised Hall resistance] that are quantum mechanical in sense that they involve Planck's constant. This is the point I try to bring out in my colloquium on emergent quantum matter.
Seems to me that this is a rebranding of condensed matter. Are they any area of current condensed matter research where this term cannot be applied?
ReplyDeleteGood question.
DeleteI don't think the term applies to soft matter, traditional semiconductors, or some surface physics.
Hence, it is only a subsection of condensed matter; maybe less than one-third?