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Awards

News Articles

Physicists Invent Intelligent Quantum Sensor of Light Waves

University of Texas at Dallas physicists and their collaborators at Yale University have demonstrated an atomically thin, intelligent quantum sensor that can simultaneously detect all the fundamental properties of an incoming light wave.

The research, published April 13 in the journal Nature, demonstrates a new concept based on quantum geometry that could find use in health care, deep-space exploration and remote-sensing applications.

“We are excited about this work because typically, when you want to characterize a wave of light, you have to use different instruments to gather information, such as the intensity, wavelength and polarization state of the light. Those instruments are bulky and can occupy a significant area on an optical table,” said Dr. Fan Zhang, a corresponding author of the study and associate professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Physicists Discover Novel Quantum Effect in Bilayer Graphene

Theorists at The University of Texas at Dallas, along with colleagues in Germany, have for the first time observed a rare phenomenon called the quantum anomalous Hall effect in a very simple material. Previous experiments have detected it only in complex or delicate materials.

Dr. Fan Zhang, associate professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, is an author of a study published on Oct. 6 in the journal Nature that demonstrates the exotic behavior in bilayer graphene, which is a naturally occurring, two-atom thin layer of carbon atoms arranged in two honeycomb lattices stacked together.

High-Quality Crystals Reveal New Physics of Topological Insulators

Combining exceptional crystal-growing skills with theoretical predictions, the University of Texas at Dallas scientists and their collaborators have revealed new insights into materials called topological insulators.

Topological insulators (TIs) behave like insulators in their interiors but are conductors on their exteriors. There are distinctive families of topological insulators: strong TIs, which are common in nature; weak TIs, which are rare and difficult to produce in the lab; and another rare class called higher-order TIs.

 In a cube-shaped, strong topological insulator, for example, all six faces can conduct electrons robustly. In a weak TI, only four sides are conducting, while the top and bottom surfaces remain insulating. In a higher-order TI, electrons move only along selected hinges, where two crystal faces intersect. 

Scientist To Delve Deep into Quantum Physics with NSF CAREER Award

Dr. Fan Zhang, associate professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at The University of Texas at Dallas, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award for his research in the complex realm of quantum physics.

The five-year grant will support Zhang’s theoretical work and education outreach on the fundamental physics of topological superconductivity.

Zhang’s research builds on the science of topological insulators, which are materials that behave like insulators in their interiors but are conductors on their exteriors. His NSF project involves investigating the topological properties of superconductors — materials in which, below a certain critical temperature, electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled.

Physicists Find Misaligned Carbon Sheets Yield Unparalleled Properties

A material composed of two one-atom-thick layers of carbon has grabbed the attention of physicists worldwide for its intriguing — and potentially exploitable — conductive properties.

Dr. Fan Zhang, assistant professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at The University of Texas at Dallas, and physics doctoral student Qiyue Wang published an article in June with Dr. Fengnian Xia’s group at Yale University in Nature Photonics that describes how the ability of twisted bilayer graphene to conduct electrical current changes in response to mid-infrared light.

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