ECE 69500 - Quantum and Topological Effects in Photonics and Phononics
Course Details
Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3
Counts as:
Experimental Course Offered:
Fall 2016
Requisites:
ECE 60400 or equivalent course
Requisites by Topic:
Electromagnetic field theory, waveguides, boundary condition matching, wave equation, radiation from an antenna, introduction to quantum mechanics is useful but not necessary
Catalog Description:
Ideas of topology have ushered a new level of understanding of electronic materials and led to fundamental discoveries of new materials which are conducting on the surface and insulating in the bulk (topological insulators). Advances in nanofabrication and ultrasensitive measurement techniques have led to experimental isolation of unique transport effects in such materials for next generation of electronic devices. Recently, progress been made to adapt this understanding to the field of photonics and phononics. Motivated by the global research trend in topological and quantum effects, this course will introduce graduate students to fundamental ideas of Pancharatnam-Berry Phase, Chern number, topological surface states, spin-momentum locking, quantum spin hall effect from a classical and quantum perspective. These phenomena will be covered with themes cross-cutting the fields of electronics, photonics and phononics thus making it appealing to a broad audience. Practical devices made possible with these unique phenomena as well as applications in energy transfer will be covered. The goal of the course is to provide the student with a strong foundation of concepts to help with back-of-the-envelope calculations for realistic nanosystems, bridging the gap between theory and experiment. The course will have a strong emphasis on the next generation of applications that are expected to emerge from studying quantum and topological properties of photons/phonons.
Required Text(s):
None.
Recommended Text(s):
- Geometry, Topology and Physics , 2nd Edition , N. Nakahara , CRC Press , 2003 , ISBN No. 978-0750306065
- Quantum vacuum: an introduction to quantum electrodynamics , P. Milonni , Academic Press , 1993 , ISBN No. 978-0124980808
Lecture Outline:
Period | Topics |
---|---|
1 | Parity and time symmetry for Schrodinger's equation and Maxwell's equations |
1 | Kramer's theorem, PT symmetry |
1 | Berry phase in quantum mechanics and Pancharatnam phase in electromagnetism, Band structure and Berry curvature for electrons, photons and phonons in solids |
1 | Rytov-Kubo formalism,Quantum hall effect, Introduction to Chern number |
1 | Forces of the quantum vacuum (Casimir force, Casimir-Polder force, Van der Waals force) |
1 | Near-field heat transfer, equivalence of Rytov-Kubo linear response theory and Landauer formalism of heat transport |
1 | Topological effects in phonon transport |
1 | Introduction to quantum coherence and entanglement entropy, time dynamics of quantum coherence in energy transfer |