Master classes

The master classes of Physics@FOM Veldhoven 2012 will soon be available to watch at www.citytv.nl. Abstracts of the master classes are given below.

Alain Aspect
Hanbury Brown and Twiss and other atom-atom correlations: from photon to atom quantum optics
Fifty years ago, R. Hanbury Brown and R.Q. Twiss, invented a new method to measure the angular diameter of stars, based on the observation of correlations in light. The analysis of their experiment in term of photons prompted hot discussions, and eventually led to the development of modern quantum optics, based on photon-photon correlation experiments.
Similar quantum correlations can be observed with bosonic and fermionic atoms. I will present such experiments, after recalling the significance of the HBT landmark experiment.

Charles Kane
Topological band theory of insulators and superconductors
We will give a pedagogical introduction to the topological classification of insulators and superconductors with an emphasis on the correspondence between bulk topological invariants and protected gapless boundary modes. We will begin with a discussion of band topology in one dimension followed by the theory of the integer quantum Hall effect, time reversal invariant Z_2 topological  insulators in two and three dimensions and topological superconductors. We will discuss the general classification of gapped free fermion Hamiltonians, along with its generalization to include topological defects. We will conclude with a discussion of Majorana fermion states at the boundaries of topological superconductors and in superconductor - topological insulator heterostructure devices. See attachment for references and homework.

Juan Maldacena
Introduction to the gauge/gravity duality
We introduce the duality between quantum gravity in spacetimes with boundaries and quantum field theories on the boundary.  We describe the arguments leading to the relationship and the dictionary between computations on the two sides. No string theory background is required.

John Turner
Photoelectrochemical energy conversion technologies: from fundamentals to economics
This lecture will introduce the components of photoelectrochemical hydrogen production devices as well as a discussion of the economics of hydrogen production and how that determines the necessary fundamental material properties of the semiconductor in addition to the other components of the system.