Author: Zi Yang Meng

Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) consists of two stacked layers of graphene rotated relative to one another. With a twist angle of about 1.10° the so-called “magic” angle, many unconventional electronic behaviors emerge, including superconductivity and correlated insulators, a type of insulating phase that arises from interactions between electrons. Elucidating the mechanism responsible for these electronic states in magic-angle TBG is a problem at the frontier of quantum materials research. To help solve this problem, we employ an unbiased quantum many-body numerical method (quantum Monte Carlo simulations) to investigate the possible insulating phases of TBG. Continue reading

Quantum materials are becoming the cornerstone for the continuous prosperity of human society, including the next-generation AI computing chips that go beyond Moore’s law, the high-speed Maglev train, and the topological unit for quantum computers, etc. However, these complicated systems require modern computational techniques and advanced analysis to reveal their microscopic mechanism. Continue reading

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search of knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.

—Bertrand Russell

As Russell nicely put it, scientists are often driven by strong passions for the search of knowledge, such search not only benefits the human society, but often times brings the ecstasy to themselves -- the ecstasy for instance of understanding the hearts of men, knowing why the stars shine, and apprehending the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux -- that is so great that scientists would often have endured the long hours of working and sleepless nights for the pursuit of such joy. Continue reading

A joint research team from The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Institute of Physics at Chinese Academy of Science, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Beihang University in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai, provide a successful example of modern era quantum material research.  Continue reading

Metals, especially interacting metallic states, never stop surprising people. Among the interesting phenomena that have emerged is the “high-temperature” superconductivity. This holds great promise for enabling highly-efficient energy transportation, but it can be achieved only at extremely cold temperatures (about -100 degrees Celsius or below) that are currently too costly and energy-intensive to replicate. Continue reading