Transition metal dichalcogenides as unique 2D platform for collective quantum behavior.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs) are atomically-thin materials at the forefront of research, owing to their special electronic and optical properties, their tunability by electric gating and mechanical strain, and easy heterostructuring. It is much less explored that they also exhibit a wealth of collective quantum phases, characterized by a collective behavior of the electrons that is entirely different from their individual states. One such phase is a charge density wave, where electrons at lower temperatures form an ordered quantum fluid that restructures the host material. Another low-temperature collective quantum phase in 2D-TMDs is a superconducting one, where electrons condense into a resistance-less sea of Cooper pairs, that carries electric current without dissipation. Furthermore, the spins of the electrons add to the combinatorial possibilities for novel quantum states, and can form textures in monolayer TMDs that are wholly absent in the bulk. All these states are strongly intertwined, but the fundamentals of their interplay are not well understood – which hinders further progress towards novel functionalities and advanced applications. In this project, I will elucidate this interplay using state-of-the-art theoretical tools, and provide a roadmap to tailor it – by e.g. strain, gating and doping – in order to establish 2D-TMDs as a unique platform for highly versatile quantum devices, employing the advantages of all different states at play.

Keywords:SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

Disciplines:Condensed matter physics and nanophysics