Speaker: Dr. Zhou Li (李舟), Department of Physics, McMaster University, Canada 

Abstract: In Graphene and topological insulators, the Hamiltonian is governed by Dirac equation. In spintronics the Hamiltonian is similar but with the strength of Fermi velocity to be about 100 times smaller, making the system cross over from Dirac fermions to Schrodinger fermions. Other kinds of spin-orbit interaction exists in Graphene and Graphene-like materials, for example, the Haldane spin orbit interaction, which plays an important role in spin-valley coupled systems typical for valleytronics. Other Hamiltonian (e.g. warping) and the transport properties (optical and magneto-optical, for example) will be discussed. Finally the impact of electron-phonon interaction on these systems will be addressed. 

About the Speaker: Zhou Li received the B.S. degree in Physics from Nanjing University in 2004. He received M.S. degrees in Condensed Matter Theory from Peking University in 2007 and PhD degree in Condensed Matter Theory from University of Alberta in 2012. He is now a postdoc fellow in McMaster University. He has been funded by the Alberta Innovate Scholarship in Nanotechnology during the PhD program and he received the CHINESE GOVERNMENT AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SELF-FINANCED STUDENTS ABROAD in 2012. He is also the recipient of the Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduation Prize and the Dissertation Scholarship from the Province of Alberta. He is the organizer and the invited speaker of an international session at APS March meeting 2014, one of the most prestigious meetings in North America. He has been a visiting scholar at RIKEN in Japan and University of Wollongong in Australia.

Date&Time: April 22, 2014 (Tuesday), 16:00–17:00
Location: 606 Conference Room