Quantum Phases of Matter

This modern text describes the remarkable developments in quantum condensed matter physics following the experimental discoveries of quantum Hall effects and high temperature superconductivity in the 1980s. After a review of the phases of matter amenable to an independent particle description, entangled phases of matter are described in an accessible and unified manner. The concepts of fractionalization and emergent gauge fields are introduced using the simplest resonating valence bond insulator with an energy gap, the Z2 spin liquid. Concepts in band topology and the parton method are then combined to obtain a large variety of experimentally relevant gapped states. Correlated metallic states are described, beginning with a discussion of the Kondo effect on magnetic impurities in metals. Metals without quasiparticle excitations are introduced using the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, followed by a discussion of critical Fermi surfaces and strange metals. Numerous end-of-chapter problems expand readers' comprehension and reinforce key concepts.

Subir Sachdev is the Herchel Smith Professor of Physics at Harvard University. He has also held professional positions at Bell Labs and Yale University. He has been elected to national academies of science in India and the US and is a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Dirac Medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and the Lars Onsager Prize from the American Physical Society.