Course information

The intersection of topology and quantum mechanics is an enormous and still growing field. It touches upon physics topics ranging from quantum gravity to quantum information to materials physics and condensed matter experiment, as well as being one of the most interesting directions in the mathematical study of topology. This is the backdrop upon which we build. A number experiments from the last few years have finally detected and measured anyons — particles that are neither bosons nor fermions – in condensed matter systems (GaAs quantum wells, graphene) as also as in rudimentary quantum computers (superconducting qubits, trapped ion qubits, rydberg atoms). The presence of anyons tells us that our systems are necessarily nontrivial topological quantum field theories! This makes the topic particularly exciting right now!