Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition and the Haldane Conjecture: Highlights of the Physics Nobel Prize 2016

  • W. Bietenholz Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México A.P. 70-543, C.P. 04510 Ciudad de México, México & Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics Institute for Theoretical Physics Bern University, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
  • U. Gerber Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México A.P. 70-543, C.P. 04510 Ciudad de México, México & Instituto de Física y Matemáticas Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edificio C-3 Apdo. Postal 2-82, C.P. 58040, Morelia, Michoacán, México

Abstract

The 2016 Physics Nobel Prize honors a variety of discoveries related to topological phases and phase transitions. Here we sketch two exciting facets: the groundbreaking works by John Kosterlitz and David Thouless on phase transitions of infinite order, and by Duncan Haldane on the energy gaps in quantum spin chains. These insights came as surprises in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively, and they have both initiated new fields of research in
theoretical and experimental physics.

Published
Dec 14, 2016
How to Cite
BIETENHOLZ, W.; GERBER, U.. Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition and the Haldane Conjecture: Highlights of the Physics Nobel Prize 2016. Revista Cubana de Física, [S.l.], v. 33, n. 2, p. 156-168, dec. 2016. ISSN 2224-7939. Available at: <http://revistacubanadefisica.org/index.php/rcf/article/view/RCF_33-02_156_2016>. Date accessed: 28 mar. 2024.
Section
For Physicists and Non-Physicists