Quantum spin liquids are as old as quantum magnetism: the first model of quantum magnetism ever solved, the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain (Bethe, 1931), is a quantum spin liquid. Almost a century later, this field of research is more active than ever, with several generalizations including two-dimensional models, and many compounds whose properties cannot be understood in terms of magnetic long-range order. In this talk, I will review the most striking developments since the early eighties including the Haldane’s conjecture on the spin-1 chain, random-valence-bond spin liquids as precursors to superconductivity, algebraic spin liquids and the kagome spin-1/2 antiferromagnet. I will finish with the Shastry-Sutherland model and its fascinating experimental realization SrCu2(BO3)2, with its sequence of magnetization plateaus and its pressure-induced critical point analog to that of water.
Attosecond light pulses for studying electron dynamics
When an intense laser light interacts with a gas of atoms, high-order harmonics are generated. In the time domain, this radiation forms a train of extremely short light pulses, of length of the order of 100 attoseconds. These attosecond pulses enable the study of...
