- e-mail: brouwer@ccmr.cornell.edu
- Phone: (607) 255-8963
- Fax: (607) 255-6428
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Theoretical condensed matter physics
Ph.D., Leiden University, 1997.
The interest of my group is in what is called "mesoscopic physics", a subfield of condensed matter physics that deals with the properties of small, mostly electronic systems, which are governed by the interplay of quantum mechanics and scattering by impurities or boundaries. Examples of such systems are semiconductor or metal wires, small metal grains, or semiconductor quantum dots. Similar physics also occurs for systems with multiple scattering of microwaves or light.
Mesoscopic systems are on the boundary between the macroscopic world and the microscopic world. They are fundamentally non-macroscopic, since the laws of quantum mechanics have replaced those of classical mechanics. But they are also non-microscopic, since they consist of many atoms, and contain many impurities or defects. Interest in this branch of condensed matter physics has been stimulated by the availability of ultrasmall high-quality semiconductor samples, that allow for a close comparison between theory and experiment. At the same time, the theoretical questions are of a quite fundamental nature, asking for key signatures of the interplay between quantum mechanics, electronic interactions, and disorder in finite size electronic systems.
A more detailed description of some of the research topics in my group can be found here.
List of
publications
Selected
publications, sorted by subject
Courses:
Physics 317, Applications of
Quantum Mechanics (fall 2005).
Physics
327, Advanced Electricity and Magnetism (fall 2008).
Physics
341, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (fall 2004).
Physics
574, Quantum Mechanics II (spring 2009).
Physics
636, Solid State Physics II (spring 2008).
Physics
654, Many-particle physics (spring 2005).
As of July 2009, I'll move to Freie Universitaet in Berlin, Germany. There, I'll be a part of the newly founded Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems. For Ph.D student and postdoctoral positions, please see the center's website or contact me directly.