Physics Colloquium  

Many-body quantum physics through the lens of quantum entanglement 

Shinsei Ryu 
Professor of Physics 
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 

Abstract  
Quantum entanglement and associated quantities have been proven to be a useful probe to study strongly correlated quantum systems, including topological phases of matter. For example, the topological entanglement entropy has been established as a standard tool to study topologically-ordered phases of matter. In this talk, we will discuss quantum entanglement quantities other than topological entanglement entropy, such as entanglement negativity and reflected entropy in various setups, mainly in the context of topologically-ordered phases in two spatial dimensions. These quantities may capture emergent universal data characterizing many-body quantum systems. 

Background 
Professor Ryu received a BS in physics and an MS and PhD in applied physics, all from the University of Tokyo. He completed two postdoctoral appointments, the first at the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the second at the University of California, Berkeley.  Professor Ryu was an associate professor of condensed matter physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the faculty at Princeton University. 

Research 
I am broadly interested in theoretical condensed matter physics, in particular, quantum mechanical aspects of condensed matter systems. My past research highlights coherence, entanglement, and topology---unique features in quantum systems. To this end, I have investigated the quantum Hall effect, unconventional superconductors, graphene, topological insulators, and topological superconductors.