Introduction

In condensed matter the spin of electrons plays a crucial role in understanding many systems and their phases. Its manipulation and control has been the subject of spintronics, one of the most active research fields in the last two decades. In recent years the link of the spin to the topology of the band-structure of solids, through spin-orbit coupling, has also given rise to the discovery of new phases of matter and non-equilibrium phenomena such as spin Hall effect and topological insulators.

In cold atom systems the hyperfine states, which can be trapped and manipulated by radio frequency pulses, have proven to play a crucial role in realizing the often-advertised usage of these systems as simulators of condensed-matter models in their cleaner and most pure forms. Cold atom systems have gone beyond recreating simple well controlled systems whose outcomes are expected and mimic large coherent atomic physics, to a new regime in which true emergent phenomena is being tested and fundamental questions of many body interacting systems can be addressed.

These two communities, particular their young researchers, still remain largely decoupled and a large potential still unrealized due to lack of common language and direct understanding of each other's challenges. The goal of this workshop and short conference is to bring together leading experts on spintronics and spin-related phenomena in conventional condensed-matter and on cold atoms, thereby stimulating cross-fertilization of these fields.

In the winter of 2010 the first workshop of this kind was hosted in Utrecht organized by Duine and Stoof, entitled "Spin manipulation in cold atoms and condensed matter" and its success has prompted the idea to organize it every two years alternating between Europe and the U.S.A. In addition to the workshop, it was deemed important to add to the format a few days of school in which the junior researchers from the different fields can learn about the other fields from the experts in a more pedagogical format and hence generate a more natural link between the fields in the next generation.

Topics:
- spin and anomalous Hall effect
- spin transfer, spin pumping, and current-driven domain wall motion
- cold atoms as simulators for quantum magnetism
- spin orbit coupling in cold-atom systems
- spin-imbalance in cold Fermi gases
- pseudospin physics in graphene and semiconductor bilayers
- topological insulators

local organizers

Jairo Sinova
Artem Abanov
Alexander Finkel'stein
 

 

Sponsors