In the past years, the advent of geometrical, or Berry phases, in condensed matter physics caused a mini-revolution in the field of transport and dynamical properties of electronic and spin systems exposed to external magnetic and electric fields. Topological concepts caused a paradigm shift in modern electronics since they manifest themselves in a manifold of novel observed and predicted effects and properties of real materials, such as dissipationless spin currents or the appearance of topologically non-trivial states of matter.
Our group is dedicated to exploring the appearance of and ways of utilizing the geometrical concepts and phenomena related to geometrical phases in the solid state for use in future nanoelectronics.
As a group, we focus on novel response and transport effects in complex magnetic systems ranging from interfaces of transition metals to skyrmions. We make extensive use of the predictive power of density functional theory as our main tool for investigating topological phases in real materials, thereby bridging the gap between experimental advances and progress in theoretical understanding of topological effects in realistic materials.
As a result, we dedicate a large part of our activities to developing first-principles methodologies for addressing the electron and spin properties which are rooted in the topological nature of electrons in solids.