This course will challenge students to read the contemporary literature in condensed matter physics, and from that generate ideas of how to continue the ideas beyond the forefront of knowledge—to propose new experiments to be carried out. The course will not provide the means of actually performing the experiment, but rather will focus on how to ask “what comes next.” Students will also have an opportunity to review and critique other proposals.

Skills:

• Be able to critically read and discuss a paper from the published experimental condensed matter physics literature.
• Be able to deduce how the measurements were carried out.
• Be able to describe new experiments that follow from the existing literature, but which are not yet done.
• Be able to write a scientific proposal.
• Be able to read and critique a proposal.

Knowledge:
Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of selected topics in contemporary condensed matter physics, particularly in the area of quantum devices. This includes electronic systems, novel materials, connections to quantum computing, low dimensional systems, and disordered systems.

Competences:
This course builds on experience in reading the scientific literature, to develop sufficient skill and imagination to answer “what should be measured next.” The course will train students to convey new ideas clearly, to be bold without being unrealistic, and to understand how the experiments are done, beyond the significance of the data itself.

Text by T. Ihn (used also in Nanoelectronics), various letters and reviews from the literature.