Draft schedule for Maissam Barkeshli's visit in the week Mon, 11/30, to Thu, 12/3 ahead of the Q-meeting.

Please add a timeslot in this 4-day period by editing this wiki-page:

Monday, 11/30

Tuesday, 12/1

10:30 am, Matt Hastings, Elings 2235


11.30am Simon Trebst, Elings 2231

12:30pm Q-Seminar

3:00pm Parsa Bonderson, Elings 2233

5:00pm Ribhu Kaul Elings 2229

7:00pm Speaker Dinner

Wednesday, 12/2

3:30pm Xiao-Liang Qi, Elings 2239


Thursday, 12/3

10:30am, Zhenghan Wang, Elings 2237








Talk / Q-seminar
Continuous Topological Phase Transitions in Non-Abelian Quantum Hall States

Abstract: Topological phases of matter cannot be characterized by any
pattern of symmetry-breaking, and as a result, describing phase
transitions between them is a significant theoretical challenge. In
the case of non-Abelian phases, there are only a few examples of phase
transitions that are theoretically understood. In this talk I will
describe a possible continuous quantum phase transition from a
(p,p,p-3) bilayer fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state to the Z_4
parafermion non-Abelian state, driven by increasing interlayer
tunneling and/or interlayer repulsion. Previously used methods have
failed because the transition from the (p,p,p-3) state appears to be
driven by the condensation of anyons. After presenting a recently
developed effective field theory for the Z_4 parafermion state, I will
explain how it can be used, along with other methods, to shed light on
the nature of this transition.