Lecture Series on Graphene Physics
Registration is free of cost but required. To register visit this link.
Graphene is an emerging material, like a rising star on the horizon of physics. Acclaiming the Nobel Prize in physics in 2010, the two dimensional crystal continues to surprise us with new physics as well as new applications that are destined to reach the commercial sphere.
In this lecture series, we have invited Pakistan's two most distinguished scientists to discuss the fundamental physics. The understanding of graphene has opened up new doors of inquiry. What immediately catches our attention is the emergence of new physics: relativistic quantum effects, which previously, are only the ambit of high energy physicists. With graphene, for example, it is now possible to mimick these high energy effects on the tabletop. This lecture series aims at:
- describing relativistic quantum mechanics,
- understanding how the charge carriers in graphene are massless Dirac fermions,
- understanding the electronic structure of this two dimensional material,
- unravelling some of its exciting transport and structural properties, and
- appreciating the role of disorder in graphene.
Schedule
The schedule of the lecture series is as follows.
| Friday, 20 May 2011 | 3-4 pm | KS 1 | What is graphene? | |
| 4-5 pm | RD 1 | Introduction, Free particle, Dirac Equation (Derivation), Dirac Algebra, Dirac Equation in the presence of electromagnetic field. | ||
| 5-5:30 pm | Refreshments | |||
| 5:30-6:30 pm | KS 2 | Electronic structure of graphene (part 1) | ||
| Saturday, 21 May 2011 | 10-11 am | RD 2 | Dirac Chiral representation and Dirac Equation in 2- components form; prediction of magnetic moment of electron and spin. Dirac equation for Hydrogen like atoms (exact solution) and spin – orbit splitting of energy levels. | |
| 11 am - 12 noon | KS 3 | Electronic structure of graphene (part 2) | ||
| 12 - 2 pm | Lunch and prayer break | |||
| 2-3 pm | RD 3 | Lorentz invariance of Dirac equation, Dirac bilinears (their transformation properties under Laurentz Transformation and parity); Particle current. Hole theory and existence of positron. | ||
| Sunday, 22 May 2011 | 10-11 am | RD 4 | Dirac equation in (1 + 2) dimensions and its relevance to Graphene. Inequivalent representations of Dirac Gamma-matrices (a feature of odd number of space – time dimensions). Role of parity in (1 + 2) dimensions and how it can be used for defining conserved chiral currents. | |
| 11 am - 12 noon | KS 4 |
Electronic structure of graphene (part 3) |
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| 12-1 pm | Lunch and prayer break | |||
| 1-2 pm | RD 5 |
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Professor Riazuddin
Dr. Prof. Riazuddin is a renowned and prominent Pakistani theoretical physicist and an eminent scientist, specializing in high-energy physics and nuclear physics. He has worked for the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Daresbury Laboratory. Riazuddin also played an important role in education in Pakistan. He is an author of 13 scientific books on different topics of physics including particle physics, quantum mechanics and need of contemporary physics.
Prof. Riazuddin
National Centre for Physics
Near Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Islamabad





