uri physics colloquium

First-principles theory of electron-phonon physics in 2D materials 

Dr. Yuanxi Wang

Wednesday, Feb 05, 2020

4 pm, East Hall Room 112

abstract

The isolation of atomically thin, two-dimensional materials from their bulk parent materials allows a variety of novel physical phenomena that derive from their 2D form. In this talk, I will focus on electron-phonon interactions in a prototypical 2D semiconductor and a 2D metal. For the semiconductor case, I will discuss a first-principles theory for resonant Raman scattering, revealing how electron-phonon interactions are strongly regulated by the presence of excitons – correlated electron-hole pairs – due to the reduced screening in a dichalcogenide material. For the metal case, I will show how the seemingly free-electron-like electronic structure of air-stable 2D gallium can host electron-phonon interactions strong enough to support conventional superconductivity.