"The Surprising Relevance of Exactly Solvable Models" Prof B. Sriram Shastry

The President’s Office invites you to a seminar by Prof. B. Sriram Shastry on June 8th, 1-2 pm.

Restricted to OIST members.

Date & Time: 1:00-2:00 pm, Wednesday, June 8
Location: C209

Prof. B. Sriram Shastry
​Distinguished Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz
CV: http://physics.ucsc.edu/~sriram/CV_Brief.pdf
Website: http://physics.ucsc.edu/~sriram/sriram.html

Abstract: 

Physics aims at an exact description of nature through precise laws. The methodology on the other hand, is dominated by approximations, since an exact solution of almost any generic problem is technically impossible. Despite the difficulties, our understanding of many complex phenomena owes much to simplified models- and in particular to a few exactly solvable models, which serve to benchmark approximations and provide deep insights. Celebrated exact results include the Heisenberg model of magnetism solved in 1-d by Hans Bethe, the 2-d Ising model solved by Lars Onsager, which were of crucial importance in the early years.

In more recent years the number of solvable and physically relevant models has slowly increased. I will discuss in qualitative (non-technical) terms a particular exactly solvable model of quantum antiferromagnetism in 2-dimensions, the Shastry-Sutherland model, its exact solution, and two decades later, its re-emergence in the context of experimental magnetic systems such as SrCu(BO3)2 and TmB4.