It was an honour to welcome Amir Yacoby, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, to the Cambridge Graphene Centre for the QAMSS Advanced Technology Lecture of this term.
In his lecture, “Local Probes of Spin Excitations in Quantum Matter,” Professor Yacoby presented cutting-edge experimental approaches for exploring collective spin dynamics in quantum materials. His talk focused on the use of NV centre magnetometry as a powerful local probe to study spin excitations in layered magnetic systems.
Professor Yacoby revisited the seminal theoretical prediction by Halperin and Hohenberg, made over 50 years ago, that certain magnetic systems can behave analogously to liquid helium. Building on this foundation, he demonstrated how modern quantum sensing techniques enable the direct observation of magnon hydrodynamics and magnon second sound, phenomena closely related to second sound in superfluid helium.
The lecture also highlighted recent advances in detecting coherent spin waves, opening up a new scattering platform for investigating mesoscopic magnetism. These insights provide a deeper understanding of quantum matter and exemplify how innovative experimental tools can reveal previously inaccessible quantum phenomena.
The QAMSS community greatly appreciated Professor Yacoby’s visit, his engaging presentation, and the stimulating discussions that followed. His lecture provided a fitting conclusion to this term’s QAMSS lecture programme and reinforced the initiative’s mission to showcase world-leading research at the intersection of quantum science and advanced materials.
