Quantum Physics and Graphene

A material that exists only in the second dimension? For Professor Dmitri Efetov, what might sound like science fiction is simply routine research: "Graphene is a material that is no more than an atom thick," the solid state physicist explains. "It’s as thin as you get: existent on a plane, but virtually non-existent in terms of height—an extremely flat nanomaterial." Nor is this the only futuristic property of graphene, a modification of the chemical element carbon: In a layer of graphene, the electrons become massless. And if you put two layers of it in relation to each other at a 'magic' angle, the result is a plethora of exotic 'quantum phases'. The graphene becomes superconductive, magnetic and topological, for example. "Graphene really does possess all the qualities that are currently of interest to modern solid state physics," Efetov says.

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