A many particle generalization of the Landau-Zener problem

Speaker: Victor Gurarie, University of Colorado

When: April 30, 2008 (Wed), 01:30PM to 02:30PM (add to my calendar)
Location: SCI 328

This event is part of the Condensed Matter Theory Seminar Series.

Abstract: An old theorem in quantum mechanics states that if the parameters of a system are changed sufficiently slowly, the system remains in its ground state. However, if the system is large, a natural question is how slow is slow enough. In this talk, I will introduce an interesting many particle system which does not want to stay in its ground state unless its parameters change at an exceedingly slow rate.