Laboratory of nanostructures spectroscopy

The study of low-dimensional electron systems in nanostructures, quantum dots, quantum wires and clusters is now one of the hottest fields of physics. On the one hand it is connected with the considerable promise of these systems for the use as elements of a new generation of micro- and nanoelectronic devices. On the other hand this field is very interesting for the basic science. For example, for an explanation of the Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall effect the standard methods of the many-particle theory had failed and therefore the introduction of new topological occurred to be were necessary. In 2D systems in magnetic fields not only the hierarchy of the incompressible quantum liquids connected with the quasiparticles with the fractional electric charge but also compressible phases of the composite fermions and phases that connected with the quantum crystallization of electrons were discovered. It is these regions of physics the Laboratory of nanostructure spectroscopy deals with. The head of the Laboratory is Prof. Yurii E.Lozovik. The Laboratory includes two scientific Groups (theory and computer simulation Group, the leader is Yu.E.Lozovik; experimental Group, the leader is senior scientific researcher S.P.Merkulova). The main fields of research in the Laboratory are theory computer simulations and experimental studies of nanostructures that are a base of future nanoelectronics and nanooptics. The basic theoretical problems such as the superfluidity of excitons, composite fermions, quantum clusters and crystals, quantum mechanics of particles with fractional statistics, quantum electrodynamical processes in optical microcavities etc. are also studied in the Laboratory. Among the fields of investigations are also nanoptics, nanotechnology, photonic crystals spectroscopy of nanostructures, physics of ultrafast processes initiated by ultrashort laser pulses, physics of clusters and new cluster materials, nanomechanics and mesoscopic physics. The general principle of the laboratory is the combination of analytical calculations based on modern possibilities of mathematical technique with computer simulations by molecular dynamics, quantum molecular dynamics, Monte-Carlo, part integral and diffusion quantum Monte-Carlo techniques . Ab initio simulation is used for study of complex systems in the cases where analytical calculations are impossible due to the the absence of small parameter. Computer simulations that are free, unlike physical experiments, from the influence of unimportant details, are exploited for verification of theoretical models and in search for optimum parameters for physical experiments on apertureless near field optics and nanotechnology in the Group of S.P.Merkulova. Our activity resulted in more than 400 published scientific works (including a number of reviews and collective monographs), and more than 30 Ph.D. theses (supervisor is Yu.E.Lozovik). Some projects of the Lab were performed in the cooperation with the Laboratory of Spectroscopy of Ultrafast Processes and other laboratories of the Institute, Physical Department of Moscow State University (MGU), Institute of General Physics RAS , as well as with Technical University of Berlin, University of Goeteborg and Berkley University .