Strategic Institute Program on Spin transport and dynamics in insulators, metals, and superconductors

Intelligently designed hybrid condensed matter systems create opportunities for a mutual interplay with novel system properties. For example, transport in nano-scale hybrid normal metal-ferromagnet systems led to considering electron spin as a functional variable that has opened new fields of science and technology which have led to commercial devices. Engineered condensed matter systems provide an excellent laboratory for the discovery and study of novel quantum phenomena. This also enables an improved u nderstanding of naturally occurring systems, where such effects are much harder to probe, and to discover the physical principles required to replace the charge as operative element in electronics by quantum variables such as spin. The ISPs research wil l be ground-breaking in three related condensed matter quantum phenomena. We chose the topics because of their novelty and our deep knowledge and substantial contributions to related phenomena. Furthermore, because these phenomena share specific quantum f eatures, the research at the ISP will be highly focused. The topics are spin flow and dynamics in magnetic insulators (IM), topological insulators (TI), and hybrid superconductor-ferromagnet systems (FS). These systems exhibit quantum phenomena that can b e controlled and possibly utilized in quantum technology by replacing charge as operative element in electronics by quantum variables such as spin. The elementary ferromagnetic excitations, the magnons, can condense at low temperatures resembling Bose-Ei nstein condensation of ultra-cold atoms in magnetic traps. Magnetic insulators and topological insulators are good spin conductors, but they are charge insulators. Much is known about equilibrium states and these systems in isolation. Coupling them and/ or driving them out of equilibrium require the development of new the development of new theoretical principles beyond the state-of-art.