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In recent years the concepts of topology have entered strikingly all areas of physics, interlinking many previously unrelated areas of research. New topological materials and topological phases with exotic properties have been discovered at a rapid pace. However, these new phases are still being studied primarily within their own sub-disciplines of condensed matter, with not enough interaction among them to explore new emerging paths to hybrid and multifunctional advanced materials.

The workshop "Topology Matters" aims to bring together the top scientists in the fields of spintronics, superconductivity, topological insulators, and multiferroics in order to explore their connections via topology. The rapid developments in each of these fields, and the emerging importance of topology in all of them makes this workshop very timely.

Modern scientific research in condensed matter physics has been marked by a newly perceived role of the quantum nature of a spin in the most basic properties of materials. This breakthrough reflected itself in a new comprehension of fundamental physical symmetries, the concept of the topological classification of the quantum states properties, some of which are close to practical applications.

The aim of the SPICE workshop “Spin Dynamics in Dirac System” is to offer a platform for the knowledge exchange between diverse novel condensed matter domains such as topological insulators and superconductors, Weyl physics, topological Josephson junctions, spintronics in graphene, spin valves, spin-logic devices, quantum magnetism, spin lattices, frustrated magnets, spin liquids, non-trivial spin states, etc.

In contrast to equilibrium quantum systems, which exist in just a tiny corner of an immense configuration space, non-equilibrium quantum many-body systems can access the totality of configuration space and represent a rich resource for novel quantum states, including light-induced quantum-coherent phases of matter, topological phases and spin textures in solids and cold atom systems. Non-equilibrium many-body quantum dynamics is perhaps the last frontier in physics, where even the basic understanding is still lacking and a number of outstanding fundamental questions are wide open. However, there has been much recent progress in exploring these fundamental aspects on both theoretical and experimental sides.

The emerging field of antiferromagnetic spintronics focuses on making antiferromagnets active elements of spintronic devices. From an application point of view, it emphasizes how to read, manipulate, and store information in these systems robustly. From the basic science point of view, it exploits the larger range of spin physics in this material due to the higher complexity of the ordered phase and order parameters.

New connections with the current ferromagnetic spintronics research have created entirely new ways of rethinking spin phenomena in antiferromagnets, while still building on long standing pioneering works in antiferromagnetic materials.

Although some prevailing concepts map directly between these fields, in many important instances the intuition built in the ferromagnetic spintronics systems can lead us astray in the antiferromagnetic systems.

The recent successes in this new area and rapid theoretical developments make this the right time for a conference on the subject.

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The field of magnon spintronics and the field of quantum magnetism have seen tremendous progress in recent years with many break-throughs in new concepts, new techniques, and new materials. Magnon spintronics has demonstrated electrical and thermal control over spin currents through magnetic insulators in contact with normal metals. Almost all this progress has been limited to a single material magnetic insultator YIG, hence limiting the outlook of the field. In Quantum Magnetism recent developments in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) now permit probing and fabricating spin chains and many other artificial spin systems, providing a new ground to explore quantum magnetism phenomena, as well as a much larger spectrum of quantum magnetic materials to explore.

To learn more about this workshop, visit this page.