Physics
David Rabson
David Rabson
Associate Professor
Contact
Office: PHY 304
Phone: 813/974-1207
Email:
Links
Education
Ph.D. physics, 1991, Cornell University
Research
Research Interests:
- solid state & materials physics; theoretical physics
- theoretical solid state physics
- materials science
- statistical mechanics
The Condensed Matter Theory Research Group works in condensed matter theory, with currently-funded projects in mathematical crystallography and in modeling and statistical mechanics of magnetic heterostructures. In collaboration with Dr. Benji Fisher (Boston College), the group has reformulated Fourier-space crystallography in the language of cohomology of groups and applied the results to a wider class of structures than previously considered. Continuing work focuses on homological invariants of a new kind and their possible physical implications. Magnetic tunnel junctions exhibit a large magnetoresistance that shows even greater promise for applications in reading magnetic media than current technology. Recently, the group has modeled electrical and thermal transport in junctions and has proposed a simple, fast, and inexpensive quality-control protocol for diagnosing and locating defects. Other current research at the nanometer scale includes a statistical-mechanical model of magnetic order in rare-earth heterostructures and a recent study of the ballistic-to-diffusive crossover in quantum wires. The latter may have applications in quantum computing.
Current Courses