Typically, the school is addressing specific topics of high importance within the international scientific community of Optoelectronics and Photonics. It aims in bringing together a large number of PhD students and young researchers from all parts of the world which across a one-week intense schedule follow a series of lectures on selected topics. The lectures are held by internationally recognized experts in the field.

This edition

This time, the Organizing Committee of the School has chosen the topic of Topological Effects.

The INO-CNR BEC Center and the University of Trento will organize the 8th edition of the Optoelectronics and Photonics Winter school. The school will be held from 15th to 21st of March, 2015 in Fai della Paganella (TN), Italy. 

School Description 

The school will begin with basic lectures introducing the students to the fundamental concepts, followed by training sessions with illustrative exercises.  Once familiarized with basic ideas, the students will learn about the physics of the different systems that have been and/or can be used as a platform where to study and apply topological concepts in electromagnetism and optics.
All lectures will be given by world-class researchers in each field and special attention will be paid to pedagogical aspects.
Motivated students working either theoretically or experimentally in any field of optics and photonics can participate: no special background in topology nor in quantum condensed matter physics is assumed, just elementary quantum mechanics, elementary solid-state physics, and elementary photonics.

School Topics

➢    Basic concepts of topological physics and mathematical formalism
➢    Chern and topological insulators
➢    Floquet topological insulators, wave propagation in topological systems
➢    Experimental systems: metamaterials, exciton-polaritons in patterned planar semiconductor microcavities, cavity arrays in silicon photonics, propagating light in waveguide arrays
➢    Experimental observations: backscattering immune propagation
➢    Future developments: strongly correlated photons, fractional quantum Hall fluids of light 

 

References 

1.    Physics Today 67(5), 68 (2014)
2.    L. Lu, J. D. Joannopoulos, M. Soljacic, Nature Photonics 8, 821-829 (2014)
3.    I. Carusotto and C. Ciuti, Rev. Mod. Phys. 85, 299 (2013)
4.    Special Issues Topological Effects http://www.worldscientific.com/toc/ijmpb/28/02#t=toc