RUI: Nanoscale Physics in Quantum and Biophysical Systems

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

This award supports theoretical research and education to model quantum and biophysical systems. The main goals are to investigate physical properties at the nanoscale, foster the interaction between research and undergraduate education, and enhance interdisciplinary scientific training.

The proposed research is organized into three main parts. The first part aims to study correlation effects in electron-hole bilayers by investigating the capacitance of GaAs quantum wells and graphene systems using methods of many-body theory. The second part builds on previous work and aims to study fragmentation and vortex dynamics in rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates. The third part deals with nanoscale biological systems, such as bacterial outer membranes, and focuses on the modeling of the effects of electrostatic and van der Waals interactions at the interface composed of hetero-polymers anchored in an oily layer and extending in an aqueous solution that generally contains multivalent ions. Both computational methods and analytical approaches will be used.

Undergraduate students at Boise State University will participate in condensed matter theory and computational biophysics research and receive interdisciplinary educational experience. The students will present the results of their work in publications and conference presentations.

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY

This award supports theoretical research and education in a primarily undergraduate institution. Students will be involved in research projects on novel states of matter and computational biophysics. Novel states of matter may form when layers of positive and negative charges are very close and are cooled to very low temperature. Students will be guided to perform sophisticated calculations to capture the behavior of the electrons in these exotic but technologically important situations. The computational biophysics research will provide outstanding opportunities to overcome disciplinary barriers and undertake quantitative modeling of bacterial outer membranes.