Professor J. A. Sauls, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University

About me

I received my BSc in Engineering Physics at Colorado School of Mines in Golden (1975), then moved to New York to do graduate work at SUNY-Stony Brook, where I received a Ph.D. in physics in 1980. I did post-doctoral research at Princeton University in New Jersey (1980-83), NORDITA in Copenhagen and Helsinki University of Technology (1983-84), then joined the Princeton physics faculty for four years (1983-1987). From 1987 - 2022 I was on the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Northwestern Unviersity in Evanston, Illinois, most recently as Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Phyics. I am currently Hearne Chair of Theoretical Physics in the Physics & Astronomy Department at Louisiana State University and co-Director of the Horace Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics [Hearne Institute]. [Curriculum Vitae]

What I do

Research: I study the physical world by combining mathematical analysis and observation. I formulate and apply concepts and principles (physical laws) to relate observations of physical phenomena of matter and radiation. The laws of physics are expressed as mathematical equations, so I formulate physical questions as mathematical problems.
Teaching: I teach physics - both the fundamentals as well as developments in current research. For me, teaching and research are entangled.

My field

Theoretical Physics. I started research in the nuclear theory group at Stony Brook investigating matter under extreme conditions thought to exist in the interiors of cold, dense stars called neutron stars. My current research spans the fields of condensed matter physics, quantum field theory and quantum information science and technology. Theoretical condensed matter research involves the discovery of new concepts related to the collective behavior of enormous numbers of atomic constituents, combined with the application of statistical mechanics and quantum theory to describe the behavior of macroscopic matter. [More about Condensed Matter Physics] This behavior is clearly revealed at low temperatures, and in the presence of strong electromagnetic or acoustic radiation fields where quantum effects are important. Matter under such conditions is described by quantum field theory. My current research focusses on materials and systems in which quantum effects govern the macroscopic behavior of these systems, including superconducting circuits and microwave resonators which are the backbone of a leading technology platform for quantum computing and supported by the National Quantum Initiative. [More about Quantum Physics & Information]

My articles

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HITP News

[archive]

03/26/24: Presentation: Edge States, Novel Phases & Anomalous Transport in Chiral Superfluids, Condensed Matter Theory Seminar, Lousiana State University, J. A. Sauls , [Slides & Video Presentation]
02/09/24: Publication: Anomalous Hall Effects in Chiral Superconductors, [HTML], [PDF], Special Issue of Frontiers in Physics: Disorder and Superconductivity: a 21^st-century update, , Vudiwat Ngampruetikorn and J. A. Sauls
01/10/24: Publication: The AB Transition in Superfluid ³He and Cosmological Phase Transitions, Special Issue: Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Quantum Fluids and Solids, held in Manchester, UK, August 2023, J. Low Temp. Phys., 2024:1--18, M. Hindmarsh, J. A. Sauls, K. Zhang et al. [arXiv]
10/30/23: Publication: Effects of anisotropy and disorder on the superconducting properties of niobium, Frontiers in Physics 11:1269872 (2023), M. Zarea, H. Ueki and J. A. Sauls [DOI]
09/20/23: Publication: Electromagnetic response of disordered superconducting cavities, Frontiers in Electronic Materials 3:1259401 (2023), M. Zarea, H. Ueki and J. A. Sauls [DOI]
09/11/23: Publication: Weyl Fermions and Broken Symmetry Phases of Laterally Confined 3He Films, J. Phys. Cond. Matt. 35, 49, 495402 (2023), Special Issue: Solitons in Quantum Physics, Hao Wu and J. A. Sauls [DOI]
08/19/23: Publication: The Heat Capacity of Superfluid ³He-B in Silica Aerogel, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 213, 42–50 (2023), J. A. Sauls [DOI]
08/11/23: Publication: Quasiparticle Spectroscopy, Transport, and Magnetic Properties of Nb Films Used in Superconducting Qubits; Ames Lab-Rigetti-LSU Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Appl. 20, 024031 (2023) [DOI]
08/9-15/23: Presentations by members of the Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics at the International Conference on Quantum Fluids and Solids held in Manchester, UK, August 9-15, 2023 [HITP Presentations@QFS2023]
03/31/23: Presentations by members of the HITP (and collaborators) at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society held in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 7-12, 2023 [Video Presentations]
03/22/23: Award from U.S. Department of Energy's Quantum Horizons Project: QIS Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science. This interdisciplinary project joins experts in nuclear theory, quantum theory and simulation, experimental quantum simulators and quantum computing architectures to develop state-of-the-art computational tools and approaches to unravel the complexities of nuclear structure and reactions [LSU Press Release] .
02/03/23: Hiring: Postdoctoral Fellow in Nuclear Theory and Quantum Simulation affiliated with the Hearne Institute
The nuclear and quantum theory groups at LSU invite applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in theoretical physics at the intersection of quantum information science and ab initio nuclear structure and reaction theory. The successful candidate will develop quantum algorithms for nuclear dynamics simulations on multidimensional photonic networks and quantum computing platforms. The position is affiliated with the Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics, and the fellow will also have opportunities for collaboration with members of the DOE National Quantum Information Science and Engineering Research Centers based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. [Apply Online] .
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