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Darrell is a theoretical condensed matter physicist interested in many-body quantum mechanics,
specifically correlated-electron systems. The behavior of many particles is qualitatively
different than the behavior of a few. For example, when a mind-boggling large number of atoms
come together to form a crystalline solid, the resulting object, while often possessing a
beautiful sort of symmetry of its own, actually has less symmetry than the physical laws which
all of the particles individually obey! Out of this symmetry breaking arise new collective
excitations of the system. In the case of the crystal, this collective motion is sound. Broadly
speaking, understanding this collective behavior, the ways in which a large number of particles
violate physical symmetries, and the consequences of this violation, is the thrust of Darrell’s
research.
Specifically, Darrell works on a class of novel quantum magnetic systems that are integrally tied
to the phenomenon of high-TC superconductivity. His most recent work is an exactly-solvable model
for a state of matter known as a chiral spin liquid. This is a state of matter that shrugs off the
symmetry of chirality (handedness) that is inherent in the underlying physical laws. This chiral
symmetry breaking is ubiquitous in nature; biologically produced DNA is always right-handed. In
addition, the orchestrated dance of the constituents in the chiral spin liquid gives rise to new
composite particles that are neither fermions nor bosons, the two camps into which all elementary
(non-composite) particles fall.
After receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2002, Darrell taught at Swarthmore College and
Reed College. He has been a member of the Occidental College faculty since 2005.
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