Stockholm – David J Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and J Michael Kosterlitz win the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics for “theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Tuesday.
“This year’s laureates opened the door on an unknown world where matter can assume strange states,” the academy said in a statement.
Duncan M Haldane
The winners used advanced mathematical methods to study unusual phases of matter, including superconductors, superfluids or thin magnetic films, the academy said.
“Thanks to their pioneering work … many people are hopeful of future applications in both materials science and electronics,” the statement added.
The physics prize is the second of the 2016 Nobel Prize awards to be announced. The medicine prize was awarded to Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi on Monday. The awards, endowed by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, are each worth 8 million kronor (930,000 dollars) this year.
-dpa
