Biography
Born in Lower Austria, I studied Theoretical Physics at the TU Wien, where I also received my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Karsten Held and Prof. Alessandro Toschi.
Afterwards I moved to France and had the great opportunity to work with one of the founding fathers of the field, Prof. Antoine Georges, as well as Prof. Olivier Parcollet and Prof. Michel Ferrero at the world-renowned Collège de France and École Polytechnique. I am a regular visitor of the Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute in New York City.
Apart from physics I am fascinated by competitive ballroom dancing and the amazing world of wine.
Education and positions held
- 2020-present:
- Research group leader “Theory of Strongly Correlated Quantum Matter” at MPI-FKF.
- 2017-2020
- Postdoctoral reseacher and Erwin-Schrödinger Fellow with Prof. Antoine Georges at Collège de France and École Polytechnique.
- 2016-2017:
- Postdoctoral reseacher with Prof. Alessandro Toschi at TU Wien.
- 2013-2016
- PhD studies in theoretical condensed matter physics, promotion “sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae” at TU Wien.
- 2007-2012
- Bachelor and Master studies in theoretical and mathematical physics at TU Wien passed “with distinction”.
Research Summary
Materials with strong electronic correlations are amongst the most intriguing topics at the forefront of research in condensed matter physics. On the one hand, they exhibit fascinating phenomena like quantum criticality and high-temperature superconductivity, bearing a high potential for applications. On the other hand, they are theoretically very appealing due to their limited understanding, even on the very fundamental level.
Within the research group “Theory of Strongly Correlated Quantum Matter” the frontier of this fundamental understanding is pushed by applying cutting-edge numerical quantum field theoretical methods to quantum critical systems, high-temperature superconductors, Mott insulators and magnetically frustrated systems, both in the purely model (Hubbard model, periodic Anderson model) as well as material oriented (heavy fermions, cuprates, organics) context.
- Strongly correlated electron systems
◦ Physics of the Hubbard model
◦ Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition ◦ low-dimensional systems - Frustrated magnetic systems
◦ geometric frustration
◦ metal-insulator transition - Quantum criticality
◦ quantum and classical critical phenomena ◦ quantum magnetism
◦ electronic Kohn anomalies - High-temperature superconductivity
◦ pseudogap physics
◦ unconventional pairing mechanisms - Quantum many-body techniques
◦ dynamical mean field theory (DMFT)
◦ cluster (CDMFT, DCA) and diagrammatic (DΓA, TRILEX) extensions of DMFT
◦ many-particle Green functions and Luttinger-Ward formalism in the non-perturbative
regime
◦ fluctuation diagnostics and parquet decomposition
Key publications
- T. Schäfer, N. Wentzell, F. Šimkovic IV, Y.-Y. He, C. Hille, M. Klett, C. J. Eckhardt, B. Arzhang, V. Harkov, F.-M. Le Régent, A. Kirsch, Y. Wang, A. J. Kim, E. Kozik, E. A. Stepanov, A. Kauch, S. Andergassen, P. Hansmann, D. Rohe, Y. M. Vilk, J. P. F. LeBlanc, S. Zhang, A.-M. S. Tremblay, M. Ferrero, O. Parcollet, and A. Georges, “Tracking the Footprints of Spin Fluctuations: A Multi-Method, Multi-Messenger Study of the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model”, arXiv:2006.10769
- T. Schäfer, F. Geles, Rost D., G Rohringer, E Arrigoni, K. Held, N. Blümer, M Aichhorn, A Toschi, “Fate of the false Mott-Hubbard transition in two dimensions”, Phys. Rev. B. 91, 125109 (2015)
- T. Schäfer, G. Rohringer, O. Gunnarsson, S. Ciuchi, G. Sangiovanni, and A. Toschi, “Divergent Precursors of the Mott-Hubbard Transition at the Two-Particle Level”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 246405 (2013)
- T. Schäfer, A. A. Katanin, K. Held, and A. Toschi, “Interplay of correlations and Kohn anomalies in three dimensions: quantum criticality with a twist”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 046402 (2017)
- O. Gunnarsson, T. Schäfer, J. LeBlanc, E. Gull, J. Merino, G. Sangiovanni, G. Rohringer, and A. Toschi, “Fluctuation Diagnostics of the Electron Self-Energy: Origin of the Pseudogap Physics”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 236402 (2015)