Every year we spend the weeks leading up to the Nobel prize announcements trying to predict each of the winners. Today, we’re delighted to see this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz for their mathematical work in studying unusual and exotic states of matter.

These states or phases, such as those in superfluids, thin films and superconductors have led the way in the search for new materials with novel properties, which people hope will one day transform materials science and electronic applications.

Congratulations to David, Duncan and Michael.

You can read Michael’s commentary on ‘Ordering, metastability and phase tranistions in two-dimensional systems’ published as part of a series of Viewpoints celebrating 50 of the most influential papers published in the Journal of Physics series here.

Reports on Progress in Physics have also just published a review of the key issues in Kosterlitz-Thouless physics. This is free to read here.

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Categories: Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

Tags: Condensed matter physics, Exotic matter, Nobel Prize, Topological insulators