Lecturer: Dr. Zohar Ringel Affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Oxford Abstract: Topological phases of matter are distinct from conventional ones by their lack of an order parameter. Still in the quantum Hall effect, a hidden order parameter exists and constitutes the basis for the celebrated composite-particle approach. Whether similar hidden orders exist in symmetry protected topological phases (SPTs) is a largely open question, especially in 2D and 3D. In this talk I will introduce a new approach to analyzing SPT groundstates, based on generalized Laughlin wavefunctions. Using it one obtains a simple picture of some classes of SPTs in 1D and 2D, in which hidden order is rather explicit. Future directions, in the lines of generalizing the composite-particle approach to SPTs, will be discussed briefly. ‏האירוע הזה כולל שיחת וידאו ב-Google Hangouts. הצטרף: https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts/_/mail.huji.ac.il/condensed?hceid=b...