Duncan Haldane
active c. 1951, London, England
British theoretical physicist, pioneer of topological phases: predicted the 'zero-field quantum Hall effect' and the Haldane spin chain.
Haldane took his Cambridge PhD under Philip Anderson then worked at Princeton. In 1983 he proved integer-spin Heisenberg chains have an energy gap (the Haldane gap) — unlike half-integer chains; in 1988 he built a toy graphene model with a quantum Hall effect in zero external field — ancestor of 'topological insulators' and the anomalous quantum Hall effect.
Nobel-winning work
The Haldane model (1988) showed that locally broken time-reversal in a crystal lattice can open a band gap and produce dissipationless edge currents without any magnetic field — anticipating how topological structure reshapes conduction. This insight launched the entire fields of topological insulators, topological materials and the promise of dissipationless electronics.
Workplaces: Princeton University
United Kingdom, United States