I was asked to introduce my interests in preparation for a week of informal discussions here at T.D. Lee Institute and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. I shall, in this informal presentation, briefly introduce some of the theory problems that are or have been of interest in my group. To begin with, I will merely mention Mott insulator physics in layered and surface 2D systems -- plus its unexpected role in fullerene phonon superconductivity; high pressure physics; quantum annealing; and Kondo contact conductance anomalies.

Coming subsequently to my main theme I will describe some non-equilibrium physics problems that occur in the theory and simulation of nanomechanical dissipation and wear-free friction. Among basics I will describe the unsuspected connection between Jarzynki’s non-equilibrium identity and the so-called thermolubric regime of nanofriction. Verification of the celebrated Aubry pinning transition in periodic incommensurate sliders will be described as realized by 1D and 2D optical lattice potentials. The function of nanofriction and dissipation as a kind of “Braille spectroscopy”, detecting phase transitions in bulk crystals without disturbing them, is predicted and demonstrated. 

Last, and only if time will permit, I shall describe two instances currently under work and refinement. One is the “lubricating” role of quantum mechanics and Rabi tunneling in frictional motion of atomic ions. The other is an attempt to build an unbiased theory extending the so-called Markov State Model, used so far to describe equilibrium systems, to the wider non-equilibrium area of friction.

Erio Tosatti is a condensed matter theoretical physicist active in research on a wide range of phenomena. His work covered optical properties and dielectric response of solids; surface physics in all its aspects; fullerene physics; the first Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopic  prediction for graphite; the state of matter at extreme pressures; physics of metal nanowires; magnetism and Kondo effects at nanocontacts; theory of strongly correlated superconductivity in fulleride compounds like Cs3C60; theory of quantum annealing; theory and simulation of nanofriction, a fresh field where he is continuing research through prestigious European ERC Advanced Grants.

He is a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, He created, shaped, and directed for over 30 years the condensed matter theory group at  the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy. Working since 1977 at Trieste’s Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), a United Nations institution which he also directed in 2002-2003, Tosatti provided support and mentorship to many colleague scientists in emerging countries – several Chinese students and postdocs among them. He was awarded in 2005 the AIP Tate Medal whose citation states that [Tosatti] ”has probably left much deeper marks in many countries than most of the programs that make the headlines”.