I am a postdoctoral researcher working in theory of condensed matter physics. In general, I am interested in the effects of correlations, topology and disorder in electron systems, and the interesting phases arising from their interplay. While my research is theoretical, trying to understand the phenomenology found in experiments is an important source of motivation behind several of my works.
I did my PhD at the Donostia International Physics Center in Spain, where I studied correlated phases in transition metal dichalcogenides and topological phases in amorphous materials. In particular, we have predicted doping-induced nematic and stripe charge density wave (CDW) transitions in TiSe2, which might explain the apparently contradictory experimental observations of its symmetry. Based on the signatures of subleading unconventional superconductivity, we have also studied the collective mode spectrum of NbSe2, proposing a Leggett mode to explain the STM experiments. Finally, we have also introduced the structural spillage, a novel efficient topological indicator applicable to noncrystalline systems.
My current research follows on from my previous investigations, and also combines several of the above topics. A promising research line deals with moiré heterostructures, where the interplay between correlations, topology and disorder becomes crucial to explain the rich phase diagrams. Information about these exotic phases might be revealed in their collective mode spectrum, such as charge and spin collective modes, which might be experimentally accessible by local techniques coupling to the relevant degrees of freedom.
Another interesting avenue is the study of superconductivity and topology in disordered and amorphous systems. On the one hand, topological wavefunctions might exhibit interesting critical properties when disorder is added, which might enhance the superconducting critical temperature. On the other hand, I am interested in analyzing the possibility of realizing topological superconductivity in amorphous systems, where Anderson’s theorem might be overcome by the local order present in a family of these systems.
Online talks:
- “Many-body effects in nodal-line semimetals: Correction to the optical conductivity”, Condensed Matter Physics in All the Cities 2020 https://youtu.be/GXRXvW6LtL8?si=wVDKK__zRysA9as1
Selected publications:
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D. Muñoz-Segovia, et al., “Nematic and stripe orders within the charge density wave state of doped TiSe2”, arXiv:2308.15541 (2023) https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.15541
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D. Muñoz-Segovia, et al., “Structural spillage: An efficient method to identify noncrystalline topological materials”, Phys. Rev. Research 5, L042011 (2023) https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.L042011
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W. Wan, et al., “Observation of superconducting collective modes from competing pairing instabilities in single-layer NbSe2”, Adv. Mater. 34, 2206078 (2022) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202206078