Main profile

Colin Benjamin

School: 

Physical Sciences

Designation: 

Associate Professor

Education: 

Research/Employment
July 2019 - Continuing 
Associate Professor, SPS, NISER, Bhubaneswar, India. Research in theoretical nanoscience, quantum information theory, and game theory.
July 2013 - June 2019
Reader-F, SPS, NISER, Bhubaneswar, India. Research in condensed matter theory and quantum information.
June 2011 - June 2013
Assistant Professor, SPS, NISER, Bhubaneswar, India. Research in condensed matter theory and quantum information.
Dec’2009-Dec’2010
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Phys. & Ast., Univ. of Georgia, Athens, USA. Research in quantum simulations.
Oct’2007-Sep’2009
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Quantum Information Group, School of Phys. & Ast., Univ. of Leeds, UK. Research in topological quantum computation.
Oct’2005-Sep’2007
CNRS Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre de Physique Theorique, CNRS, Marseille, France. Research in molecular electronics.
Sep’2004-Aug’2005
Research Fellow, Dept. of Physics, Univ. of Salerno, Italy. Research in electron transport in mesostructures.
Education
2000-2004 Ph.D. (Physics)[Submitted: Sep. 2004] Awarded: Aug. 2005, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India. Thesis Title: Electron Transport and Quantum interference at the mesoscopic scale.
1999-2000 Diploma in Advanced Physics (equivalent to M. Phil.), 2000, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India.
1997-1999 M. Sc. Physics (specialization in Solid state Physics), 1999, Dept. of Physics, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India, I was ranked second in the university.
1994-1997 B. Sc. Physics (Honours), 1997, B. J. B College, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, I secured the first position in the university and was awarded the Gold medal.

Specialisation: 

THEORETICAL NANOSCIENCE

QUANTUM INFORMATION THEORY 

GAME THEORY

Awards: 

• June 2018 ICTP Research visit award, the Abdus Salam ICTP, Trieste, Italy

• May 2016 DAAD Research Stay Award, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

• June 2014 Finalist, NASI-SCOPUS Young scientist award, Physical Sciences

Publications: 

Book: Electron transport and quantum interference at the mesoscopic scale by Colin Benjamin. Get it from Amazon.

Research Articles:
62. Generating highly entangled states via discrete-time quantum walks with Parrondo sequences, B. Varun Govind, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2008.00909.
61. Order from chaos in quantum walks on cyclic graphs, Abhisek Panda, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2008.00316
60. Testing quantum speedups in exciton transport through a photosynthetic complex using quantum stochastic walks, Pratyush K. Sahoo, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2004.02938
59. Thermodynamic susceptibility as a measure of cooperative behavior in social dilemmas, Colin Benjamin, Aditya Dash, Chaos 30, 093117 (2020).
58. Shot Noise as a probe for the pairing symmetry of Iron pnictide superconductors, Colin Benjamin, Tusaradri Mohapatra, arXiv:1904.00201
57. Stability of Majorana bound states in the presence of spin-flip scattering, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:1902.10557.
56. Disordered contacts can localize helical edge electrons, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 31, 34LT01 (2019).
55. Disordered contacts can localize chiral edge electrons, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 139, 109313 (2020).
54. Quantized Josephson phase battery, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, EPL (Euro Physics Letters) 126, 57002 (2019).
53. Optimal quantum refrigeration in strained graphene, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys. Chem. C  123, 22858−22864 (2019).
52. Entanglement renders free riding redundant in the thermodynamic limit, Shubhayan Sarkar, Colin Benjamin, Physica A 521, 607 (2019).
51. Quantum Nash equilibrium in the thermodynamic limit, Shubhayan Sarkar, Colin Benjamin, Quantum Information Processing 18: 122 (2019).
50. Triggers for cooperative behavior in the thermodynamic limit: a case study in Public goods game, Colin Benjamin, Shubhayan Sarkar, Chaos 29, 053131 (2019).
49. Spin-flip scattering engendered quantum spin torque in a Josephson junction, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Proceedings of the Royal Society A 475: 20180775​ (2019).
48. The emergence of cooperation in the thermodynamic limit, Colin Benjamin, Shubhayan Sarkar, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals 135, 109762 (2020).
47. Are thermal fluctuations the sole reason for finite longitudinal resistance in quantum anomalous Hall experiments?, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 30, 37LT01 (2018).
46. Yu-Shiba-Rusinov bound states induced by a spin flipper in the vicinity of a s-wave superconductor, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Scientific Reports 8: 11949 (2018).
45. Helical thermoelectrics and refrigeration Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. E 97, 022114 (2018).
44. Playing a true Parrondo's game with a three-state coin on a quantum walk, Jishnu Rajendran, Colin Benjamin, EPL (Euro Phys. Lett.) 122, 40004 (2018).
43. Designing a highly efficient graphene quantum spin heat engine, Arjun Mani, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Scientific Reports 9: 6018 (2019).
42. Role of helical edge modes in the chiral quantum anomalous Hall state, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, Scientific Reports 8:1335 (2018)
41. Tuning the 0−π Josephson junction with a high spin molecule: Role of tunnel contacts, exchange coupling, electron-electron interactions and high spin states, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Scientific Reports 8: 5208 (2018).
40. Strained graphene based highly efficient quantum heat engine operating at maximum power, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. E 96, 032118 (2017).
39. Implementing Parrondo's paradox with two coin quantum walks, Jishnu Rajendran, Colin Benjamin, Royal Society Open Science 5, 171599 (2018).
38. Negating van Enk-Pike's assertion on quantum games OR Is the essence of a quantum game captured completely in the original classical game?, Nilesh Vyas, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:1701.08573
37. Characterizing a high spin magnetic impurity via Andreev reflection spectroscopy, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Eur. Phys. J. B (2018) 91: 190.
36. Probing helicity and the topological origins of helicity via non-local Hanbury-Brown and Twiss correlations, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, Scientific Reports 7: 6954 (2017).
35. Fragility of non-local edge mode transport in the quantum spin Hall state, Arjun Mani and Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. Applied 6, 014003  (2016).
34. Topologically induced fractional Hall steps in the integer quantum Hall regime of MoS2, SK Firoz Islam, Colin Benjamin, Nanotechnology 27, 385203 (2016). 
33. A scheme to realize the quantum spin-valley Hall effect in monolayer graphene, SK Firoz Islam, Colin Benjamin, Carbon 110, 304 (2016).
32. Are quantum spin Hall edge modes more resilient to disorder, sample geometry and inelastic scattering than quantum Hall edge modes? Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 28 145303 (2016).
31. Adiabatically twisting a magnetic molecule to generate pure spin currents in graphene, Firoz Islam, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 28 035305 (2015).
30. Do quantum strategies always win? Namit Anand, Colin Benjamin, Quantum Information Processing 14 (11),  4027-4038 (2015).
29. Strain designed Josephson π junction qubits with topological insulators, Colin Benjamin, Euro Physics Letters (EPL) 110, 50003  (2015).
28. Persistent currents in absence of magnetic field in graphene nanorings: The ambiguous role of inter valley scattering, Colin Benjamin, A M Jayannavar, Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 053112 (2014).
27. How to detect a genuine quantum pump effect in graphene? Colin Benjamin,  Applied Physics Letters 103, 043120  (2013).
26. Can dephasing generate non-local spin correlations? Colin Benjamin, Euro Physics Letters (EPL) 96, 67001  (2011).

25. Quantum simulation of molecular collisions using superconducting qubits, E J Pritchett, C. Benjamin, A. Galiautdinov, M. Geller, A. Sornborger, P C Stancil and J. M. Martinis, arXiv:1008.0701
24. Detecting Majorana bound states, Colin Benjamin and Jiannis K. Pachos, Phys. Rev. B 81, 085101 (2010).
23. π-junction qubit in monolayer graphene, Colin Benjamin and Jiannis K. Pachos, Phys.Rev.B 79, 155431 (2009).
22. Entangled states in graphene-detection and use, Colin Benjamin, Graham Creeth and Jiannis K Pachos, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 129, 012005 (2008).
21. Detecting entangled states in graphene via crossed Andreev reflection, Colin Benjamin and Jiannis K. Pachos, Phys. Rev. B 78, 235403 (2008).
20. Positive noise cross-correlations in superconducting hybrids: Role of interface transparencies, R. Mélin, C. Benjamin, T. Martin, Phys. Rev. B 77, 094512 (2008).
19. Controllable π junction in a Josephson quantum-dot device with molecular spin, C. Benjamin, T. Jonckheere, A. Zazunov, T. Martin, Eur. Phys. J. B  57: 279 (2007).
18. Detecting a true quantum pump effect, C. Benjamin, Eur. Phys. J. B  52: 403 (2006).
17. Crossed Andreev reflection as a probe for the pairing symmetry of Ferromagnetic-Superconductors, Colin Benjamin, Phys.Rev.B (Rapid Communication) 74, 180503(R)(2006).
16. Nonlocal pure spin current injection via quantum pumping and crossed Andreev reflection, Colin Benjamin and Roberta Citro, Phys. Rev. B 72, 085340 (2005).
15. Resolving the order parameter of High-Tc Superconductors through quantum pumping spectroscopy, Colin Benjamin,  Phys.Rev.B 71, 174512 (2005).
14. Quantum spin pumping with adiabatically modulated magnetic barriers, Ronald Benjamin and Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. B 69, 085318 (2004).
13. Equilibrium currents in quantum double ring system: A non-trivial role of system-reservoir coupling, Colin Benjamin, A. M. Jayannavar, Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 18, 3343 (2004).
12. Trends in mesoscopic transport, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, National Academy Science Letters 27(5-6):177-186 (2004).
11. Features in evanescent Aharonov-Bohm interferometry, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 68, 085325 (2003).
10. Fano resonances in presence of dephasing and evanescent modes, Colin Benjamin and A M Jayannavar, Indian J. Physics 77A(6):565 (2003).
9. A comparative study of some models of incoherence at the mesoscopic scale, Colin Benjamin, A. M. Jayannavar,  Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 17, 4733 (2003).
8. Survival of Φ0/2 periodicity in presence of incoherence in asymmetric Aharonov-Bohm rings, Colin Benjamin, Swarnali Bandopadhyay, A. M. Jayannavar, Solid State Commmun. 124, 331 (2002).
7. Wave attenuation model for dephasing and measurement of conditional times, A M Jayannavar, Colin Benjamin, Pramana - J Phys  59: 385, (2002).
6. Wave attenuation to clock sojourn times, Colin Benjamin, A. M. Jayannavar, Solid State Commun. 121, 591, (2002).
5. Study of quantum current enhancement, eigenenergy spectra and magnetic moments in a multiply connected system at equilibrium, Colin Benjamin, A. M. Jayannavar, International
Journal of Modern Physics B, 16, 1787 (2002).
4. Dephasing via stochastic absorption: A case study in Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 65, 153309 (2002).
3. Quantum current enhancement effect in hybrid rings at equilibrium, Colin Benjamin, A. M. Jayannavar, Indian J. Physics. A, 77A(2), 119-123 (2003).
2. Current magnification effect in mesoscopic systems at equilibrium, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 64, 233406 (2001).
1. Role of quantum entanglement due to a magnetic impurity on current magnification effect in mesoscopic open rings, Colin Benjamin, Sandeep K. Joshi, Debendranath Sahoo, A. M. Jayannavar, Mod. Phys. Lett. B 15, 19 (2001).

Research: 

Recent Papers  

• Theoretical nanoscale science
  1. Quantized Josephson phase battery, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, EPL (Euro Physics Letters) 126, 57002 (2019).
  2. Optimal quantum refrigeration in strained graphene, Arjun Mani, Colin Benjamin, J. Phys. Chem. C  123, 22858−22864 (2019).
  3. Stability of Majorana bound states in the presence of spin-flip scattering, Subhajit Pal, Colin Benjamin, Physica E (2020); arXiv:1902.10557.
  4. Shot Noise as a probe for the pairing symmetry of Iron pnictide superconductors, Colin Benjamin, Tusaradri Mohapatra, arXiv:1904.00201.

•  Quantum information theory
  1. Generating highly entangled states via discrete-time quantum walks with Parrondo sequences, B. Varun Govind, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2008.00909.
  2. Order from chaos in quantum walks on cyclic graphs, Abhisek Panda, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2008.00316
  3. Testing quantum speedups in exciton transport through a photosynthetic complex using quantum stochastic walks, Pratyush K. Sahoo, Colin Benjamin, arXiv:2004.02938.
  4. Playing a true Parrondo's game with a three-state coin on a quantum walk, Jishnu Rajendran, Colin Benjamin, EPL (Euro Phys. Lett.) 122, 40004 (2018).

• Game Theory
  1. The emergence of Cooperation in the thermodynamic limit, Colin Benjamin, Shubhayan Sarkar, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals 135, 109762 (2020).
  2. Triggers for cooperative behavior in the thermodynamic limit: a case study in Public goods game,  Colin Benjamin, Shubhayan Sarkar, Chaos 29, 053131 ​(2019).
  3. Quantum Nash equilibrium in the thermodynamic limit, Shubhayan Sarkar, Colin Benjamin, Quantum Information Processing 18: 122 (2019).
  4. Thermodynamic susceptibility as a measure of cooperative behavior in social dilemmas, Colin Benjamin, Aditya Dash, Chaos 30, 093117 (2020).

Research Impact

1. AIP has found it newsworthy to accord our newly published article "Thermodynamic susceptibility as a measure of cooperative behavior in social dilemmas" in Chaos with a press release. The press release is interestingly titled "Betrayal or cooperation? Analytical investigation of behavior drivers" and comes with the following tag line- Using game magnetization and susceptibility in an analytic investigation of cooperation with infinite numbers of people. It has been picked up by some of the most prominent science news portals, like EurekAlert https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/aiop-boc090320.php
   also by PHYS.ORG https://phys.org/news/2020-09-betrayal-cooperation-analytical-behavior-drivers.html
   news(wise) https://www.newswise.com/articles/betrayal-or-cooperation-analytical-investigation-of-behavior-drivers
   7thSpace http://7thspace.com/headlines/1302715/betrayal_or_cooperation__analytical_investigation_of_behavior_drivers.html
   sciencenewsnet.in https://sciencenewsnet.in/betrayal-or-cooperation-analytical-investigation-of-behavior-drivers/
   and ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200908113235.htm

2. Our new publication in "Chaos" has been accorded the honor of a featured article. It looks at the problem of cooperative behavior with a new tool, thermodynamic susceptibility. While magnetization, the net difference in the fraction of cooperators and defectors is an extremely good macroscopic measure of cooperative behavior, susceptibility is a more sensitive probe for microscopic behavior, e.g., observing small changes in a population adopting a certain strategy. 

3. Our paper "The emergence of cooperation in the thermodynamic limit" has been published as a Letter to the Editor in Chaos, Solitons & Fractals.  

4. Our recent research on reasons for cooperative behavior in the thermodynamic limit using the template of a Public goods game, published in Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science has been selected as a featured article in Chaos.

5. Our recent research on seeing a genuine Parrondo's paradox with quantum walks, published in EPL (Euro Physics Letters) has been featured in EPL Highlights of 2018.

6. Our recent research on seeing a genuine Parrondo's paradox with quantum walks, published in Royal Society Open Science and EPL (Euro Physics Letters) has been featured in Live Science, a website devoted to the science geek, see Weird Paradox Says 2 Losses Equals a Win. And It Could Lead to Fast Quantum Computers by Marcus Woo.

7. Our recent article "Playing a true Parrondo's game with a three-state coin on a quantum walk" published in EPL (Europhysics Letters) has been featured in PHYS.ORG, see Parrondo's paradox with a three-sided coin by Lisa Zyga, Phys.org feature.

8. Our recent research on "Implementing Parrondo's paradox with two coin quantum walks", published in R. Soc. Open Sci. 5, 171599 (2018), has led to the development of limit laws for quantum walks showing Parrondo behavior by Grunbaum and Machida in "Some limit laws for quantum walks with applications to a version of the Parrondo paradox", arXiv:1803.04522

9. Our recent research on a new approach to N-Player games using 1D Ising model, see "Emergence of Cooperation in the thermodynamic limit", arXiv:1803.10083 which is the first analytical correct result to be obtained for games in the thermodynamic limit, while the approach  of Adami and Hintze, arXiv:1706.03058  which purports to do that is incorrect as we have shown and which has also been established by other groups, see  the  essay in the course on Emergence states of matter 569 at UIUC, Course Instructor: Nigel Goldenfeld, by P. Ralegankar, Understanding Emergence of Cooperation using tools from Thermodynamics.

10. The work on fractional steps in the integer quantum Hall effect,  Nanotechnology 27, 385203 (2016), was featured in the Nanotechweb.org website, Nanotechweb.org LAB TALK Sep. 26, 2016.

11. The work on Graphene Josephson qubit,  Phys. Rev. B 79, 155431 (2009), was featured in the Nanotechweb.org website, Belle Dume, Graphene ring hits qubit target, Nanotechweb.org, Technology update October 22nd, 2008.​

Thesis Supervised

1. Pratyush K. Sahoo, "Quantum stochastic walks and its application in understanding photosynthetic complexes, graphs and quantum neural networks", Master's (2020) from IISER, Kolkata. Pratyush K. Sahoo was a student from IISER, Kolkata who spent the final year with me working on his Master's thesis.

2. Abhisek Panda, "On quantum walks and quantum games", Master's (2020). Abhisek Panda got the best thesis award in the School of Physical Sciences, NISER for the year 2020.

3. Aditya Dash, "Interpreting Susceptibility and Correlation in the thermodynamic limit of classical and quantum games", Master's (2019).

4. Arjun Mani, "Studies on edge mode transport in quantum Hall, quantum spin Hall, and quantum anomalous Hall samples", Ph.D. (2018). Currently Postdoctoral Research Associate at Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, USA.

5. Shubhayan Sarkar, "The thermodynamic limit of classical and quantum games", Master's (2018). Currently Ph. D. student at Centre for theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland.

6. Jishnu Rajendran, "Quantum Walks in quantum games and quantum graphs", Master's (2017). Currently Ph. D. student in Condensed Matter Physics and Quantum Technology group at Department of Physics and Astronomy "E. Majorana", Università degli Studi di Catania, Catania, Italy.

7. Nilesh Vyas, "Random strategies and the equilibrium solution of quantum games", Master's (2017). Currently Ph. D. student at Telecom ParisTech, Paris, France.

8. Namit Anand, "Quantum games, walks and algorithms", Master's (2016). Currently Ph. D. student at Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.

9. Abhishek Kumar, "Weyl semimetal and superconductor junction", Master's (2016).

10. Avradip Ghosh, "Thermoelectric effects in mesoscopic physics and spin transport", Master's (2016).

Research Grants

1. Dept. of Science and Technology (Nanomission) grant on "Topology, spintronics and quantum computation with Dirac materials",  Govt. of India, Grant No. SR/NM/NS1101/2011, from Sep. 2013-Sep.2017. DST Nanomission in its March 2017 review rated the progress in this project as Very Good. 

2. SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD, DST, Government of India, grant on "Non-local correlations in nanoscale systems: Role of decoherence, interactions, disorder and pairing symmetry", Grant No. EMR/2015/001836 from Jul. 2016-Jan. 2020.

3. SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD, DST, Government of India, MATRICS grant on "Nash equilibrium versus Pareto optimality in N-Player games", Grant No. MTR/2018/000070  from Mar. 2019-Mar. 2022.

4. SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD, DST, Government of India, Core research grant on "Josephson junctions with strained Dirac materials and their application in quantum information processing", Grant No. CRG/2019/006258  from Mar. 2020-Mar. 2023.

Teaching: 

Courses taught in NISER from July 2011- May 2019

1. P202 (Core) Mathematical Methods, July 2011-December 2011.
2. P471 (Elective) Quantum Information & Quantum computation, December 2011- May 2012.
3. P466 (Elective) ​Quantum and Nanoelectronics, July 2012-December 2012.
4. P603 (Core)​ Electromagnetism, December 2012-May 2013.
5. P603 (Core)​ ​ Electromagnetism, July 2013-December 2013.
6. P471 (Elective)​ Quantum Information & Quantum Computation, December 2013- May 2014.
7. P603 (Core)​ Electromagnetism, July 2014-December 2014.
8. P466 (Elective)​ Quantum and Nanoelectronics, December 2014-May 2015.
9. P471 (Elective)​ Quantum Information & Quantum Computation, July 2015-December 2015.
10. P615 (Core) Quantum Mechanics, December 2015-May 2016.
11. P141 (Core) Physics Laboratory 1, July 2016-December 2016.
12. P461 (Elective)​ Physics of Mesoscopic systems, December 2016-May 2017.
13. P471 (Elective)​ Quantum Information & Quantum Computation, July 2017-December 2017.
14. P466 (Elective)​ Quantum and Nanoelectronics, January 2018-May 2018.
15. P203 (Core) Electronics, July 2018-Nov. 2018.
16. P461 (Elective) Physics of Mesoscopic Systems, January 2019-May 2019.​
17. P471 (Elective)​ Quantum Information & Quantum Computation, July 2019-December 2019.
18. P466 (Elective) Quantum Nanoelectronics, Jan 2020-May 2020.

Contacts: 

Hiring a Research Associate-III
(under the project “Non local correlations in nanoscale systems: Role of decoherence, interactions, disorder and pairing symmetry”)

Institution: National Institute of Science Education and Research
Description: Applications from Indian nationals are invited for one temporary position of Research Associate-III under the project “Non local correlations in nanoscale systems: Role of decoherence, interactions, disorder and pairing symmetry” in the School of Physical Sciences, NISER funded by SERB, Govt. of India.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE -III:

QUALIFICATION: Candidate should have PhD or equivalent degree in Physics (preferably in theory). Those who have submitted their PhD thesis related to the above field are also eligible to apply.

FELLOWSHIP: - Rs.40,000/- + HRA per month (as per revised SERB norms) AGE: 35 years as on last date of application, age relaxation to entitled categories as per SERB rules.

Last Date of Receipt of Application: - No fixed deadline, send me an email if interested.

Candidates may send soft copy of the application along with complete Bio-data by email to: colin@niser.ac.in 

Phone No.: 

+91 674-2494286

Room No.: 

407 FC

Personal Page: 

Colin Benjamin's homepage