PD Dr. Peter Keim

Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

Studying Physics in Frankfurt/Main and Konstanz
1998 Diploma in Physics
2005 Dr. rer. nat (Physics) University of Konstanz
2005-2007 Postdoc Fellowship of German Research Foundation at Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria
2007-2011 Group leader at the chair of Prof. Maret, Uni Konstanz
2011-2019 Head of Junior Research Group, University of Konstanz
Lecturing since 2011
2015 Habilitation and venia legendi, Department of Physics, University of Konstanz
2016 Gustav-Hertz-Price of the German Physical Society
2016-2018 Deputy Professor, University of Konstanz
2019-2021 Start Up Co-founder, Kormoran Technologies
Since 2022 Heisenberg-fellow at MPI-DS, Group leader Experimental Statistical Physics

Major Research Interests
Physics of 2D crystals and glasses beyond equilibrium:
Using a 2D soft matter system, we investigate the physics of low-dimensional systems which frequently shows a much richer variety in excited states compared to 3D counterparts. A colloidal monolayer is monitored during self organization and data with "atomic” resolution on all relevant time scales serve the complete phase space information. With this class of experiments we investigate

Topological phase transition in 2D and validated Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young-theory (Nobel Prize 2016 for M. Kosterlitz and D. Thouless).

Soft modes destroying symmetry breaking in D<3 ( Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg fluctuations ) which questioned if 2D crystals (e.g. like Graphene) can exist at all.

Symmetry breaking beyond equilibrium in ensembles not connected by causality. This so-called Kibble-Zurek mechanism was discussed to incorporate topological defects in the primordial Higgs-field shortly after Big-Bang. We can mimic this effect in colloidal monolayers after sudden quenches of the control parameter.

2D glasses and vitrification, focussing on elasticity rather than viscosity, investigation of dynamical heterogeneities, point to set correlation functions and Kauzmann’s paradox when random disorder is tuned actively.

Homepage Department/Research Group
https://www.ds.mpg.de/keim-group

Selected Recent Publications

B. Illing, S. Fritschi, H. Kaiser, C. Klix, G. Maret, P. Keim (2017) Mermin-Wagner fluctuations in 2D amorphous solids, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 114, 1856
C. Klix, G. Maret, P. Keim (2015) Discontinuous shear modulus determines the glass transition temperature, Phys. Rev. X 5, 041033
S. Deutschländer, P. Dillmann, G. Maret, P. Keim (2015) Kibble-Zurek mechanism in colloidal monolayers, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 112, 6925
S. Deutschländer, A. Puertas, G. Maret, P. Keim (2014) Specific heat in two-dimensional melting, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 127801
U. Gasser, C. Eisenmann, G. Maret, P. Keim (2010) Melting of crystals in two dimensions, ChemPhysChem 11/5, 936