Physicist
Luis E. F.
Foà Torres
Imagining brave new worlds.
Full Professor of Physics · Universidad de Chile
3:25Science is our common language · ICTP at 60 → Watch
Just published: Precision-induced irreversibility in non-Hermitian systems — Phys. Rev. A 114, 012207 (2026)Published: Charge waves and dynamical signatures of topological phases in SSH chains — Phys. Rev. B 113, 195424 (2026)New: Universal critical timescales in slow non-Hermitian dynamics — arXiv:2604.01918
Predicted → Observed
A falsifiable record · ideas from the South, global reach
Eight predictions · six confirmed · two still waiting
Year · 2001
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— confirmed ┄ not yet observed
2001 → 2010
A saser — coherent ultrasound generated electrically in a semiconductor. Foa Torres et al., Physical Review B 64, 193304 (2001); Camps et al., Physical Review B 64, 125311 (2001)
First experimental demonstration of a phonon laser. Physical Review Letters 104, 083901 (2010)
First experimental demonstration of a phonon laser. Physical Review Letters 104, 083901 (2010)
2005 → 2008
A current at zero bias from a single time-dependent gate voltage. Foa Torres, Physical Review B 72, 245339 (2005)
Experiments demonstrated single-parameter pumps. Phys. Rev. B 77, 153301 (2008)
Experiments demonstrated single-parameter pumps. Phys. Rev. B 77, 153301 (2008)
2006 → open
A Peierls-like mechanism switching on in carbon nanotubes at high bias. Foa Torres and Roche, Physical Review Letters 97, 076804 (2006)
Still open.
Still open.
2011 → 2025
A mid-infrared laser to induce and tune a bandgap in graphene. Calvo et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 232103 (2011)
Confirmed in graphene by two independent groups. Merboldt et al. & Choi et al., Nature Physics 21, 1093 & 1100 (2025)
Confirmed in graphene by two independent groups. Merboldt et al. & Choi et al., Nature Physics 21, 1093 & 1100 (2025)
2014 → 2020
A light-induced Hall response in graphene — its rough plateau not matching the channel count. Foa Torres et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 266801 (2014)
Measured directly in laser-illuminated graphene. McIver et al., Nature Physics 16, 38 (2020)
Measured directly in laser-illuminated graphene. McIver et al., Nature Physics 16, 38 (2020)
2015 → 2019
A periodically driven topological insulator chain develops anomalous modes with no static counterpart. V. Dal Lago, M. Atala, and L. E. F. Foa Torres, Physical Review A 92, 023624 (2015)
Anomalous π modes observed directly in a photonic Floquet lattice. Cheng et al., Physical Review Letters 122, 173901 (2019)
Anomalous π modes observed directly in a photonic Floquet lattice. Cheng et al., Physical Review Letters 122, 173901 (2019)
2018 → 2019+
A pristine non-Hermitian lattice loses all its extended states, localizing at the boundary — this is now called the non-Hermitian skin effect. V. M. Martinez-Alvarez et al., Physical Review B 97, 121401(R) (2018)
Seen in mechanics, then photonics, circuits, active matter. Nat. Commun. (2019) · Nat. Phys. (2020) · Phys. Rev. Research (2020) · Nat. Commun. (2021)
Seen in mechanics, then photonics, circuits, active matter. Nat. Commun. (2019) · Nat. Phys. (2020) · Phys. Rev. Research (2020) · Nat. Commun. (2021)
2026 → open
The laws of physics list no precision variable — yet non-Hermitian evolution turns any finite precision into a hard, falsifiable predictability horizon. L. E. F. Foa Torres, G. Pappas, V. Achilleos, and D. Bautista Avilés, Physical Review A 114, 012207 (2026)
Still open — verified numerically and across hardware precisions; not yet tested in a physical experiment.
Still open — verified numerically and across hardware precisions; not yet tested in a physical experiment.
