10/5/2026 Siv Schwink for Illinois Physics
The award recognizes Fradkin's foundational contributions to lattice gauge theory and topological quantum matter, including the fermionic Chern-Simons theory of fractional quantum Hall phases.
Written by Siv Schwink for Illinois Physics
Eduardo Fradkin, the Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Larkin Award for Senior Physicists in recognition of his foundational contributions to lattice gauge theory and topological quantum matter, including the fermionic Chern-Simons theory of fractional quantum Hall phases.
The Larkin Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to theoretical physics and is presented by the William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute at the University of Minnesota in memory of theoretical physicist Anatoly Larkin, a former member of the institute. Award recipients are invited to the University of Minnesota to receive the award and present a colloquium. Fradkin shares this year’s senior award with Andrew Millis of Columbia University.
Fradkin’s distinguished record of research has helped establish important connections between quantum field theory and condensed matter physics. His work has contributed to the understanding of gauge theories, quantum Hall physics, topological phases of matter, strongly correlated systems, and quantum critical phenomena.
Among his foundational contributions is his work demonstrating that, under certain conditions, the Higgs and confinement phases of gauge theories are smoothly connected. This result remains an important part of the understanding of the phases of gauge theories and represents a lasting contribution to particle physics.
Fradkin also pioneered the application of quantum field theory methods to condensed matter problems involving Dirac fermions. His work on Dirac fermions in random fields helped establish a framework for understanding the transitions between quantum Hall plateaus in the integer quantum Hall effect and has also been applied to the study of quasiparticles in disordered d-wave superconductors.
A major achievement of Fradkin’s research has been the development of the fermionic Chern-Simons field theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect. Fradkin and his collaborators subsequently extended this approach to the more challenging problem of non-Abelian quantum Hall states and developed a theory of a non-Abelian interferometer to study the unusual properties of vortices in these quantum fluids. This work is among the theoretical approaches being explored in connection with the development of topological quantum bits, or qubits.
Fradkin has also developed a theory of electronic liquid crystal phases in strongly correlated systems and a mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity based on this concept. More recently, his work has continued to explore topological phases of matter and the role of quantum entanglement at quantum critical points.
Fradkin received a licenciado in physics from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1974 and a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University in 1979. He came to Illinois Physics as a postdoctoral researcher in 1979 and joined the faculty in 1981. He has served as the founding director of the Anthony J. Leggett Institute for Condensed Matter Theory since 2007 and is a Center for Advanced Study Professor. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.