Recchia 9724757 This award supports a 24 month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Charles Recchia at the University of Tokyo, Tokyo,Japan. Dr. Recchia will work with Dr. Masashi Takigawa, Professor of Physics at the Institute of Solid State Physics, on a research project entitled, "NMR Studies of LowDimensional Correlated Electron Systems." The proposed research will focus on the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to probe a new class of materials related to hightemperature superconductors. These new materials, known as "ladder compounds," may provide researchers with important clues as to the mechanisms that are responsible for exotic superconductivity. It is determined that the crucial structural elements in high temperature superconductors are two dimensional planes of copper and oxygen. Electronic spins placed on copper atoms causes a short-range magnetic order coupling, a basic fluctuation that is thought to be the key to superconductivity. Controversy remains regarding the detailed nature of this electronic coupling and how it gives rise to superconductivity. In an effort to resolve these issues, researchers are now investigating samples that contain finite width "ladders" of copper and oxygen, but the finite width appropriate to ideal superconductive activity remains unclear. The primary goal of the research is to use recent advances in NMR techniques to identify the idealwidth of these "ladders" and, thus, provide a far deeper understanding of the electronic coupling process in novel lowdimensional materials. ***
