This award supports theoretical research and education that is aimed to advance understanding of novel magnetic states that arise in materials where electrons can interact strongly with each other through the Coulomb interaction and with atomic cores through their motion and intrinsic magnetic properties. This area of research has recently experienced rapid and exciting developments both in theory and in experiment. The discovery and understanding of novel materials are crucial to sustain technological progress, and close work between theory and experiment has accelerated research on these materials. A particular focus of this project will be the study of quantum spin liquids. These are fascinating states of electron matter which show no signatures of magnetic ordering down to the absolute zero of temperature. The research team plans to elucidate remarkable phenomena involving quantum spin liquids, and to investigate their potential applications for topological quantum computation. Topological quantum computers are envisioned to do computation by manipulating a kind of particle-like quantum state that may emerge under the right conditions in interacting systems of many-electrons. An important part of the broader impact of the PI's scientific activity will be mentoring PhD, Master and undergraduate students in advanced condensed matter physics. The research will be integrated with educational activities at the University of Minnesota and in the broader research community, including summer schools, conferences, and workshops.
This award supports theoretical research and education to study novel quantum phases arising from collective behavior of correlated electrons in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling, non-trivial topology, and disorder. In particular, the PI will focus on the development and analysis of effective super-exchange Hamiltonians to describe Kitaev materials, which are realized in a variety of systems such as transition metal oxides, rare-earths, and halides. The research team will compute ground state phase diagrams of these models and identify the nature of possible quantum states and phase transitions among them. The research team will also study finite temperature properties of these models and the effects of magnetic field; the presence of anisotropic interactions in these models often significantly modifies the magnetization processes. The research team will also study the effects of disorder in these systems, as the competition of disorder, frustration and topology can potentially give rise to many unexpected phenomena. PI will also be working on the microscopic modeling of QSLs and developing of appropriate field-theoretical methods to describe them.
The research will be integrated with educational activities at the University of Minnesota and in the broader research community, including summer schools, conferences, and workshops.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
