Strongly Correlated Electron Phenomena in Rare Earth and Actinide Intermetallics

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As a result of hybridization between localized f-electron and itinerant electron states, compounds of rare earth and actinide elements with an unstable valence (e.g., Ce, Sm, Eu, Tm, Yb, U) display a rich variety of novel electronic phenomena. This Individual Investigator Award will support research that focuses on normal and superconducting states near quantum critical points, unconventional types of superconductivity, and other strongly correlated electron phenomena in materials such as CeMIn5 (M = Co, Rh, Ir) and the new filled skutterudite heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12. The research integrates the preparation of novel f-electron materials with the measurement of their transport, thermal, and magnetic properties as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and pressure, all in the same laboratory. Results obtained will advance understanding of strongly correlated electron phenomena, while possibly leading to the discovery of new phenomena and/or novel materials. The research may have implications for technological applications involving high temperature superconductors and materials for thermoelectric refrigeration and magnetic information storage. Involved postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students will be trained in advanced techniques for the preparation and characterization of novel materials and the measurement of various physical properties of these materials.Many materials formed from rare earth or actinide elements display a rich variety of extraordinary and as yet poorly understood phenomena, due to unusually strong electron interactions. Examples include high-temperature superconductors, heavy fermion materials in which electrons act as if they are hundreds of times heavier than usual, and materials in which superconductivity and magnetism coexist despite their usual mutual exclusivity. This Individual Investigator Award will support research that integrates, in the same laboratory, the preparation of such novel materials and the measurement of their physical properties under different conditions of temperature, magnetic field, and pressure. Results of these studies will help advance understanding of the way in which the interactions between electrons generate these striking types of behavior, and could lead to the discovery of new phenomena and/or novel materials. The research may have implications for technological applications involving high temperature superconductors and materials for thermoelectric refrigeration and magnetic information storage. Involved postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students will be trained in advanced techniques for the preparation and characterization of novel materials and the measurement of various physical properties of these materials.