SGER: How Does Magnetism Arise in Niobium Oxides?

技术摘要本项目旨在阐明导致某些化合物具有磁性的关键因素，而另一些非常相似的化合物则不具有磁性。这项极具探索性的研究将涉及Nb氧化物的发现和表征，这些氧化物预计将跨越磁性和非磁性之间的边界。由于这些材料的结构复杂性，它们代表了这一领域的前沿化合物类别，导致结构与性质的关系超出了目前所能理解的极限，而且它们显示出磁性是非常出人意料的，挑战了我们对复杂材料中磁性起源的理解。过渡金属氧化物对我们理解复杂固体中化学、晶体结构和物理性质之间的关系提出了巨大的挑战。挑战的出现是由于d电子之间的强烈相互作用，没有被理论模型成功地处理，还因为几乎能量相等的基态之间的微妙平衡，这通常是由于电子、磁场和结构自由度之间的耦合而产生的。非技术摘要这项研究的影响将在该提议的专业领域之外的领域产生重大影响，特别是在凝聚态物理领域，并且结果将在该社区广泛传播。作为该计划的主要目标之一，研究生和本科生将接受培训，成为未来技术应用材料关键领域的研究人员。PI此前曾成功地将许多学生毕业后安排在工业实验室，这是该活动成功的标志。将提供一门由PI设计的新生化学课程，以培养未来工程师和商务人员对在技术中使用的化合物的重要性的认识。国际和平协会将在当地的小学和中学发表演讲，解决科学管道问题，并将积极鼓励妇女和少数群体参与该项目的研究。

Technical AbstractThis project aims to elucidate the critical factors that cause some chemical compounds to be magnetic, while others, quite similar, are not. This highly exploratory research will address the discovery and characterization of niobium oxides that are expected to straddle the border between magnetism and non-magnetism. These materials represent a frontier class of compounds in this field due to their structural complexity, leading to structure-property relations that push the limits of what can presently be understood, and also the fact that it is highly unexpected that they display magnetism at all, challenging our understanding of the origin of magnetism in complex materials. Transition metal oxides continue to pose great challenges to our understanding of the relationships between chemistry, crystal structures, and physical properties in complex solids. The challenges arise due to strong interactions between d electrons, not successfully treated by theoretical models, and also due to the delicate balance between nearly energetically equivalent ground states that often arises from coupling between electronic, magnetic, and structural degrees of freedom.Non-technical Abstract The impact of this research will be significant in fields outside the field of specialty of the proposal, particularly in condensed matter physics, and the results will be widely disseminated in that community. As one of the primary goals of the program, graduate and undergraduate students will be trained to become future researchers in the critical area of materials for technological applications. The PI has previously succeeded in placing many students in industrial laboratories after graduation, a sign of the success of that activity. A course in freshman chemistry, designed by the PI to develop a sense of the importance of the chemical compounds used in technology in future engineers and business persons, will be given. The PI will make presentations at local primary and secondary schools to address the science pipeline, and will actively encourage the participation of women and minorities in the project research.