Emergent Collective Phenomena in Transition Metal Oxides

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****TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Complex oxides provide numerous opportunities to study novel electronic, magnetic, and struc-tural phenomena that emerge out of strong interactions between electrons, such as high Tc su-perconductivity, quantum spin liquid states, and magneto-electricity. Understanding their under-lying microscopic mechanisms as well as exploring their rich phase diagrams poses grand challenges in condensed matter physics. This individual investigator award supports a project to study several exemplary transition metal oxides to address some fundamental questions, especially focusing on how the relevant degrees of freedom, such as spin, charge, and lattice, are coupled to induce the aforementioned complex properties. Of particular interest are the exploration of possible new phases and quantum phase transitions in quantum and frustrated magnets, examination of electron-phonon coupling in high Tc superconductors, and testing conflicting theoretical models in magnetic multiferroics. Elastic/inelastic neutron scattering techniques that directly probe static and dynamic properties of solid at the atomic length scale will be employed. Undergraduate and graduate students will spend time at several internationally top research institutes in the U.S., Europe, and Japan for crystal growth and neutron scattering measurements.****NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). An electron is an elementary particle that carries electric charge and spin (magnetic moment). Abundant in a solid, electrons can interact strongly with each other to bring about novel phenomena when certain conditions are met. Well-known examples of the collective behaviors in strongly correlated electron systems are superconductivity that leads to magnetic levitation and multiferroicity that allows one to control magnetic and electronic properties simultaneously, both of which have potential revolutionary industrial applications. This project will address key issues regarding these phenomena by investigating several exemplary complex oxides. The outcome will advance our understanding of how the spin, charge and crystal lattice are correlated to cause such effects. The research will provide important information on how to better engineer the properties for future technical applications. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in state-of-the-art crystal growth and characterization techniques at several international top research institutes, and will have opportunities to develop their own international research network.