Spatial and Temporal Complexity in Disordered Strongly Correlated Electronic Systems

无序强相关电子系统中的时空复杂性

• 批准号: 1106187
• 负责人: Erica Carlson
• 金额: $ 28.5万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-08-15 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1106187&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Spatial; Temporal; Complexity; Disordered; Strongly

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Novel materials with strong electronic correlations can lead to spontaneous electronic pattern formation and complexity at the nanoscale. Understanding the formation of these patterns may be a key to our understanding of the macroscopic electronic properties and to our eventual technological control of these materials. The PI will use techniques from disordered and glassy systems to determine the fundamental physics governing the nanoscale pattern formation. Broader impacts include mentoring graduate women in physics, outreach to high schools, and the training of graduate students. While there is growing consensus that many strongly correlated electronic systems are highly susceptible to pattern formation at the nanoscale, unfortunately most of our theoretical and experimental tools are designed for understanding and detecting homogeneous phases of matter. The PI will design and develop new ways of understanding, detecting, and characterizing electronic pattern formation in strongly correlated electronic systems at the nanoscale, especially in the presence of strong disorder effects. The PI will employ techniques from the study of glasses and disordered phases both in and out of equilibrium with the aim to determine the fundamental physics governing the nanoscale pattern formation, as well as how the macroscopic behavior that arises from novel nanoscale structure. A goal of the research is that several conventional and widely available experimental techniques will include new modes of the way data is acquired and its analysis and new theoretical tools that enable the detection and characterization of novel phases of matter.The PI will continue to develop the mentoring program she began for graduate women in the physics program at her home institution. The PI will visit local high schools to discuss her research. This outreach combines interactive hands-on superconductivity demonstrations with education about current condensed matter research. In addition, the proposed work will advance the training of one graduate student. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY:This award supports theoretical research and education on the complex pattern formation which has been observed to occur among the electrons in an interesting class of materials that include high-temperature superconductors and colossal magnetoresistance materials. Useful conceptualizations of electronic states in many materials are often based on the idea that electronic states inside the material are uniform. The electronic states in ordinary metal wires, in semiconductors and in some magnets are examples. High temperature superconductors have emerged as examples that break this paradigm in a new way. The electrons themselves form intricate patterns inside the materials. This kind of clumpy behavior among the electrons may hold the key to some of the exotic properties which have been observed in the larger class of strongly correlated materials. The name reflects the role of strong interactions among electrons leading to correlations in their motions. Of specific interest to the PI are technologically important properties such as high temperature superconductivity, which may have impact on technologies to increase energy efficiency, and colossal magnetoresistance materials which exhibit an amazingly large change in resistance to electric current flow when placed in a magnetic field. Some examples of this pattern formation are also fractal in character, meaning that the patterns simultaneously incorporate similar structural details at small, medium, and large length scales.Current theoretical and experimental techniques are inadequate for detecting or classifying the clumpy behavior of the electrons inside these materials. The PI will design and develop new ways of understanding, detecting, and characterizing electronic pattern formation in these strongly correlated materials on the length scales of atoms and molecules. In order to accomplish this, the PI will use techniques from the study of glasses such as window glass and other disordered materials with an aim to determine the fundamental physics responsible for the complex pattern formation of the electrons inside these materials. A possible outcome of this research is that several conventional and widely available experimental techniques will have at their disposal new modes of data acquisition and analysis and new concepts that will enable the detection and characterization of new inhomogeneous phases of matter. This project also supports training one graduate student, mentoring graduate women in physics, and outreach to local high schools which combines interactive hands-on superconductivity demonstrations with education about the PI's current research in condensed matter physics.

技术综述：具有强电子相关性的新材料可以在纳米尺度上导致自发的电子图案的形成和复杂性。了解这些图案的形成可能是我们理解宏观电子性质以及最终对这些材料进行技术控制的关键。PI将使用来自无序和玻璃系统的技术来确定支配纳米级图案形成的基本物理。更广泛的影响包括在物理学方面指导研究生女性，扩展到高中，以及对研究生的培训。虽然越来越多的人达成共识，认为许多强关联的电子系统非常容易在纳米尺度上形成图案，但不幸的是，我们的大多数理论和实验工具都是为理解和检测物质的均相而设计的。PI将设计和开发新的方法来理解、检测和表征纳米级强关联电子系统中的电子图案形成，特别是在存在强烈无序效应的情况下。PI将使用研究玻璃和无序相在平衡和不平衡之间的技术，目的是确定支配纳米级图案形成的基本物理，以及如何从新的纳米级结构中产生宏观行为。这项研究的一个目标是，几种传统的和广泛可用的实验技术将包括数据获取及其分析的新模式，以及能够检测和表征物质的新阶段的新理论工具。PI将继续开发她为在她所在机构的物理课程中的研究生女性开始的指导计划。私家侦探将访问当地的高中，讨论她的研究。这一推广活动将互动的实际超导演示与关于当前凝聚态研究的教育相结合。此外，拟议的工作将推进一名研究生的培训。非技术摘要：该奖项支持关于复杂图案形成的理论研究和教育，这种复杂图案的形成已被观察到发生在包括高温超导体和巨磁电阻材料在内的一类有趣的材料中。许多材料中有用的电子态的概念通常是基于材料内部的电子态是一致的这一想法。普通金属线、半导体和某些磁体中的电子态就是例子。高温超导体已经成为以一种新的方式打破这一范式的例子。电子本身在材料内部形成错综复杂的图案。电子之间的这种块状行为可能是在更大一类强关联材料中观察到的一些奇异性质的关键。这个名字反映了电子之间强烈相互作用的作用，导致了它们运动中的关联。PI特别感兴趣的是重要的技术特性，如高温超导，这可能会对提高能源效率的技术产生影响，以及巨大的磁阻材料，当置于磁场中时，其对电流流动的阻力会显示出惊人的巨大变化。这种图案形成的一些例子在性质上也是分形的，这意味着这些图案同时包含了小、中、大长度的相似结构细节。目前的理论和实验技术不足以检测或分类这些材料中的电子的块状行为。PI将设计和开发新的方法来理解、检测和表征原子和分子长度尺度上这些强关联材料中的电子图案形成。为了实现这一目标，PI将使用研究玻璃(如窗户玻璃和其他无序材料)的技术，目的是确定这些材料中电子复杂图案形成的基本物理原因。这项研究的一个可能结果是，几种广泛可用的传统实验技术将拥有新的数据采集和分析模式，以及能够探测和表征新的非均相物质的新概念。该项目还支持培训一名研究生，在物理学方面指导研究生女性，并向当地高中推广，后者将互动实践超导演示与关于PI当前凝聚态物理研究的教育相结合。