EAGER: SUPER: Experimental characterization of microscopic properties of superconducting polyhydrides; towards a realistic theoretical framework for warm superconductivity

非技术描述：超导体完美地传输电力并排除磁场。超导体的显着特性允许无损能量传输，磁悬浮设备的设计，并且是量子计算技术的关键。基于超导体的技术依赖于在接近环境的条件下工作的超导材料的发现，这仍然是一个未解决的挑战。最近在富含氢的材料中发现了室温下的超导性，尽管是在极高的压力下。为了找到具有较低临界压力的室温超导体，需要具有预测能力的精确理论模型。然而，在实验上，热超导态在微观水平上的特征不足以完全约束理论模型。该项目旨在借助新型光谱工具解决这一问题，这些工具克服了在高压下表征材料的固有困难。通过保持实验和理论之间的反馈回路，该项目将导致开发一个强大的框架来理解温超导性和一个具有直接技术应用预测能力的模型。该项目将培养尖端科学的学生，他们在实验和理论方面都有能力，有远见地跳出框框去探索新的前沿，并领导下一代的科学发现。技术说明：在极压下发现了多晶硅中的热超导态，这只能在金刚石压砧室中实现。大多数的热超导状态的表征，如磁化率和电阻率，都是为了检测超导性的开始。然而，这些测量不足以完全约束理论模型，并限制了理论对达到环境条件超导体的预测能力。约束理论模型的两个基本参数是超导能隙和超导转变附近的电子-声子耦合常数。然而，与环境压力超导体不同，金刚石砧座单元的几何形状和尺寸限制了适用的表征方法的类型。在这个项目中，光谱方法，包括电子拉曼光谱和超快泵浦探测测量在PI的实验室先进的使用与系统的表征的多氢化物超导体的超导状态和基本参数的确定的目标。并行的理论分析和建模将允许接近一个现实的微观模型的超导性的多晶硅和理论指导的发现环境条件下的超导材料。该项目将推进对温超导性及其技术应用的实验和理论理解。学生接受尖端实验和理论技术的培训，并参加研究计划，为他们提供科学方法和理论与观察之间联系的丰富经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Superconductors perfectly transmit electricity and exclude magnetic fields. The remarkable properties of superconductors allow lossless energy transmission, design of magnetically levitating devices, and are key to quantum computation technology. Superconductor-based technology relies on discovery of superconducting materials that operate at conditions close to ambient, which remains an unsolved challenge. Superconductivity at room temperature was recently discovered in hydrogen-rich materials albeit at extremely high pressures. To find room-temperature superconductors with lower critical pressure, an accurate theoretical model with predictive power is required. However, experimentally, the warm superconducting state is insufficiently characterized at microscopic level to fully constrain the theoretical models. This project aims to tackle this issue with the aid of novel spectroscopic tools that overcome inherent difficulties of characterization of materials at high pressures. By maintaining a feedback loop between experiment and theory, the project will lead to the development of a robust framework for understanding warm superconductivity and a model with predictive power for direct technological applications. The project will train students in cutting-edge science who are competent in both experiment and theory, have vision to think out of the box to explore the new frontiers and lead the next generation of scientific discoveries. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Warm superconducting states in polyhydrides have been discovered under extreme pressures, reached exclusively in diamond anvil cells. The majority of characterizations of warm superconducting states, like magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity, are being made with the goal of detecting the onset of the superconductivity. These measurements are however insufficient to fully constrain the theoretical models and set limitations on the predictive power of the theories towards reaching an ambient-conditions superconductor. Two essential parameters for constraining the theoretical models are the superconducting gap and the electron-phonon coupling constant near the superconducting transition. Unlike ambient pressure superconductors, however, the geometry and size of a diamond anvil cell, limits the types of applicable characterization methods. In this project, spectroscopic methods including electronic Raman spectroscopy and ultrafast pump-probe measurements advanced in the PI's laboratory are used with the goal of systematic characterization of the superconducting states of polyhydride superconductors and determination of the fundamental parameters. Parallel theoretical analysis and modeling will allow approaching a realistic microscopic model for superconductivity of polyhydrides and theory-guided discovery of ambient-conditions superconducting materials. This project will advance experimental and theoretical understanding of warm superconductivity and its application in technology. Students receive training in cutting-edge experimental and theoretical techniques and participate in a research program that provides them with a rich experience in scientific method and connection between theory and observations.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.