Optics of Quantum Materials

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Superconductivity happens when certain metals lose their electrical resistance at low temperatures. Superconductors are used in hospital MRI machines and in research where high magnetic fields are required. Superconducting materials require expensive cooling and a long term goal is to find a material that is superconducting at room temperature. Such a discovery would revolutionize the electrical power industry. The ultra-high magnetic fields of a room temperature superconductor would lower the size and cost of a fusion reactor promising a boundless supply of pollution-free electrical power and we will look forward to a future where the word electricity is replaced by superconductivity. A recent step towards room temperature superconductivity was the discovery by Mikahil Eremets of superconductivity of liquid hydrogen sulphide compressed between diamond tips to a pressure of 2 million atmospheres with superconductivity starting at a record breaking temperature of -68 degrees Celsius, but still short of room temperature. We formed a collaboration with Eremets, the theorist Jules Carbotte and the synchrotron group of Pascale Roy to use optical spectroscopy to study this material and its unique superconducting properties. Our first results were published in Nature Physics in September 2017. Metallic hydrogen under 3 million atmosphere pressure, discovered by Eremets in 2013 is another potential high temperature superconductor that we want to work on using the synchrotron. At this point in time we are the only group that has developed techniques to study superconductors at ultra high pressures. We plan to extend this capability to even higher pressures in the course of this grant to the point where we can establish superconductivity in metallic hydrogen.***Finally, a completely different project is the development of optical devices using patterns of holes in a metal sheet. They are widely used in millimeter wave astronomy and form an ideal project for summer students. One undergraduate per year will be trained in this program.