Strongly Correlated Electron Phenomena in Rare Earth and Actinide Intermetallics

这个更新的个人研究者奖是给加州大学圣地亚哥分校的一位资深教授，他的项目是研究稀土和锕系金属间化合物中强电子相关性产生的新型电子态和现象。这些状态和现象包括非费米液体行为；“重费米子”状态；能隙仅为几meV的绝缘态；以及一种奇特的超导状态，其中超导电子的配对可能由反铁磁自旋涨落介导。这个项目有几个目标：描述新的电子状态和现象，确定它们发生的条件，确定潜在的微观机制，并测试相关理论。该项目将涉及各种稀土和锕系化合物的制备，并测量其基本的电学、热学和磁性。从测量中获得的信息将用于修改材料参数，这将极大地促进电子相图的探索和寻找新的现象和f电子材料。虽然这些研究具有基本的科学兴趣，但将要研究的材料和电子特性可能具有技术应用，例如热电冷却，磁信息存储和铁电器件。该项目的一项重要任务是在加州大学圣地亚哥分校和合作机构培养博士后和研究生。与加州大学圣地亚哥分校以及其他大学、国家和工业实验室的其他研究小组的合作将向年轻的研究人员灌输材料研究的跨学科方法。这个更新的个人研究者奖是给加州大学圣地亚哥分校的一位高级教授，他的项目专注于具有不寻常物理性质的稀土和锕系金属间化合物。这些不寻常的性质可以追溯到这些元素部分填充的f电子壳层。该计划的目的是研究这些化合物中出现的新现象，包括超导性，磁性和所谓的“非费米液体行为”，其中在极低温度下的物理性质与经典金属有很大不同。该项目将包括制备这些材料并表征其电学、热学和磁性能。某些材料的制备和专业测量的性能将与加州大学圣地亚哥分校和其他机构的研究人员合作进行。虽然这个研究项目是为了回答基本的科学问题，但技术应用，如热电冷却，磁信息存储和铁电器件，可能会为这些材料找到。在加州大学圣地亚哥分校和合作机构培养博士后和研究生是这个项目的一个重要目标。通过与加州大学圣地亚哥分校和其他大学、国家和工业实验室的其他研究小组的合作，这些年轻的研究人员将被灌输跨学科的方法来研究材料。＊＊＊

This renewal individual investigator award is to a senior professor at the University of California, San Diego for a project to study novel electronic states and phenomena produced by strong electronic correlations in rare earth and actinide intermetallic compounds. These states and phenomena include non-Fermi liquid behavior; a "heavy fermion" state; an insulating state with an energy gap of only a few meV; and an exotic superconducting state in which the pairing of superconducting electrons may be mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. There are several objectives of this project: to characterize the novel electronic states and phenomena, determine the conditions under which they occur, identify the underlying microscopic mechanisms, and test relevant theories. The project will involve the preparation of a wide variety of rare earth and actinide compounds, and the measurement of their fundamental electrical, thermal, and magnetic properties. Information gained from the measurements will be used to modify material parameters that will greatly facilitate the exploration of electronic phase diagrams and the search for new phenomena and f-electron materials. While these studies are of fundamental scientific interest, the materials and the electronic properties that will be investigated may have technological applications, such as thermoelectric cooling, magnetic information storage, and ferroelectric devices. An important mission of this project is the training of postdoctoral associates and graduate students at UCSD and the institutions of collaborators. The collaborations with other research groups within UCSD and at other university, national, and industrial laboratories will instill in the young investigators interdisciplinary approaches to the study of materials. %%%This renewal individual investigator award is to a senior professor at the University of California, San Diego for a project that focuses on rare earth and actinide intermetallic compounds that have unusual physical properties. These unusual properties can be traced to partially filled f-electron shells of these elements. The objective of this program is to study the novel phenomena which arise in these compounds including superconductivity, magnetism and so-called "non-Fermi liquid behavior" in which the physical properties at very low temperatures are profoundly different from classical metals. The project will involve preparing these materials and characterizing their electrical, thermal, and magnetic properties. The preparation of certain materials and the performance of specialized measurements will be performed in collaboration with researchers at UCSD and other institutions. Although this research program is directed towards answering fundamental scientific questions, technological applications, such as thermoelectric cooling, magnetic information storage, and ferroelectric devices, may be found for the materials. The training of postdoctoral associates and graduate students at UCSD and the institutions of collaborators is a significant goal of this program. These young investigators will be instilled with interdisciplinary approaches to the study of materials as a result of these collaborations with other research groups within UCSD and at other university, national, and industrial laboratories. ***