The search for new paradigms for a spin liquid state in organic based materials

非技术摘要：一些磁体已经成为我们日常生活的一部分，但对新磁性材料的研究旨在发现磁体显示出新的未被探索的现象。奇特的性质，如量子无序磁态，是基本感兴趣的，但也可以用于新技术。虽然对磁性材料的刻板印象是无机化合物，但这项研究的目标是有机磁体。这些活动包括识别新的有机磁体，并了解如何在压力等外部刺激下调节其中的磁性。这个节目展示了如何通过磁性与光的相互作用来研究和控制磁性。本研究涉及培养不同层次的学生，包括研究生和本科生。一个重点是对STEM感兴趣的妇女的支持。国际和平协会和她的小组成员参与了社区外展活动，如物理和天文学系的开放日。技术摘要：这是一项发现和研究自旋液态新范式的提议。社区为寻找这种物质状态所做的大量努力主要致力于无机材料。相反，这项工作主要集中在有机材料上，灵感来自于他们已经在三角晶格上产生了大量S=1/2的自旋液体候选者。目前的研究超越了这种状态，探索了一种通过耦合到量子顺电(量子偶极液体)中波动的电偶极子来驱动自旋液体状态的可能性。在这个提议中，PI计划检验一个假设，即通过改变分子二聚体单元内的电子轨道重叠，量子偶极液体材料可以在三角形晶格上调谐到S=1/2的“简单”Mott绝缘态。材料方面的新范式将是研究磁性金属-有机骨架，其中磁性金属原子或团簇通过有机连接物连接成二维或三维网络。理论预测，这些金属团簇受挫晶格的材料可以产生自旋液体和Kitaev自旋液体状态。在这份提案中，拉曼散射光谱将被用作发现新材料特性和了解驱动相互作用的主要工具。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical abstract:Some magnets have become a part of our everyday life, but research in new magnetic materials is aimed on discovering magnets showing new unexplored phenomena. Exotic properties, such as quantum disordered magnetic states, are of fundamental interest, but also could be used in new technologies. While a stereotype of a magnetic material is an inorganic compound, this research is aimed on organic magnets. The activities include identifying new organic magnets and understanding how to tune magnetism in them with such external stimuli as pressure. This program shows how to study and control magnetism through its interaction with light. This research involves training of students of various levels, both graduate and undergraduate is carried out. A focus is a support of women interested in STEM. The PI and her group members are involved in community outreach activities, such he Open House Day in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Technical abstract:This is a proposal to discover and study new paradigms for spin liquid state. A large effort of the community to find this state of matter is primarily dedicated to inorganic materials. In contrast, this work is focused on organic materials, inspired by the fact that they have already produced large number of spin liquid candidates with S=1/2 on triangular lattice. The current research goes beyond that state, exploring a possibility of a spin liquid state driven by coupling to fluctuating electric dipoles in a quantum paraelectric (quantum dipole liquid). Within this proposal the PI plans to test a hypothesis that quantum dipole liquid materials can be tuned into a ``simple'' Mott insulating state with S=1/2 on triangular lattice by a change in the electronic orbital overlap within molecular dimer units. New paradigm in terms of materials will be a study of magnetic metal-organic frameworks, where magnetic metal atoms or clusters are connected by organic linkers into two- or three-dimensional networks. Theory predicts that these materials with frustrated lattice of metal clusters can produce spin liquid and Kitaev spin liquid state. In this proposal, Raman scattering spectroscopy will be used as the main tool to discover new material properties and to understand the driving interactions.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.