X-ray and neutron scattering studies of quantum materials

过去世纪的技术进步在很大程度上归功于我们对新材料基本物理学的理解，以及我们为功能应用而调整材料组成和结构的能力。另一方面，这些开发新材料的努力导致了一个非凡的原子尺度量子物理实验室的创建。量子材料，如高温超导体，表现出极其复杂的量子相，它们之间的跃迁仅由成分的微小变化驱动，或者通过施加外部扰动，如磁场或压力。正是这种对外部微扰的高度敏感性使得这种复杂的量子材料成为电子、通信和能源领域功能应用的理想选择，而对它们的物理性质的详细了解对于这些应用是必要的。特别感兴趣的是新的量子相，和过渡和/或这些阶段之间的竞争的调查。例如，量子自旋液相，其中传统的磁秩序被破坏，由于强烈的量子涨落，由于其奇异的基态性质和可能的超导性的影响，引起了人们的广泛关注。最近发现了一些具有自旋液相特性的有机量子磁体，我们将对这些材料进行研究。

Technological advances made in the past century owe a great deal to our understanding of the basic physics of novel materials and our ability to adapt the composition and structure of materials for functional applications. On the other hand, these efforts to develop new materials have led to the creation of a remarkable atomic scale laboratory of quantum physics. Quantum materials, such as high temperature superconductors, exhibit extremely complex quantum phases, and transitions between them are driven by only small changes in composition, or through the application of external perturbations such as magnetic field or pressure. It is this great sensitivity to external perturbations that makes such complex quantum materials ideal for functional applications in electronics, communications, and energy, and detailed understanding of their physical properties is necessary for such applications. Of particular interest is the investigation of novel quantum phases, and transition and/or competition between these phases. For example, quantum spin liquid phase, in which conventional magnetic order is destroyed due to strong quantum fluctuations, is drawing much attention thanks to its exotic ground state properties and possible implications for superconductivity. Recently some organic quantum magnets that exhibit certain traits of the spin liquid phase have been discovered, and we will investigate such materials.