X-ray and neutron scattering studies of quantum materials

在过去的一个世纪里，技术的进步在很大程度上归功于我们对新材料的基本物理学的理解，以及我们适应功能应用的材料的组成和结构的能力。另一方面，这些开发新材料的努力导致了一个非凡的量子物理原子尺度实验室的建立。量子材料，如高温超导体，表现出极其复杂的量子相，它们之间的转变仅由成分的微小变化或通过施加外部扰动（如磁场或压力）来驱动。正是这种对外部扰动的高度敏感性，使这种复杂的量子材料成为电子、通信和能源等功能应用的理想选择，而对其物理性质的详细了解对于此类应用是必要的。特别感兴趣的是研究新的量子相，以及这些相之间的过渡和/或竞争。例如，量子自旋液相由于其奇异的基态性质和可能对超导性的影响而引起了人们的广泛关注。在量子自旋液相中，由于强量子涨落而破坏了传统的磁秩序。最近发现了一些具有自旋液相特征的有机量子磁体，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.