Atomic scale dynamics of correlated materials and emergent quantum states

对物质新相的研究常常揭示出以前未知的物理学；它通常还会带来以前难以想象的技术突破。目前，人们对高温超导体、单原子厚片和奇异磁性材料的研究非常关注。每一种材料都有望通过能源和计算机应用彻底改变我们的世界。每一种都涉及到非常复杂的相互作用的原子网络，这些原子负责集体的磁性或电子特性，与通常的金属或磁铁根本不同。然而，复杂性极大地阻碍了对这些新特性的理解和控制。******该研究计划旨在揭示原子相互作用的确切细节，寻求实现材料技术潜力的关键答案，并阐明潜在的物理原理。从许多意义上说，最终的测量方法是将一种对外界刺激作出反应的材料制作成电影。这不仅模拟了技术设备，而且测量材料的动态响应为我们的理解提供了比静态实验更严格的测试。然而，在这些强相互作用的材料中，感兴趣的动力学发生在千万亿分之一秒的时间尺度上，并且在原子尺度上也有所不同。制造超快原子电影是科学界面临的重大挑战之一。******时间分辨扫描隧道显微镜（TR-STMs）的最新进展为这些非凡的电子系统实验揭示了一条道路。本研究计划将TR-STMs应用于具有磁性和电子集体态的材料的原子尺度动力学研究。扫描隧道显微镜的特性允许对电子状态进行直接成像。加入脉冲激光技术可以实现超快的电影制作；测量晶体中每个原子对刺激的反应。与没有原子分辨率的技术相比，这种能力大大减少了由非常复杂的材料结构或无序存在引起的测量歧义。******该计划的重点是研究磁相互作用材料的耗散。这包括能量是如何丢失的，以及一组原子之间的相干性是如何被破坏的。研究结果对高效磁计算和基于自旋的量子计算具有重要意义。在这个程序中，除了磁力之外，还可以研究更多的东西。这为加拿大国内外研究高温超导体等材料的合作打开了大门。追求对新兴量子态的原子理解将为新一代年轻的加拿大科学家提供宝贵的经验，他们将在量子材料的革命性应用中引领科学和工业向前发展。

Investigation of new phases of matter often reveals previously unknown physics; it also commonly leads to previously unimaginable technological breakthroughs. At present great attention is directed towards high-temperature superconductors, single atom thick sheets, and exotic magnetic materials. Each of these materials holds promise to revolutionize our world via energy and computer applications. Each also involves very complex networks of interacting atoms responsible for collective magnetic or electronic properties fundamentally different from the usual metals or magnets. The complexity, however, greatly holds back understanding and control of these new properties. ******This research program is designed to unravel the exact details of atomic interactions, seeking answers critical to realizing the technological potential of the materials as well as elucidating the underlying physics. In many senses the ultimate measurement is to make a movie of a material responding to an external stimulus. Not only does this simulate technological devices, but measuring the dynamic response of a material provides a much more stringent test of our understanding than static experiments. However, in these strongly interacting materials, the dynamics of interest happen on the time scale of a few quadrillionths of a second and also vary on the atomic scale. Creating ultrafast atomic movies is one of the grand challenges facing science. ******Recent advances in time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopes (TR-STMs) have revealed a path to these extraordinary experiments for electronic systems. This research program applies TR-STMs to the investigation of atomic-scale dynamics in materials with magnetic and electronic collective states. The nature of a scanning tunneling microscope allows direct imaging of electronic states. Adding pulsed laser techniques enables ultrafast movie making; measuring the response of each individual atom in a crystal to a stimulus. This capability significantly reduces measurement ambiguity, caused by very complex material structure or the presence of disorder, compared to techniques without atomic resolution. ******The focus of the program is on the study of dissipation in magnetically interacting materials. This includes how energy is lost and how coherence among a group of atoms acting collectively is destroyed. The results have important implications for high efficiency magnetic computing, and spin based quantum computing. A great deal more, beyond magnetism, can be studied in this program. This opens the door to collaborations within and outside Canada studying materials such as high temperature superconductors. Pursuing an atomic understanding of emergent quantum states will provide invaluable experience to a new generation of young Canadian scientists who will lead science and industry forward in the revolutionary applications of quantum materials.