CAREER: Effects of Pressure and Magnetic Field in Strongly-Correlated-Electron Systems with Non-Collinear Magnetism

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project at New Mexico State University will focus on strongly-correlated-electron systems that exhibit non-collinear arrangements of the magnetic moments. Non-collinear order can be perturbed by the application of sufficiently high pressures or high magnetic fields, where different dependencies would allow separating direct and indirect exchange interactions as well as contributions due to coherence, Zeeman and crystal-field terms. A better understanding of the magnetism in strongly-correlated-electron systems will provide indispensable information on the complicated hierarchy of interactions between magnetic moments, the limits of validity of standard models, and the pre-conditions for long-range magnetic order. The project will use the neutron-scattering and high-magnetic-field user facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a substantial portion of the studies will be performed under multi-extreme sample-environment conditions (low temperatures, high pressures, high magnetic fields) that cannot be achieved elsewhere in the world. Graduate students will gain in-depth expertise in the field of magnetism and they will acquire skills in cutting-edge neutron-scattering and high-magnetic-field techniques, which are currently in great demand for forefront research. In addition, this project fosters efforts toward a strong Materials Science Program (a fast-growing field with many rewarding career opportunities) in the predominantly Hispanic communities in Southern New Mexico and Western Texas. %%% Magnetic materials are of extraordinary importance for many technological applications. The development and design of new magnetic devices requires a detailed understanding of the magnetic properties of the material under investigation. Materials with strongly interacting electrons exhibit a variety of fascinating properties, many of which are not completely understood. In these so-called strongly-correlated-electron systems, various interactions can cause the magnetic moments to arrange in an unusual non-collinear fashion. This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project at New Mexico State University will focus on the properties of such non-collinear magnets at world-record external conditions (high pressures and high magnetic fields). The results are expected to provide indispensable input for modeling the magnetism in strongly-correlated-electron systems. Graduate students will be trained in performing world-class research, and this will help to prepare the next generation of leading scientists in Academia, National Laboratories and Industry. In addition, this project fosters efforts toward a strong Materials Science Program (a fast-growing field with many rewarding career opportunities) in the predominantly Hispanic communities in Southern New Mexico and Western Texas. ***