Physics of Strong Disorder and Correlation

强无序与相关物理学

• 批准号: 1104498
• 负责人: Patrick Lee
• 金额: $ 34.5万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1104498&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Physics; Strong; Disorder; Correlation

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical work on the physics of strongly correlated electronic systems. It is known that many important phenomena in materials science originate from the strong repulsion between electrons in solids. These include all of magnetism, metal-insulator transitions and, more recently, superconductivity. A particularly exciting recent development is the discovery of materials which are candidates for the long sought quantum spin liquid. In these systems the electrons are localized by correlation but their spins do not form an ordered state down to the lowest temperature due to quantum fluctuations. Past theoretical work has predicted that many novel phenomena may emerge at low temperatures, such as specific heat and thermal conductivity which behave like metals in these materials which are charge insulators. These predictions have recently been observed experimentally. The plan is to build on the past success to achieve a deeper understanding of this novel phenomenon. Theory will be developed which aims to explain in detail the experimental observations and to predict new ones. It is possible that an understanding of the quantum spin liquid will pave the way towards an understanding of the high temperature superconductors, especially in the under doped region, where the formation of quantum spin liquids may be the driving force behind the many anomalous properties observed there. Theoretical work on the high temperature superconductors will be pursued armed with new insights gained from the studies of quantum spin liquids. Progress on these long standing problems represent a new paradigm and will have strong impact on condensed matter physics and materials science.NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThis award supports theoretical research and education in condensed matter physics. The theoretical work takes it inspiration from experimental discovery in new materials and aims to explain and predict novel phenomena. Such novel phenomena often arise in materials where electrons are strongly interacting with each other, and this work will focus on this rich arena. Past examples include Nobel winning discoveries such as the fractional quantum Hall effect and high temperature superconductivity. This research area is particularly well suited for the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows because both mathematical sophistication and an understanding of real materials are required to make progress.

技术摘要这一奖项支持有关强相关电子系统物理学的理论工作。 众所周知，材料科学中的许多重要现象源于固体中电子之间的强烈排斥。 这些包括所有磁性，金属 - 绝缘体过渡以及最近的超导性。 最近的一个特别令人兴奋的发展是发现材料，这些材料是长期寻求的量子自旋液体的候选物。 在这些系统中，电子是通过相关性定位的，但它们的旋转不会形成有序状态，直到量子波动引起的最低温度。 过去的理论工作已经预测，许多新现象可能在低温下出现，例如特定的热和导热率，这些电导率像这些材料中的金属一样，是电荷绝缘子。 最近已经通过实验观察到了这些预测。 该计划是在过去的成功基础上，以更深入地了解这种新颖现象。 将开发理论，旨在详细解释实验观察并预测新观察。 对量子自旋液体的理解可能会为对高温超导体的理解铺平道路，尤其是在掺杂的区域中，量子自旋液体的形成可能是在那里观察到的许多异常特性背后的驱动力。 在高温超导体上的理论工作将被武装着从量子自旋液体的研究中获得的新见解。 这些长期存在的问题的进展代表了一个新的范式，将对凝结的物理和材料科学产生强大的影响。本科摘要这一奖项支持凝聚态物理学的理论研究和教育。 理论工作从新材料中的实验发现中汲取了灵感，旨在解释和预测新现象。 这种新型现象通常在电子彼此强烈相互作用的材料中出现，这项工作将集中在这个丰富的舞台上。 过去的例子包括诺贝尔获奖发现，例如分数量子厅效应和高温超导性。 该研究领域特别适合培训研究生和博士后研究员，因为数学成熟和对真实材料的理解都需要取得进展。