Executive Summary : | The organization of many objects interacting with one another, resulting in new entities with properties that are far greater than the sum of their parts, is a significant phenomenon in nature. The ability to think, for example, is a property of the brain as a whole, the result of interactions involving many neurons exchanging information in an organized fashion, rather than a property of a single individual neuron. Similarly, electrons in many technologically important materials exhibit some order in that they coordinate their movements with one another to avoid the strong repulsion that occurs when they are brought close together. Quantum materials are materials whose properties are largely determined by quantum mechanical processes at microscopic length scales, and which exhibit phenomena and functionalities that classical physics does not predict. During the last decade, there has been a lot of interest in the development of quantum materials with features and abilities that appear at high temperatures and exhibit extraordinary tunability with atomic-scale accuracy. Many of the amazing properties of quantum materials result from strong interactions between their electrons and the wide range of ordered states that result, including superconductivity (Sc), that arise as a result, frequently close to one another in a phase diagram. The pairing mechanism in BCS superconductors is via phonons, but the pairing mechanism in unconventional Scs such as heavy fermions, cuprates, organic, Fe-based Scs, and so on is unknown. Skutterudites exhibit multigap behavior, whereas caged type Scs exhibit broken time-reversal symmetry. In this project, we propose to (1) synthesize novel, technologically useful superconductors, (2) microscopic and macroscopic examination of the materials, and (3) study their bulk properties such as resistivity, magnetism, heat capacity, and so on, which will aid in our understanding of emerging unconventional superconductors such as Skutterudites, Caged, Quasi 1D, topological Scs, and so on. With the help of our theoretical partners, we will also investigate the electronic structure of these new quantum materials. This research project intends to boost the use of materials in a variety of industries, including quantum computing, thermoelectric devices, memory storage devices, and superconducting magnets in supercomputers. The aforementioned project is seeking funding for raw materials for sample synthesis, consumables, and a contingency for laboratory operating costs, as well as a travel grant, to conduct experiments in other laboratories. New approaches and technologies will accelerate the discovery of new quantum materials while also improving our ability to investigate, predict, and exploit their extraordinary properties. The goal of this research is to understand and control the numerous ordered states that emerge in quantum material multiparameter phase spaces. |