Rice Laboratory for Emergent Magnetic Materials (RLEMM)

Magnetism and magnetic interactions, driven by how electron motions exert forces on each other, are quintessential many-body effects in quantum materials. They give rise to novel collective phenomena such as quantum spin liquids, unconventional superconductivity, and altermagnetism. This DOE project establishes the Rice Laboratory for Emergent Magnetic Materials (RLEMM), a collaborative research center designed to advance our understanding of magnetism and its interplay with other electronic orders in bulk quantum materials. The understanding of these phenomena will not only enhance our knowledge of basic science, but also gives us the ability to design materials with novel and predictable properties. The RLEMM will be spearheaded by four principal investigators whose combined expertise spans material synthesis and discovery, neutron scattering, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, thermodynamics and transport measurements, and theoretical modeling. The research program will focus on three primary thrusts: (1) elucidating quantum magnetism governed by fractionalized quasiparticles, which are particles with fractional quantum numbers compared to the fundamental particles such lattice vibrations (phonons), potentially useful for quantum computation; (2) exploring unconventional superconductivity emerging from flat electronic bands near the Fermi level; (3) advancing the nascent field of altermagnetism. By fostering a synergistic environment for cutting-edge research, RLEMM aims to enhance our collective efforts to understand and engineer the magnetic quantum materials of the future and the training of the next generation of researchers on quantum materials. We will also organize Frontier Condensed Matter Physics Seminars, where we invite speakers around the world to present online lectures and post the talks on YouTube, to facilitate discussion and dissemination of scientific results.

Funded by the Department of Energy under DE:XXXX -TBD