Premi Chandra
Rutgers
Abstract:
In this pedagogical talk, I’ll show how polar materials can bring new perspectives to the study of quantum criticality. The emergence of complex states of quantum matter in the vicinity of zero-temperature transitions suggests that such strongly correlated phenomena should be explored in a variety of settings. The connection between quantum criticality and polar materials is not obvious. Quantum phase transitions are typically studied in magnetic systems with links to novel metallic behavior whereas interest in polar materials, specifically insulating ferroelectrics, is often often motivated by room-temperature functionalities. There is much to be gained at the confluence of these two areas. Paraelectric materials in close proximity to ferroelectic quantum critical points can be viewed as “economy” quantum critical systems whose propagating dynamics and few degrees of freedom allow for detailed interplay between analytic approaches, first-principles calculations and laboratory measurements. Additional degrees of freedom like spin and charge can be added and characterized systematically. Unusual superconductivity in doped quantum paraelectrics remains to be understood.