Condensed Matter Physics

The condensed matter group has varied activities in the interdisciplinary areas of condensed matter physics, material science, and nanotechnology. We currently have eight faculty members actively involved in this area. Our individual web sites (linked to our names) will tell you more about our programs. Beside the broader departmental colloquia, we have condensed matter seminars and informal get-togethers and other events. A recent international conference that was organized here was the Carolina Vortex Workshop (a one-day focused meeting on vortices in superconductors and superfluids announcement and pictures). In the coming year there will be another conference organized here on spin systems.

Reseach Areas

Theory of critical phenomena. Numerical methods in statistical and quantum physics. Monte Carlo simulation. Bulk and nano-structured thermoelectric materials. Aharanov-Bohm charge spectroscopy. Colossal magneticresistance. Electron-spin resonance. Biophysics. Domain Dynamics in ferroeletrics. Superconductivity---lead inverse opals, high-dissipaton phenomena, flux-vortex dynamics, metal-insulator transitions, magnetic penetration depth. Magnetic manoparticles and ultrasonic cavitation.

Resources

Varian X-band spectrometer, superheterodyne spectrometer, SQUID suseptometer, 16 Tesla superconducting magnet with He³ cryostat, 2.5 Tesla watercooled magnets, 3-kelvin closed-cycle refrigerator, crystal growth facilities, UHV thin-film deposition system, optical and electron-beam lithography, reactive-ion etching, ion milling, SEM, TEM, STEM, STM, AFM, 48-node IBM SP, IBM 9672-R53 main frame, RS6000 workstations.