Frustrated Magnetism


Systems that display geometrical frustration are characterized by competing interactions of similar energy scales that cannot be simultaneously minimized due to lattice geometry. Frustrated magnetism is an emergent phenomenon observed in materials where the relative arrangement of spins stems from the magnetic interactions between neighboring spins and the local lattice structure. In these materials, lattice geometry inhibits the formation of an ordered ground state inducing a macroscopic degeneracy. Materials displaying geometrical frustration have been shown to host complex spin structures such as the spin ice state, spin glasses, and spin liquids, and exotic magnetic excitations such as magnetic monopoles and spinons. In the Beekman group we grow thin films of frustrated magnets in order to observe how strain, through the regulation of lattice geometry, and film thickness can affect frustration and the ground state of these systems. In order to assess whether strain can be used to control the magnetic properties of these frustrated materials we utilize x-ray and neutron scattering as well as bulk magnetization measurements to probe our samples. Through our research we hope to furnish a better understanding of frustrated magnetism and how we can potentially use these frustrated magnets in future novel electronics.

Systems that display geometrical frustration are characterized by competing interactions of similar energy scales that cannot be simultaneously minimized due to lattice geometry. Frustrated magnetism is an emergent phenomenon observed in materials where the relative arrangement of spins stems from the magnetic interactions between neighboring spins and the local lattice structure. In these materials, lattice geometry inhibits the formation of an ordered ground state inducing a macroscopic degeneracy. Materials displaying geometrical frustration have been shown to host complex spin structures such as the spin ice state, spin glasses, and spin liquids, and exotic magnetic excitations such as magnetic monopoles and spinons. In the Beekman group we grow thin films of frustrated magnets in order to observe how strain, through the regulation of lattice geometry, and film thickness can affect frustration and the ground state of these systems. In order to assess whether strain can be used to control the magnetic properties of these frustrated materials we utilize x-ray and neutron scattering as well as bulk magnetization measurements to probe our samples. Through our research we hope to furnish a better understanding of frustrated magnetism and how we can potentially use these frustrated magnets in future novel electronics.



Strongly Correlated Insulators