Quantum Materials
The Quantum Materials program is working towards bringing on the Quantum Age by integrating theory, materials synthesis, and experiments to explore and advance the frontiers of quantum physics. The program is structured around four main thrusts: quantum spin liquids, topological materials, the pseudogap phase of cuprate superconductors, and strange metals. To understand the working principles of such quantum matter, this team is developing new tools, new models, and new materials
RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS
Probing quantum materials with the thermal Hall effect
The thermal Hall effect — or the appearance of a temperature gradient in a material when a magnetic field is applied — has emerged as a potentially powerful new probe of quantum materials. A collaborative Catalyst Fund project led by Quebec-based program Co-Director researcher Louis Taillefer and four program collaborators, who contributed both experimental and theoretical expertise, aims to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms that can give rise to a thermal Hall effect in materials.
Determining a new quantum limit for electrons in “strange” metals
While physicists understand how most metals resist the passage of an electric current, there are some “strange” metals in which electrical resistance is very different in ways existing microscopic theories do not explain. CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Brad Ramshaw (Cornell University) and program Co-Director Louis Taillefer (Université de Sherbrooke) measured the time between two electron collisions in a strange metal (the resistance) and made a surprising finding: the time measured between electron collisions varies with temperature. This dependence is given by Planck’s constant — a fundamental unit of the quantum world. This exciting finding reveals a new fundamental limit of electron behaviour and, further, may reveal a fundamental and universal truth about the universe and the way particles behave.
Building the foundation for new quantum technologies
Inspired by the discussions and interactions at Quantum Materials program meetings, and using the Catalyst Fund as a basis of support, Fellows Andrea Damascelli (University of British Columbia), Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Joshua Folk (University of British Columbia) developed Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) infrastructure at the University of British Columbia’s Quantum Materials Lab. ARPES is the preeminent probe of quantum materials owing to its ability to directly visualize the electronic band structure and allow for a collaborative research effort to study the properties of stacked 2D quantum devices. This apparatus is critical as micron-scale devices have proved challenging to use, as only a handful of international user-based synchrotron facilities have this capability.
Designing an efficient new catalyst
Searching for high-efficiency, low-cost catalysts based on Earth-abundant elements, Fellows Liang Fu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Claudia Felser (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) investigated the chemical properties of a moiré metal for hydrogen evolution reaction — the production of hydrogen through the splitting of water. They showed that the local shift of metallic atoms introduces a variation in surface hydrogen bonding strength and leads to the spatially dependent Gibbs free energy for hydrogen absorption. They predict that their designed catalyst can exceed the efficiency of platinum, which currently holds the current record.
SELECTED PAPERS
Ohtomo, A., and H.Y. Hwang, H.Y. "A high-mobility electron gas at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerface." Nature 427 (2004) : 423-426. ABSTRACT
Doiron-Leyraud, N. et al. "Quantum oscillations and the Fermi surface in an underdoped high-Tc superconductor." Nature 447 (200&) : 565-568. ABSTRACT
Dalidovich, D. et al. “Spin structure factor of the frustrated quantum magnet Cs2CuCl4,” Physical Review B73, 18 (2006). ABSTRACT
LeBoeuf, D. et al. “Electron pockets in the Fermi surface of hole-doped high-Tc superconductors,” Nature 450 (2007). ABSTRACT
Daou, R. et al. “Broken rotational symmetry in the pseudogap phase of a high-Tc superconductor,” Nature463 (2010) : 519-522. ABSTRACT
Comin, R. et al. “Charge Order Driven by Fermi-Arc Instability in Bi2Sr2−xLaxCuO6+δ,” Science 343, 6169 (2014): 390-392. ABSTRACT
Path to Societal Impact
We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Quantum Materials program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.
Government funders and policymakers, leaders at major research infrastructure facilities and universities, and industry, and CIFAR fellows in the Quantum Materials program are developing a national strategy to rebuild Canada’s capacity for materials research using neutron beams.
Area of focus:
- Developing a pan-Canadian, university-led framework for stewardship of Canada’s neutron beam infrastructure
Founded In
1987
Renewal Dates
1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2019
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Condensed matter and quantum physics
Atomic, chemical and computational physics
Nanomaterials and materials engineering
Contact
Fellows & Advisors
Program Directors
Leon Balents
Program Co-Director
Louis Taillefer
Program Co-Director
Fellows
James Analytis
Fellow
N. Peter Armitage
Fellow
Andrea Damascelli
Fellow
Claudia Felser
Fellow
Joshua Folk
Fellow
Marcel Franz
Fellow
Liang Fu
Fellow
Bruce D. Gaulin
Fellow
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
Fellow
Hae-Young Kee
Fellow
Vidya Madhavan
Fellow
Satoru Nakatsuji
Fellow
University of Tokyo
United States
Johnpierre Paglione
Fellow
Subir Sachdev
Fellow
Advisors
Nigel Hussey
Advisory Committee Chair
University of Bristol
United Kingdom
Allan Macdonald
Advisor
André-Marie Tremblay
Advisor
Roser Valentí
Advisor
Amir Yacoby
Advisor
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
Zakaria Al Balushi
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024
Kwabena Bediako
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022
Judy Cha
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019
Alex Frañó
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024
Alannah Hallas
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022
Qiong Ma
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024
Brad Ramshaw
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022
Kate A. Ross
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018
Luyi Yang
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018
Recent News
Advances
A new quantum limit for electrons
July 28, 2021
Event Brief
Canadian Neutron Initiative Roundtable: Towards a National Neutron Strategy
March 17, 2021
Industry & Technology
Neutron scattering for quantum materials research
January 13, 2021
Award
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero honoured with Buckley Prize
October 22, 2019
In Memoriam
In Memoriam: Jules Carbotte (1938-2019)
April 15, 2019Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.