Geometrically frustrated magnetism
ABSTRACT :
The topic of ‘geometrically frustrated magnetism’ is one of the important fields of research in modern condensed matter physics. In this talk, after introducing this concept, I will highlight magnetic behaviour of two distinct families of materials, namely spin-chain oxides and kagome intermetallics (Ca3Co2O6 and its derivatives, and R3Ru4Al12 respectively), mainly to bring out that (non-trivial) cooperative phases tend to compete, before attaining complex antiferromagnetic ground states, as a manifestation of geometrical frustration.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Prof. E. V. Sampathkumaran received his undergraduate degree from University of Madras and Ph.D. degree from TIFR, Mumbai. Currently he is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, TIFR, Mumbai. He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, J. C. Bose Fellowship, MRSI Medal, INSA Young Scientists Medal and Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. He is also a member of editorial board of several journals. He is a fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India and The World Academy of Sciences. Prof. Sampathkumaran’s research interests include magnetism and superconductivity of physics of d- and f-electron systems, Kondo lattices, geometrically frustrated magnetism, spin-chain magnetism, multiferroics and nanomagnetism.