Electronic structure and collective states of 2D quantum materials.

As part of a generously-funded research project from the Leverhulme Trust, we are seeking an ambitious and motivated PhD student to join a major research initiative aimed at investigating the electronic structure and collective states of two-dimensional quantum materials.

The remarkable properties of graphene, a single atom-thick layer of carbon, has spurred enormous interest in 2D materials. In this project, you will seek to develop 2D material systems which incorporate the effects of pronounced electronic interactions, focusing on transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds. Bulk TMDs are known to support a wide variety of striking physical properties such as superconductivity and charge density-wave states, but how these are modified when the material is restricted to just a single layer in thickness are only starting to be explored. Combining strongly-interacting 2D materials in different configurations and environments promises a huge array of exciting possibilities to stabilise rich phase diagrams and unique properties. The work undertaken will build on the group’s existing activity in the study of TMDs, strong spin-orbit, topological, and interacting electron systems [e.g. 1-6], and ultimately aims to develop new routes towards the "on-demand" control of the quantum many-body system underpinning the physical properties of 2D quantum materials. The precise work to be undertaken will depend on the interests of the student, and could include: developing the growth of single monolayers and heterostructures of TMD compounds using a recently-installed state-of-the-art molecular-beam epitaxy system in St Andrews; utilizing a linked system for angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to probe the resulting electronic structure and many-body interactions of the materials synthesized; further ARPES and spin-resolved ARPES work at international synchrotrons. As part of this project, you may also undertake experiments at national and international facilities. Thus, a willingness to travel is an essential prerequisite.