Quantum materials above one hundred tesla – QMAHT

Original properties have emerged from the study of quantum matter in high magnetic fields. The new phases that are discovered as higher fields are made available lay the groundwork for future advances in quantum material science at low or even zero field. For instance, the quantum Hall effect, first discovered in high magnetic field, exposed the importance of topology in solids. Today several fundamental issues of quantum material science require magnetic field strength that are beyond reach with current magnet technologies. This project focuses on two of them. First what is the ground state of a three-dimensional (3D) metal in the quantum limit. While in two-dimensional systems, this question has been thoroughly studied since the discovery of the quantum Hall effect, this question remains unanswered in 3D systems. The second question is what is the ground state of a spin liquid when the Zeeman energy is of order of the exchange interaction. Answering that question would yield a significant improvement of our understanding of spin liquids, which are elusive new states of matter. In both cases, a magnetic field enhances the effect of many-body interactions, ultimately driving the systems towards exotic metal – insulator (or liquid -solid) transitions. Unconventional electronic states are thus expected in high magnetic fields, such as excitonic condensates or valence bond crystals. To answer these questions, transport and/or thermodynamic measurements in fields above 100 T are required, well beyond current capabilities offered in high magnetic field facilities. This project aims at developing a new magnet that will break the 100 T barrier, along with new instrumentation in order to address these fundamental questions. The issues raised in this project will also be studied theoretically so as to provide a deeper insight into the quantum phenomena uncovered in high fields.