The major focus of the Correlated Electron Materials Group’s (CEMG) research involves the discovery and investigation of novel cooperative phenomena and new forms of order, nanoscale electronic phase separation, low-dimensional magnetism, and quantum criticality in transition-metal oxides (TMOs).

A large fraction of the group’s effort is devoted to the discovery of new materials and to the growth of large single crystals of fundamental interest to the condensed matter physics community. TMO single crystals are prepared using a variety of techniques, including flux growth, vapor transport, high-pressure synthesis, and optical-floating-zone growth. The composition of these materials are carefully controlled, and the effects of compositional tuning on the basic physics of the materials are studied using x-ray and neutron diffraction, magnetization, specific heat, and electrical and thermal transport measurements. Once the materials are prepared and carefully characterized, in-depth experiments involving inelastic neutron scattering as well as photoemission and scanning tunneling microscopy are performed to obtain a deeper understanding of the relevant physics.

The research involves most of the basic condensed matter research groups at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (both experimental and theoretical) as well as extensive collaborations with scientists at universities and other national laboratories.