Look Who's at the Lab: Suchitra Sebastian
In Look Who's at the Lab, we profile some of the hundreds of scientists who visit our lab every year.
Suchitra Sebastian reads measurements from a superconducting magnet for an experiment.
The Basics
The Research
Quick Q & A
Title:
Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge (UK)
Mag Lab user since:
2004
Number of visits to the lab:
About nine
Dates of current visit:
June 18-25, 2007
Distance traveled:
4,559 miles / 7,337 km (Cambridge, UK to Tallahassee, Florida)
Research Interests:
"Collective phenomena are ubiquitous, some common examples being the migration of fish schools, a Mexican wave in a football stadium and crickets chirping in unison. A powerful demonstration of collective behavior in physics is seen when microscopic particles act in concert such that quantum phenomena governing these particles are manifested at an observable macroscopic level. Spectacular physical phenomena such as superconductivity, magnetism and superfluidity are examples of quantum phenomena that appear at a macroscopic level. The motivation behind
condensed matter physics is two-fold: to discover new collective forms (known as phases) of matter, and to identify correlations between particles that lead to remarkable but little understood physical phenomena such as high temperature superconductivity. Temperature influences the existence of 'classical phases' such as ice and water, whereas 'quantum phases' are tuned by other parameters such as pressure, magnetic field and chemical doping. My research seeks to discover and understand novel phases by a directed search for new candidate materials and their study under high pressure and high magnetic field."
Web sites:
http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/ses59/,
http://www-qm.phy.cam.ac.uk/sebastian/
Email:
ses59@cam.ac.uk
Selected publications
Sebastian is currently at the lab working on a project with Patrick Rourke and Stephen Julian of the University of Toronto (“Spin-flop Quantum Criticality in CePb3”). She has principally been using the lab’s magnets for projects related to quantum magnetism, and is currently involved in the project outlined below.
Title:
Novel emergent solid phases in the frustrated 2D dimer spin system SrCu2(BO3)2
Participants:
Neil Harrison (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Hanna Dabkowska (McMaster University)
Synopsis:
"The research project involves the search for new phases in 'frustrated' magnets. These display the unusual property that component spins are 'frustrated' by their neighbors from aligning in their preferred orientation. The result is often an unusual arrangement of spins, leading to exotic physics. Our previous research has shown that the purple pigment BaCuSi2O6 (Han purple) loses a spatial dimension at very low temperatures due to frustration. We are currently studying the intriguing sequence of magnetization steps in SrCu2(BO3)2 with a view to identifying novel phases in this frustrated material."
Facility:
DC Field Facility
Equipment:
35 T resistive magnet with dilution refrigerator
Techniques:
Magnetization measurements using a torque cantilever
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Q:
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Favorite thing about working at the lab:
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A:
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It’s like parachute jumping – all that preparation over many months boils down to eight hours of adrenaline rush in the magnet lab. You need intense focus, intuition, split-second decision making and strong camaraderie within the team to make it work. |
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Thing you miss most about home when you’re here:
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Missing auditions and practices for plays I really want to be in.
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Q:
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Your proudest science moment:
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A:
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Having a research student I mentored say I taught him about life.
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Q:
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What keeps you awake at night:
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A:
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Adventuring, forgetting what time zone I’m in.
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Q:
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The most unscientific thing about you:
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A:
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A love for the nonsensical: funny narratives of incredible occurrences enchant me far more than logic and reason. Hanging out with friends to me means doing wacky things like fountain hopping or taking a bus to Mexico on a whim, not having profound discussions that analyze things to death. Oh yes, and I don’t watch science fiction! |
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Your hero:
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The anti-hero.
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Q:
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Last book you read:
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A:
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William the Outlaw, by Richmal Crompton. Tales of a mud-encrusted perpetual 11-year-old who is always getting into scrapes.
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Q:
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Parting thoughts on science today:
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A:
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Science is all about probing the marvels of the created universe. We’re researching these incredibly intricate physical mechanisms that underlie the way things work. Where do we look? Most often, the answer is that if you look somewhere new, you’ll stumble across something fascinating. It’s important to ask the "what if" questions, to not be afraid of stepping into unknown terrain – that’s where the possibility of discovery really lies.
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Date posted: June 19, 2007
