Condensed Matter Physics Division

Mandate

  • Condensed Matter Physics Division (CMPD) pursues several theme based research programs: investigation of structure and physical properties of materials under extreme conditions such as high pressures, low temperatures, high temperatures and high magnetic fields. Further, over the years various facilities for the synthesis of novel, superhard materials have been established including a Laser Heated Diamond Anvil Cell (LHDAC) facility. The systems under investigation encompass nuclear materials, superconductors, strongly correlated systems, magnetocaloric materials, topological insulators, multiferroics, energetic materials, frustrated systems, f-electron based intermetallics and oxides, glasses and super hard transition metal borides.

  • Research is also pursued to investigate emergent phenomena and proximity effects in heterostructures. Dynamic light scattering and confocal microscopy are utilized for studies on soft condensed matter. Optical trapping and manipulation of mesoscopic particles using holographic optical tweezers (HOTs) to study inter-particle interactions in colloidal suspensions/biological systems are being pursued. Besides there is also an intense effort towards quantum metrology based research studies using entangled photons.
  • Achievements

    Expertise

    Infrastructure