Collaborative Research Center 360
Constrained Quantum Matter
Less is more!
We use carefully chosen constraints to design and
manipulate quantum states in solids, seeking to create new quantum
materials and explore conceptual challenges from quantum information
theory to non-equilibrium physics.
Our outreach project in Augsburg is looking for a motivated student for a Hiwi position!
Our annual Retreat Meeting is coming up!
Frank Pollmann awarded with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz prize 2026
In 2026, another member of the TRR360, Frank Pollmann from the Technical University Munich, is awarded with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz prize 2026 which is handed out by the German Research Foundation (DFG). He will be given this prestigious prize in March 2026 for his work on statistical mechanics of many-body systems and their link to quantum information theory. More details can be found here.
2025 James C. McGroddy Prize awarded to Hidenori Takagi
We are very proud to announce that one member of the TRR 360, Hidenori Tagaki from the MPI for solid-state research in Stuttgart, will be awarded with the 2025 James C. McGroody Prize for New Materials. He is honoured “for seminal theoretical and experimental research, materials design and discoveries that pioneered the exploration of novel forms of topological quantum matter in spin-orbit assisted Mott insulators realized in transition metal oxides”. More information can be found here. The prize will be presented in March 2025.
Next events
Recent Articles
Meier, T. N. G.; Back, C. Thermal stability of skyrmions Journal Article J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 38, 423004 (2026), datadoi: 10.14459/2026mp1859939. @article{meierThermalStabilitySkyrmions2026,Magnetic skyrmions are vortex-like magnetic textures with a topologically nontrivial spin structure making a continuous transformation from the skyrmion to the uniform state impossible. Hence skyrmions are regarded as topologically protected attracting large interest concerning applications in data storage, neuromorphic computing, and digital logic. For such kind of applications an extraordinary stability of the skyrmion state against thermal fluctuations is required. In real matter, due to its discrete nature, topological protection translates into the existence of an energy barrier between the skyrmion and the uniform state leading to a finite skyrmion lifetime. Therefore the experimental determination of the skyrmion lifetime becomes important. Within this work we focus on experimental studies of the skyrmion lifetime in a variety of magnetic systems ranging from monolayers to bulk samples. We discuss previous experimental studies on the thermal stability of magnetic skyrmions in systems based on Fe/Ir(111) and in B20-materials. New experimental results on skyrmion nucleation and decay are obtained for thin Ni/Fe-films on Cu(001) using threshold photoemission magnetic circular dichroism in combination with photoemission electron microscopy (TP-MCD-PEEM). The results are interpreted using an Arrhenius-like activation behavior and evaluated regarding energy barriers and pre-exponential factors of the skyrmion dynamics. |
Ranaut, D.; Unnikrishnan, G.; M, Samraj; Channarayappa, S. K.; Mukharjee, P. K.; Saravanan, P.; Gegenwart, P.; Jaiswal-Nagar, D. Frustrated Garnet Gd3Te2Li3O12 for High-Performance Sub-Kelvin Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigeration Journal Article ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. (2026). @article{ranautFrustratedGarnetGd3Te2Li3O122026,Owing to the limited availability and high cost of 3He, adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration (ADR) has gained considerable attention as an efficient technology for ultralow-temperature applications. Here, we demonstrate the frustrated garnet Gd3Te2Li3O12 (GTLG) as a high-performance ADR material with substantially improved cooling capability over the commercial benchmark Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG). Direct ADR measurements reveal a minimum temperature of 165 mK for GTLG, nearly two-fold lower than that of GGG (320 mK). Under a cryostat bath temperature of 1.8 K, GTLG maintains temperatures below 1 K for more than 12 h and below the 3He-temperature (0.4 K) for over 3 h, demonstrating excellent temperature stability for prolonged cryogenic operation. Magnetic and thermodynamic measurements show that GTLG undergoes antiferromagnetic ordering at TN ∼ 0.25 K while retaining strong magnetic frustration and a large magnetic entropy reservoir favorable for efficient demagnetization cooling. Field-dependent heat capacity and magnetic Grüneisen parameter measurements further reveal the presence of field-induced critical behavior that enables cooling below TN through enhanced entropy accumulation near the critical region. These findings establish GTLG as a promising next-generation magnetic refrigerant and highlight field-induced criticality as an effective design principle for developing advanced materials for ultralow-temperature refrigeration. |
Pazmino, E. I.; Feng, S.; Dhakal, R.; Rousochatzakis, I.; Winter, S. M.; Knolle, J.; Tsirlin, A. A. Beyond Kitaev exchange: Γ'-driven magnetism in Ag3LiRh2O6 Unpublished (2026), arXiv:2610.19770. @unpublished{pazminoKitaevExchangeGammadriven2026,In Kitaev magnets, frustration arises from bond-dependent spin anisotropic interactions, which can potentially realize sought-after quantum spin liquid phases. However, material realizations with dominating Kitaev exchange are scarce and the broad parameter space of extended Kitaev models remains largely unexplored experimentally. Here, we use density-functional theory, cluster many-body, spin-wave, and density-matrix renormalization calculations to show that the recently discovered honeycomb rhodate Ag3LiRh2O6 hosts an off-diagonal exchange Γ′1 that is second in magnitude only to the ferromagnetic Kitaev exchange K1. This combination of K1 and Γ′1 explains key experimental observations, an unusually high magnetic ordering temperature of 94 K at ambient pressure and its rapid decrease under hydrostatic pressure as Ag3LiRh2O6 evolves from ferromagnetic toward zigzag order within the honeycomb planes. Our spin-wave calculations further predict an unusual topology of the magnon bands arising from the Γ′1 term in the spin Hamiltonian of the honeycomb layer. We show that the large trigonal splitting of t2g states enhances Γ′1, the hitherto underappreciated term in Kitaev magnets, and opens the way to new interesting regimes of the extended Kitaev model. |
Prodan, L.; Evans, D. M.; Puntigam, L.; Kézsmárki, I.; Tsurkan, V. Universality of magnetic susceptibility in the conical state of kagome ferromagnet Fe3Sn2 Journal Article Appl. Phys. Lett. 129, 151905 (2026), datadoi: 10.5281/zenodo.15367272. @article{prodan2026universalitymagneticsusceptibilityconical,We report universal behavior of the differential magnetic susceptibility (DMS) in the conical phase that mediates the spin-reorientation (SR) transition of the kagome ferromagnet Fe3Sn2. Within the SR temperature range, the DMS isotherms exhibit extremely narrow crossing regions, forming isosbestic points. Using an isosbestic-invariance analysis, we show that the isotherms collapse onto a single temperature-independent curve, revealing quadratic-in-temperature corrections to the susceptibility. Complementary field-dependent magnetic-force-microscopy measurements uncover the evolution of spin textures from stripe-like domains at low fields to isolated bubble-like domains near the isosbestic field ( textasciitilde0.6T), a behavior not previously reported in bulk Fe3Sn2 within the conical state. These findings point to a universal mechanism for the emergence of complex magnetic textures near isosbestic points, driven by the competition between magnetocrystalline anisotropy, dipolar interactions, and external magnetic field. |
Liu, Y. -J.; Xu, W. -T.; Pollmann, F.; Knap, M. Information-Theoretic Principle of Emergent 1-Form Symmetries Journal Article PRX Quantum 7, (2026), datadoi: 10.5281/zenodo.17652054. @article{liuInformationTheoreticPrincipleEmergent2026, |
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The research programme
We seek to design and utilize new quantum states by taking advantage of the recently developed capability to tailor electron systems in complex materials through a variety of complementary constraints, focusing on spin-momentum locking, gauge structures of interacting spin systems, and kinetic constraints.
News
Here you can find all the important news around the project ConQuMat: recent publication, internal events for project members and opening for various positions.
Outreach - Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Dive with us into the fascinating world of quantum matter! (science communication offers in German)
Es gibt viele Angebote, um die Forschung aus dem Projekt ConQuMat der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Egal ob durch einen Blog, Spiele oder Erlebnisveranstaltungen – tauchen Sie mit uns in die faszinierende Welt der Quantenmaterie ein!