The Jeong Group

Resonance Lab

Questions

“What are the most exotic forms and behaviour of quantum matter that the fundamental principles of our Universe (or a different Universe) would allow? Can we realise on our planet Earth (or elsewhere in the Universe) all such exotic forms and behaviour of matter?”

Our vision is to deepen understanding of quantum matter through design and discovery. Design - we create and control exotic quantum states of matter with guidance of theoretical development. Discovery - we explore uncharted territory of materials under extreme condition.

Anomalous spin transport

Ink drops into water - any different in quantum world? We look into how spin fluctuations propagate in one-dimensional quantum systems. Steady-state transport is one of the simplest of non-equilibrium situations with a long history. However, the field is completely reshaping due to recent theoretical discovery of super-diffusion in one-dimensional Heisenberg spin chains and its unexpected link to non-equilibrium universality class of Kardar-Parisi-Zhang. This research is supported by EPSRC via New Investigator Award (2023-2025). 

Strain tuning of quantum magnets

Just a bit of stress could make our lives much more dynamic - same for quantum matter. Some exotic quantum phases such as quantum spin liquids (highly entangled spins with topological order - potentially useful for building quantum computers) are predicted to exist in theory. Searching for them in real materials, however, is a great challenge because the theoretical models sought after are fine tuned. Then, why don't we directly tune the materials parameters to realise the theoretical models? We use uniaxial strain to tune the quantum magnets to realise exotic quantum ground states, excitations and critical points. This research received seed funding from University of Birmingham (BRIDGE) and Royal Society (Research Grant, 2022-2023).

As our research is funded by public research councils and charities, and also supported in various ways by our colleagues, we are committed to applying our knowledge and sharing expertise for benefits of greater communities and society. We look through the famous Congressional Tesimony by Dr Wilson. 

Dr Robert R. Wilson

Founding Director of FermiLab

“When we spend ... the taxpayers' money, then we have an obligation to give a fair return immediately.”

All group members are encouraged to engage in one of the following themes (one can suggest their own!)

Fundamental physics with cryogenics

Our group is part of the QSNET consortium, which delivers a project of the national programme, Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics, jointly funded by EPSRC and STFC. The goal of the QSNET project is to test stability of fundamental constants such as the fine structure constant and the mass ratio of the proton to the electron. The plan is to link different kinds of Quantum Clocks at different locations. At Birmingham, highly charged-ion clock using a cryogenic ion trap is under construction, for which we share our expertise in cryogenic techniques.

• G. Barontini et al., EPJ Quantum Technology, 9(1), 12 (2022).

Cold energy using magnetic materials

One can raise or lower the temperature of certain materials by applying or removing a magnetic field, respectively. This is called the Magneto-Caloric Effects, which forms a basis of cleaner and more efficient cooling or refrigeration. We share our experitse in magnetic characterisation to support researchers from chemistry, materials and metallurgy for their new design (e.g., involving frustration) and processing (e.g., additive manufacturing or 3D printing) of advanced magneto-caloric materials.

• J. Head et al., Chemistry of Materials, 32 (23), 10184 (2020).

Public outreach in physical sciences

Mingee published more than two dozens of columns and articles for public awareness of physcial sciences. They appeared in a popular webzine, Crossroads, published by Asia-Pacific Centre for Theoretical Physics, and also in major Korean newspapers including Hankyoreh and Munhwa-ilbo. We plan to do such activities in English to reach out more broadly.

The group photo back in early 2022, when we happily gathered after the months long restriction being lifted. Jake joined us from Nottingham for PhD and Jemima and Emily did their Masters Project with us before leaving for Sheffield and Oxford for PhD, respectively.

We support Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and welcome applications from diverse background. Send us an email for informal enquiries.

Postgraduate research students (for PhD)

We may have a fully funded (tuition fee+stipend) PhD position. Strong candidates are expected to have one or more skills from the followings:

• Competent hands-on experimental skills, e.g., electronics or cryogenics.
• Very good at scientific writing, data visualisation or theory
• Strong coding, data analysis, CAD design or instrumentation skills

If you think that you have other quality that would contribute to becoming a successful PhD in quantum materials, we are keen to hear about.

Postdoctoral researchers

We may have an open position, but we encourage candidates to seek for external funds if possible. This helps for their own career development. For instance, we support competent candidates to apply for one of the following fellowship:

• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship
• Newton Fellowship (international)
• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (with previous link to the UK; academic independence)

If you wish to apply for other funds (e.g., from your home country), we are happy to discuss possible support.

Advanced fellows (PI)

We encourage researchers with strong track record to apply for a PI position via fellowship:

• EPSRC Open Fellowship 
• Royal Society University Research Fellowship 

We will be happy to host the fellowship with necessary support (equipment, space, etc.) if their research aligns with or complements ours.

Visiting scholars, journalists, public officials and artists

Please contact us to discuss option for collaboration or support.