NSF Monthly Highlights
The National Science Foundation periodically solicits science highlights from the Magnet Lab. These monthly highlights, selected by MagLab Director Greg Boebinger, represent the most promising and cutting-edge research underway in the lab’s seven user programs. Below are our monthly highlights for 2013.
NSF Annual Highlights
In addition to these monthly highlights, the MagLab also compiles lists of NSF Annual Highlights.
Also visit our NSF Annual Highlights page for a compilation of end-of-year annual highlights. Or, for a list of select MagLab-enabled research recently published in prominent journals, please consult our Research Summaries page.
View 2012 Monthly Highlights
Click on a highlight’s title to view a PDF with more details.
2013 Monthly Highlights
Quantum Spin Ice: Pyrochlore Quantum Magnet Tb2Ti2O7 at Ultra-Low Temperatures
New research at the lab’s High B/T facility supports the proposal that the disordered ground state of terbium titanate is a quantum spin ice.
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Date: July 15, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: UF / High B/T Facility
Instrument: 21.1 T Bruker MRI scanner
Contact: Neil Sullivan
Grants:G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); X. F. Sun (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
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In vivo Chlorine and Sodium MRI of Rat Brain at 21.1 T
Using the lab’s 21 tesla magnet to image chlorine in the brain, researchers explore new ways to track tumor growth.
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Date: July 15, 2013
Research Area: Biochemistry
Site / Program: FSU / NMR-MRIs@FSU
Instrument: 21.1 T Bruker MRI scanner
Contact: Victor Schepkin
Grants:G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118)
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Magnetic Field-Induced Delocalized to Localized Transformation in GaAs:N
Using optical spectroscopy and the MagLab’s unique 60 tesla long-pulse magnet in Los Alamos, scientists have shown how nitrogen dopant atoms in gallium arsenide (GaAs) can form extended “supercluster” states or can break up into localized nitrogen clusters. Nitrogen-doped GaAs (GaAs1-xNx) is a semiconductor alloy with potential applications for a wide range of energy-related applications such as photovoltaics.
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Date: June 5, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: LANL / Pulsed Field Facility
Instrument: 60 T Long-Pulse magnet
Contact: Scott Crooker or Kirstin Alberi
Grants: NREL: DOE Office of Science Basic Energy Sciences under DE-AC36-08GO28308; NHMFL: G. S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118)
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Massive Dirac Fermions and Hofstadter Butterfly in a van der Waals Heterostructure
Thanks to conditions created by the MagLab’s 45 tesla hybrid magnet, scientists have made a technological breakthrough on graphene: When they placed it on top of hexagonal boron nitride, graphene became a semiconductor.
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Date: June 5, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: FSU / DC Field Facility
Instrument: 45 T Hybrid magnets
Contact: Pablo Jarillo-Herrero or Ray Ashoori or Ben Hunt
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118, DMR-1157490); P. Jarillo-Herrero (DOE DE-SC0001819); R. C. Ashoori (DOE DE-FG02-08ER46514 and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation GBMF2931)
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Hofstadter’s Butterfly in Moiré Superlattices
Using the 45 tesla hybrid magnet, researchers at the MagLab observed the long-predicted but never-before-seen fractal known as the Hofstadter butterfly. This work enriches our understanding of the basic physics of electrons in a magnetic field and opens a new route for exploring the role of topology in condensed matter systems.
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Date: June 5, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: FSU / DC Field Facility
Instrument: 45 T Hybrid and 31 T Resistive magnets
Contact: Philip Kim or Cory Dean
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118); P. Kim (DOE DE-FG02-05ER46215)
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Combining Cryogenic Electron Microscopy and Mass Spectrometry to Create a Pseudo-Atomic Model of the COPII Cage
Using a novel combination of techniques, scientists researching the COPII protein created a pseudo-atomic model of the COPII cage, gaining a better understanding of how its 96 subunits fit together.
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Date: June 5, 2013
Research Area: Biochemistry
Site / Program: FSU / ICR
Instrument: 14.5 T FT-ICR Mass Spectrometer
Contact: Alan Marshall
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118), S M. Stagg (NIH R01GM086892; AHA #0835300N)
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Transition From Slow-moving Abrikosov Vortices to Fast-moving Josephson Vortices in an Iron Superconductor
Josephson vortices were unexpectedly observed in the high-temperature iron superconductor SmFeAs(O,F), despite the material’s low electronic anisotropy. This development is important for the future deployment in high-Tc cable technology.
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Date: May 15, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: FSU / DC Field
Instrument: 35 T Resistive Magnet; 45 T Hybrid
Contact: Phillip Moll or Luis Balicas
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118; DMR-1157490); L. Balicas (DOE-BES DE-SC0002613)
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1.5-mm High Temperature Superconducting NMR Probe Optimized for 13C
A new 1.5-mm high-temperature superconducting probe designed to detect carbon 13 will significantly enhance studies in natural products and metabolomics.
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Date: May 15, 2013
Research Area: NMR Instrumentation
Site / Program: UF / AMRIS
Instrument: Probe development for MagLab users
Contact: Art Edison
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); Edison (NIH R01EB009772)
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Artificial and Self-assembled Vortex-pinning Centers in Superconducting Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 Thin Films as a Route to Obtaining Very High Critical-current Densities
Here we study the microstructural and transport properties of Co-Ba122 thin films in which secondary non-superconducting phases have been introduced during film growth in two different ways: first by using a Co-Ba122 target
with a small amount of oxygen, second by alternating two different targets: a clean CoBa122 and an undoped Ba122 target.
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Date: April 15, 2013
Research Area: Magnets & Magnet Materials
Site / Program: FSU / Applied Superconductivity Center & DC Field Facility
Instrument: Transmission Electron Microscopes; 35 and 45 T Magnets and Quantum Design 16T-PPMS
Contact: David Larbalestier
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); E.E. Hellstrom (NSF DMR-1006584); G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118); C.B. Eom (DOE DE-FG02-06ER46327)
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Quench Protection for the 32 T All-Superconducting Magnet
A prototype high-temperature superconducting coil for the 32 T all-superconducting magnet was constructed with YBCO tape and successfully tested in the large more resistive magnet at the MagLab.
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Date: April 15, 2013
Research Area: Magnets & Magnet Materials
Site / Program: FSU / Magnet Science & Technology & DC Field Facility
Instrument: 20T Large Bore Resistive Magnet
Contact: Huub Weijers
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654188, NSF DMR-1157490); W.D. Markiewicz (NSF DMR-0923070)
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High-Frequency and-Field EPR Detection of a Di-radical Intermediate
within the Context of Tryptophan Tryptophylquinone Biosynthesis
This work defines a new mechanism for radical-mediated
catalysis of a protein substrate, and has broad implications for
applied biocatalysis and for understanding oxidative protein
modification during oxidative stress.
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Date: April 15, 2013
Research Area: Biochemistry
Site / Program: FSU / EMR Facility
Instrument: 15/17 T Superconducting Magnet
Contact: Jurek Krzystek
Grants: E.T. Yukl (NIH GM-97779); V.L. Davidson (NIH GM-41574); C.M. Wilmot (NIH GM-55659); A. Liu (NSF MCB-0843537)
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Emergence of Superconductivity from the Insulating State in La2-xSrxCuO4
Research on La2-xSrxCuO4 provides a new perspective on the mechanism for the superconductor-insulator transition in cuprates, one of the key questions in condensed matter physics.
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Date: March 15, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: FSU / DC Field Facility
Instrument: SCM–2
Contact: Dragana Popović
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); D. Popović (NSF DMR–0905843);
I. Božović (DOE MA-509-MACA); C. Panagopoulos (EURYI; MEXT-CT-2006-039047; National Research Foundation, Singapore)
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Topology of the Cell Metabolome by NMR
Using a novel NMR approach, scientists characterize the metabolome of E. coli cells, determining 112 topologies of unique metabolites from a single sample.
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Date: March 15, 2013
Research Area: Biochemistry
Site / Program: FSU / NMR Facility
Instrument: Bruker 800 MHz NMR Spectrometer
Contact: Fengli Zhang
Grants:G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); R. Brüschweiler (NIH R01 GM066041)
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Characterization of Pine Pellet and Peanut Hull Pyrolysis Bio-Oils by Negative-Ion Electrospray Ionization FT&-ICR Mass Spectrometry
Pyrolysis of solid biomass, in this case pine pellets and peanut hulls, generates a hydrocarbon-rich liquid product
(bio-oil) consisting of oily and aqueous phases. Here, each
phase is characterized by negative-ion electrospray
ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass
spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) to yield unique chemical
formulas for thousands of compounds.
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Date: February 15, 2013
Research Area: Chemistry
Site / Program: FSU / ICR Facility
Instrument: 9/4 T. FT–ICR Mass Spectrometer
Contact: Alan Marshall
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490)
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Magnetic Structure and Magneto–electric Coupling in Multiferroics
Multiferroics — “Spintronics without heat.” Coupled ferromagnetism
and ferroelectricity can provide a new class of functional materials
for needed applications including magnetic sensing, data storage
and manipulation, high–frequency and high–power electronics, and
energy savings.
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Date: February 15, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: LANL / Pulsed Field Facility
Instrument: Pulsed Fields
Contact: Vivien Zapf
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-1157490); Los Alamos LDRD 20100043DR; Rutgers University
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Male and Female Mating Pheromones in Panagrellus redivivus
Nematodes are the most abundant animal on earth, and they live in virtually
every ecological niche on earth. Parasitic species have a significant health and
economic impact through the infection of crops, domestic animals, and
humans. Therefore, we are working to unravel the chemical language used by
nematodes, with the ultimate goals of better understanding the role of small
molecules in regulating behavior and of developing new approaches to control
nematode parasites.
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Date: January 15, 2013
Research Area: Biochemistry
Site / Program: UF / AMRIS
Instrument: AMRIS 600 MHz Bruker with cryoprobe
Contact: Art Edison
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118); A.S. Edison (NIH R01GM085285 )
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Quantum Oscillations in a Candidate Topological Superconductor,
a Copper-doped Topological Insulator: Cu1/4Bi2Se3
A superconducting ground state has been observed at T <
3.8 K in copper-doped Bi2Se3 single crystals. Topological
superconductivity is predicted in this material, assuming the
superconducting electrons follow the linear energy-momentum
dispersion (Dirac-like) seen in graphene and other materials of
current interest. However, this presumption had not yet been
confirmed by quantum oscillation measurements.
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Date: January 15, 2013
Research Area: Condensed Matter Physics
Site / Program: FSU / DC Field
Instrument: SCM 1 and SCM 2 in the MagLab’s Millikelvin laboratory:
18 T / 20 T superconducting magnets, dilution refrigerator, and He3 insert.
Contact: Lu Li, University of Michigan
Grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-0654118) |
More Publications Links
- NSF Annual Highlights
And end-of-year list compiled for NSF.
- Scientific Journals
A database of research by users and affiliated faculty, including recent unpublished research.
- Research Reports
A database of research by MagLab users and affiliated faculty, including the most recent research.
- Research Summaries
These research summaries provide a sampling of MagLab-enabled research recently published in prominent journals.
- MagLab Publications
Includes Flux, MagLab Reports, the Annual Report and other staff-produced publications.
- User Reporting
Instructions for MagLab users on how to report research results to the lab.
