Christopher Stock

Research interests

My research interests include the application of scattering techniques to the study of strongly correlated electronic and magnetic systems.  The primary focus is on neutron scattering which is sensitive to both nuclear and magnetic cross sections.  

 There are two particular topics of interest.  

 1) Quantum phase transitions and superconductivity - Metallic systems where quantum fluctuations dominate often reveal new phases and transitions in materials.  Examples of such cases is the presence of high temperature superconductivity in iron and copper based systems.  Other examples include systems based upon 4f elements which display unusual metallic properties at low temperatures.  Owing to the presence of strong electronic correlations and local magnetism in these materials, neutron scattering can provide a unique and bulk probe of the microscopic properties.

 2) Ferroelectricity and magnetism in oxides - The existence of magnetism and ferroelectricity are usually considered exclusive, but there has been a discovery of a series of materials where both properties coexist and are even coupled.  The prospect of tuning a ferroelectric moment with a magnetic field, or a magnetic moment with an electric field, has broad applications to industry and novel devices.  Magnets where the interactions are frustrated, or cancel, as a result of lattice geometry provide a natural framework for searching for new multiferroic materials.  Given that neutrons are sensitive to both nuclear and magnetic cross sections, they provide an optimal technique for studying these systems and investigating their properties as a function of an external field.

 Beyond the use of scattering to investigate these systems, I am also interested in synthesizing new materials and optimizing this for the production of large samples for neutrons.  Bulk characterization, including heat capacity and susceptibility, are also used to support scattering measurements.

Biography

I obtained my bachelors and doctoral degrees from the University of Toronto in experimental condensed matter physics completing my studies in December 2004.  The scattering work in my thesis was primarily done at Chalk River Laboratories (Chalk River, Canada).  I then took up a two year NSERC postdoctoral position at Johns Hopkins University.  From 2007-2012, I was an instrument scientist at the ISIS Facility (Didcot, UK) and the NIST Center for Neutron Research (Gaithersburg, USA).  Since September 2012, I have been based at the University of Edinburgh in the School of Physics and Astronomy.   

Websites

http://arxiv.org/find/cond-mat/1/au:+Stock_C/0/1/0/all/0/1

Administrative roles

CSEC Seminar Coordinator (2012-present)

contributer - CM-DTC graduate course in probes of condensed matter (2012-2014)

contributer - CM-DTC graduate course in magnetism (2012-2015)

contributer - Physics Skills (2012-present)

contributer - Group projects (2012-present)

contributer - Semester and MPhys projects (2013-present)

coordinator - Third year quantum mechanics (2014-present)

Christopher currently offers the following PhD project opportunities:

Christopher has featured in the following recent School news stories:

Recent publications