Research Projects

Magnetism in noncollinear magnetic structures leads to phenomena like spin frustration and topological phases, which could be useful in spintronic devices. Understanding these phenomena requires studying magnetic interactions and magnetostructural coupling in compounds. Current studies focus on Mn3Z type Heusler alloys, but the magnetostructural coupling in these materials remains elusive. A new approach is proposed to study the effects of structural evolution on magnetotransport properties by tailoring the carbon content in Mn3GaCx compounds. The presence of more than one crystallographic phase for carbon deficient compounds will help understand the magnetostructural couplings between Heusler and antiperovskite phases. To better understand the phase transition and coupling between phases, the carbon content in other systems will be tailored. Structure-sensitive techniques like temperature-dependent x-ray and neutron diffraction will be used to investigate the evolution of crystallographic and magnetic structures. Magnetic and transport properties will be studied using a combination of temperature and field-dependent magnetometry. The origin of crystallographic distortions and magnetostructural couplings will be investigated using x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements.