Professor Tom Lancaster 

Professor in the Department of Physics

What do you do?

How are you involved in this area of science? 

Muon spectroscopy involves the measurement of magnetic fields in a material using implanted muons, which are subatomic particles created using accelerators. 
We use first-principles computations to understand the quantum-mechanical state of the stopped muon that we then use as a microscopic spy to probe magnetic materials. We apply this technique to the magnetism that can occur in two and one-dimensions, and to magnetic excitations like the skyrmion: a vortex of magnetic fields that can be found in a range of materials.

What do you love about this topic?

This topic combines several different areas of physics, from the applied particle physics of making muons, to the numerical physics of computing its state and interactions and, most importantly, to understanding the fundamental, quantum mechanical workings of magnetic materials.

How does this work deliver real-world impact?

When atoms form a solid and electrons interact, collective phenomena emerge. These phenomena include the phases of magnetic order, superfluidity and superconductivity, the emergence of new particles such as the magnon or the phonon and the occurrence of topological objects such as kinks and vortices. Condensed matter physics is the investigation of this exotic world and provides the same fundamental insight into the Universe as the study of elementary particles or black holes. By studying magnetic materials we potentially have access to the underlying workings of Nature. It's difficult to imagine anything with more impact.