Look Who's at the Lab: Milton Torikachvili (December 2008)
In Look Who's at the Lab, we profile some of the hundreds of scientists who visit our lab every year.
Milton Torikachvili.
Title: Professor of physics, San Diego State University
Mag Lab user since: 1993
Number of visits to the lab: 12
Dates of most recent visit: December 8-12 2008
Distance traveled: 2,200 miles / 3,540 km (San Diego to Tallahassee)
Research Interests:
My research interest is the study of electronic and magnetic properties of novel materials, in extreme conditions of temperature, magnetic field and pressure.
Email: milton@sciences.sdsu.edu
Title: Magnetoresistance of CaFe2As2 and SrFe2As2 under pressure
Other Participants: Ni Ni, Sergey L. Bud'ko and Paul C. Canfield (Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory)
Synopsis: "The recent finding of superconductivity at elevated temperatures in LaFeAs(O1-xFx) triggered great interest in this and similar materials. Although the structurally related CaFe2As2 and SrFe2As2 and BaFe2As2 are not superconducting under "ambient" conditions, superconductivity can be induced both by doping and by the application of pressure. These three compounds show structural transformations in the 140 - 210 Kelvin (-208 to -82 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature range. The effect of pressure is to suppress and shift these transformations to lower temperatures, and in some cases bring about superconductivity. In this experiment we apply pressures up to 22 katm in our specimens, cooling them to 0.3 Kelvin (-459 °F), and measuring the changes in electrical resistance as a function of the applied magnetic field. These measurements in extreme conditions should help clarify the nature of the electronic interactions in these novel materials."
Facility: DC Field Facility, Tallahassee.
Equipment: 31 tesla magnet and 3He refrigerator
Techniques: Magnetoresistance measurements in hydrostatic pressures up to 22 kbar.
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Favorite thing about working at the lab:
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The exciting atmosphere, the expertise all around you and the ability for probing new physics in a truly unique facility. |
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Thing you miss most about home when you’re here:
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More zzzz's. Coffee and the curry goat at the Jamaican restaurant on Lake Bradford go a long way towards mitigating the problem.
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Your proudest science moment:
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It's a moving target. So far I'm please every time I can dodge red tape long enough to make any progress in research, big or small.
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What keeps you awake at night:
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Not much. I elude earthquakes and caffeine routinely.
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The most unscientific thing about you:
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Way more passion than knowledge.
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Your hero:
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Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. A very cool guy. Pun definitely intended.
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Last book you read:
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A re-run of Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.
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Parting thoughts on science today:
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Humans have many challenges ahead, ranging from societal to environmental sustainability. It is incumbent on scientists to be proactive, to bring their knowledge and talent to the many tables, and to help develop new talent.
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- Hydrostatic pressure study of single-crystalline UNi0.5Sb2
B. K. Davis, M. S. Torikachvili, E. D. Mun, J. C. Frederick, G. J. Miller, S. Thimmaiah, S. L. Bud'ko, and P. C. Canfield
Journal of Applied Physics 103, 07B704 (2008).
- Hydrostatic pressure effects on the electrical transport properties of Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3
F. J. Rueckert, M. Steiger, B. K. Davis, T. Huynh, J. J. Neumeier, M. S. Torikachvili
Physical Review B 77, 64403 (2008)
- Pressure induced superconductivity in CaFe2As2
Milton S. Torikachvili, Sergey L. Bud'ko, and Paul C. Canfield
Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 057006 (2008).
- Effect of pressure on the structural phase transition and superconductivity in (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2 (x=0 and 0.45) and SrFe2As2 single crystals
M. S. Torikachvili, S. L. Bud'ko, N. Ni, and P. C. Canfield
Physical Review B 78, 104527 (2008).
- Pressure-induced volume-collapsed tetragonal phase of CaFe2As2 as seen via neutron scattering
A. Kreyssig, M. A. Green, Y. Lee, G. D. Samolyuk, P. Zajdel, J. W. Lynn, S. L. Budko, M. S. Torikachvili, N. Ni, S. Nandi, J. Leão, S. J. Poulton, D. N. Argyriou, B. N. Harmon, R. J. McQueeney, P. C. Canfield, and A. I. Goldman
Physical Review B 78, 184517 (2008).
Date posted: December 2008
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