Optical properties and charge carrier dynamics of iron-pnictide superconductors

• Applicant: Dr. Roman Schuster
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 181564825

Solids with competing electronic phases like superconductivity or density order are at the forefront of contemporary research on condensed-matter systems. Recently a new class of compounds with exactly those features has been discovered: the iron pnictides. The physics of those systems appears very rich due to the complex interplay of (i) the itinerancy of the electrons due to the metallic character and (ii) local phenomena induced by the Coulomb interaction within the transition-metal $d$-orbitals. Within the framework of the proposed scholarship a combination of optical methods will be utilized in order to gain deeper insights into the electronic properties of iron pnictides. The aim is to establish general trends among the different representatives of this large family and to find aspects that may relate those systems to other---and better investigated---systems like cuprates.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Host: Professor Dr. Christian Bernhard