Novel forms of magnetism in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides

The ultimate goal of this project is to demonstrate that the enhanced electronic correlations in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) lead to different expressions of magnetism in the two-dimensional (2D) limit.

Beyond the prototypical case of a 2D magnet vanadium diselenide, many different TMDs materials, in their 2D limit, have the potential to host magnetic order, which often will coexist with other collective electronic states such as superconductivity.

Here, the starting hypothesis stems from strong electron-electron interaction that are intrinsically present in TMD materials and further, in two dimensions, reduced screening results in markedly enhanced electron–electron interactions which usually favor the emergence of magnetic order.

This project will focus on select TMD materials of particular interest for different reasons, such as magnetism in coexistence with superconductivity, emergence of a half-metal state, and magnetism generated by atomic vacancies.

By using ultra-low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, this project will offer significant insights in the field of 2D magnetism by investigating the emergence of magnetic order in these strongly correlated TMD materials and its interplay with other electronic phases.