Research
Our work focuses on the study of the structure and dyanmics of condensed matter systems under confinement at the nanoscale. Confinement in nanometer size pores or on surfaces can drastically affect the properties of confined systems ranging from classical solids to quantum liquids and can even lead to new phases not present in the bulk. We use neutron and x-ray scattering to probe the microscopic structure and dynamics of these confined systems.
Featured Articles
Group News
June 21, 2018 - Moving into the new lab
Moving equipment into the new lab in the renovated Swain Hall. Looks like most of the utilities are ready - unlike our temporary relocation to MES Hall. |
June 19, 2018 - Moving Day
Two rotating anode x-ray generators are loaded onto a flat bed trailer for the move back to Swain Lab. Fortunately the rain predicted for the day held off until the move was complete. |
June 15, 2018 - Getting ready for move to renovated Lab
After 2 years in temporary lab space at the Multidisciplinary Engineering and Science Hall the lab is getting prepared to move back to newly renovated laboratory space in Swain Hall. |
May 22, 2018 - Paper avaialble at PRB On-line
"Maxon and roton measurements in nanoconfined 4He" by Matt Bryan and Paul Sokol has appeared on-line in Physical Review B |
May 14, 2018 - New paper in arXiv
A manuscript describing the filling dependence of the maxon and roton in 4He has been posted on arXiv. Previous studies have suggested that the confined liquid behaves as a bulk liquid at negative pressures and that the maxon provided a direct measure of the pressure. This study shows that the maxon and roton imply different desnities of the confined liquid and that it cannot be treated simply as a bulk liquid at negative pressures. |
Feb 28, 2018 - Sokol and Del Maestro receive NSF Funding
Adrian Del Maestro (University of Vermont) and Paul Sokol receive funding from the Condensed Matter Physics and the Condensed Matter and Matterials Theory programs in the Division of Materials Research at NSF for a joint experimental and theoretical effort to study the Luttinger Liquid behavior of 4He confined in 1 dimensional channels. |
July 24, 2017 - New Paper published in JLTP
"The Momentum Distribution of Liquid 4He" appears in the Journal of Low Temperature Physics. This joint experimental and theoretical study observes excellent agreement between experimental measurements of the momentum distribution and Quantum Mante Carlo of the momentum distribution and final state effects as a function of temoerature. |
April 20, 2017 - New paper published in Physical Review B
"Bulklike excitations in nanoconfined helium" appears in Physical Review B. This study shows that the roton lifetime in confinement is identical in the bulk indicating rotons scatter elastically at the pore walls. |