Congratulations to Naman Gupta, Physics and Astronomy graduate student who won the 2020 G. Michael Bancroft Masters Thesis Award from the Canadian Light Source (CLS). The G. Michael Bancroft Masters Thesis Award is awarded to the Masters thesis judged to be the best published in the last calendar year.
The title and abstract of Naman's thesis appear below.
A Study of Electronic Nematicity in Cuprate Superconductors using Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering
Abstract
The cuprate high-temperature superconductors involve a complex interplay between different structural and electronic symmetry-breaking phases. In the last decade, rotational and translational symmetry-breaking phases — electronic nematicity and density wave order — have been established as generic and distinct features in the cuprate phase diagram using different probes. To understand this connection between these symmetry breaking phases, we use resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) — a technique that combines x-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption spectroscopy — at different photon energies allowing us to differentiate between ionic displacement and orbital asymmetry. The results presented in this thesis are based on the measurements performed at the REIXS beamline at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Canada.
The CLS places a high value on student training. Their facility offers graduate students access to world-class facilities, and the opportunity to interact with scientific colleagues from around the globe. Many of these students are expected to become the scientific leaders of tomorrow.
Supervisor: Professor David Hawthorn