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Pengcheng Dai is a Chinese American experimental physicist and academic. He is the Sam and Helen Worden Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University.

Dai is most known for his research in the field of unconventional superconductivity and has contributed to comprehending the role of magnetic excitations in unconventional super conductors including copper, iron, and heavy fermion unconventional superconductors. He co-edited the book, Iron-based Superconductors: Materials, Properties and Mechanisms, and is the recipient of Heike Kamerlingh, Onnes Prize. He also made contributions to topological spin excitations in honeycomb/kogome lattice magnets and studied spin dynamics in colossal magnetoresistance manganites.

Dai is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA) and holds an appointment as a Divisional Associate Editor at Physical Review Letters.

Education

Dai received his baccalaureate degree in physics from Zhengzhou University in China. He then studied at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics. Later, he completed his post-doc at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) working with Herbert A. Mook and became the Staff Scientist there.

Career

After serving in the Center for Neutron Scattering at ORNL as a Staff Scientist, he resumed his academic career in 2001 and was appointed as an associate professor of physics at the University of Tennessee and ORNL as a Joint Faculty. He obtained his tenure in 2003 and was then promoted to Professor in 2006. He became The Joint Institute for Advanced Materials Chair of Excellent at The University of Tennessee in 2008 and remained in that position until 2013 when he moved to Rice University. Having initially joined Rice University as a professor of physics, he now holds an appointment as the Sam and Helen Worden Professor of Physics there.

Research

Dai's research primarily focuses on experimental condensed matter physics, using neutrons as a probe to study correlated electron materials. His works include direct evidence for magnetism and superconductivity coupling in unconventional superconductors, topological spin excitations in different classes of quantum materials and discoveries in the magnetic properties of cuprate and iron-based superconductors.

Dai established 'Pengcheng Dai's group' at Rice University's Physics Department, which conducts research on condensed matter physics and also founded a materials growth laboratory that produces high-quality single crystals of correlated electron materials.

Cuprate superconductors

In 1998, he demonstrated the incommensurate spin fluctuations in the YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x (YBCO) system, observed the resonance in underdoped YBCO and studied the effects of magnetic field on the resonance, and characterized the overall energy/wave vector dependence of the magnetic excitations in YBCO. Later, in 2000, he discovered one-dimensional nature of spin fluctuations. He has also worked on electron-doped cuprates. He clarified the microscopic origin of the annealing process, studied the electron-magnetic excitation coupling and discovered resonance in the electron-doped high-transition-temperature superconductor Pr_0.88LaCe_0.12CuO_4-δ.

Iron-based superconductors

Over the past 15 years, along with his research group, Dai has made contributions to describe the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity and has published more than 150 papers in the field. In 2008, they determined the antiferromagnetic structure in the parent compound of one class of iron-based superconductors. Afterwards, he mapped out the electronic phase diagram of these materials and carried out the first spin wave measurements to determine the effective Heisenberg Hamiltonian for the parent compounds of three families of iron-based superconductors. His research in 2014 led to the discovery of the first evidence for a spin nematic phase, accomplished by analyzing the evolution of overall spin excitations across the nematic phase transition temperature determined by transport measurements. His group also developed a cleaver detwinned device that allowed systematic measurements of magnetism in iron-based superconductors in the intrinsically detwinned state.

Fermion superconductors

In addition to cuprate and iron-based superconductors, Dai has worked on comprehending the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in heavy fermion superconductors. This includes the discovery of upward dispersion in neutron resonance of CeCoIn5, mapping of overall spin excitations in CeCu₂Si₂, and antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are coupled with superconductivity of spin-triplet candidate UTe₂. His discovery of an antiferromagnetic neutron spin resonance in spin-triplet superconductor candidate UTe₂ is particularly important because it suggests that superconductivity in spin-triplet superconductors may also be driven by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations instead of ferromagnetic spin fluctuations

Awards and honors

• 2008 – Chair of Excellence, Joint Institute of Advanced Materials (JIAM)
• 2016 – Sustained Research Prize, Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA)
• 2022 – Onnes Prize, Heike Kamerlingh

Bibliography

Books

• Iron-based Superconductors: Materials, Properties and Mechanisms (2012) ISBN 978-9814303224

Selected articles

• Dai, P., Mook, H. A., Hayden, S. M., Aeppli, G., Perring, T. G., Hunt, R. D., & Doğan, F. (1999). The magnetic excitation spectrum and thermodynamics of high-T c superconductors. Science, 284(5418), 1344–1347.
• Dai, P., Mook, H. A., Aeppli, G., Hayden, S. M., & Doğan, F. (2000). Resonance as a measure of pairing correlations in the high-T c superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_{6. 6}. Nature, 406(6799), 965–968.
• Dai, P. (2015). Antiferromagnetic order and spin dynamics in iron-based superconductors. Reviews of Modern Physics, 87(3), 855.
• Chen, T., Chen, Y., Kreisel, A., Lu, X., Schneidewind, A., Qiu, Y., ... & Dai, P. (2019). Anisotropic spin fluctuations in detwinned FeSe. Nature materials, 18(7), 709–716.
• Duan, C., Baumbach, R. E., Podlesnyak, A., Deng, Y., Moir, C., Breindel, A. J., ... & Dai, P. (2021). Resonance from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations for superconductivity in UTe₂. Nature, 600(7890), 636–640.
• Teng, X., Chen, L., Ye, F., Rosenberg, E., Liu, Z., Yin, J. X., ... & Dai, P. (2022). Discovery of charge density wave in a kagome lattice antiferromagnet. Nature, 609(7927), 490–495.

References

1. "Pengcheng Dai | Faculty | The People of Rice | Rice University". profiles.rice.edu.
2. ^ "The Heike Kamerlingh Onnes Prize".
3. "APS Fellow Archive". www.aps.org.
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5. "NSSA Fellows". neutronscattering.org.
6. "PRL Editorial Team". Physical Review Letters. September 20, 2022.
7. "Herb Mook: Good taste in problems".
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9. "University of Chinese Academy of Sciences".
10. "Pengcheng Dai: H-index & Awards - Academic Profile". Research.com.
11. "Pengcheng Dai's Group". pdai.phys.rice.edu.
12. Mook, H. A.; Dai, Pengcheng; Hayden, S. M.; Aeppli, G.; Perring, T. G.; Doğan, F. (October 17, 1998). "Spin fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O6.6". Nature. 395 (6702): 580–582. Bibcode:1998Natur.395..580M. doi:10.1038/26931. S2CID 4426153 – via www.nature.com.
13. Dai, Pengcheng; Mook, H. A.; Aeppli, G.; Hayden, S. M.; Doğan, F. (August 17, 2000). "Resonance as a measure of pairing correlations in the high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.6". Nature. 406 (6799): 965–968. arXiv:cond-mat/0006433. Bibcode:2000Natur.406..965D. doi:10.1038/35023094. PMID 10984044. S2CID 14247449 – via www.nature.com.
14. Dai, Pengcheng; Mook, H. A.; Hayden, S. M.; Aeppli, G.; Perring, T. G.; Hunt, R. D.; Doğan, F. (May 21, 1999). "The Magnetic Excitation Spectrum and Thermodynamics of High- T c Superconductors". Science. 284 (5418): 1344–1347. arXiv:cond-mat/0001249. Bibcode:1999Sci...284.1344D. doi:10.1126/science.284.5418.1344. PMID 10334986. S2CID 16356096.
15. Mook, H. A.; Dai, Pengcheng; Dogan, F.; Hunt, R. D. (April 17, 2000). "One-dimensional nature of the magnetic fluctuations in YBa2Cu 3O6.6". Nature. 404 (6779): 729–731. arXiv:cond-mat/0004362. Bibcode:2000Natur.404..729M. doi:10.1038/35008005. PMID 10783878. S2CID 4348657 – via www.nature.com.
16. Wilson, Stephen D.; Dai, Pengcheng; Li, Shiliang; Chi, Songxue; Kang, H. J.; Lynn, J. W. (July 17, 2006). "Resonance in the electron-doped high-transition-temperature superconductor Pr0.88LaCe0.12CuO4-δ". Nature. 442 (7098): 59–62. arXiv:cond-mat/0607134. Bibcode:2006Natur.442...59W. doi:10.1038/nature04857. PMID 16823448. S2CID 204931592 – via www.nature.com.
17. de la Cruz, Clarina; Huang, Q.; Lynn, J. W.; Li, Jiying; Ii, W. Ratcliff; Zarestky, J. L.; Mook, H. A.; Chen, G. F.; Luo, J. L.; Wang, N. L.; Dai, Pengcheng (June 17, 2008). "Magnetic order close to superconductivity in the iron-based layered LaO1-xF x FeAs systems". Nature. 453 (7197): 899–902. arXiv:0804.0795. Bibcode:2008Natur.453..899D. doi:10.1038/nature07057. PMID 18509333. S2CID 4427215 – via www.nature.com.
18. Zhao, Jun; Huang, Q.; de la Cruz, Clarina; Li, Shiliang; Lynn, J. W.; Chen, Y.; Green, M. A.; Chen, G. F.; Li, G.; Li, Z.; Luo, J. L.; Wang, N. L.; Dai, Pengcheng (December 17, 2008). "Structural and magnetic phase diagram of CeFeAsO1− xFx and its relation to high-temperature superconductivity". Nature Materials. 7 (12): 953–959. arXiv:0806.2528. Bibcode:2008NatMa...7..953Z. doi:10.1038/nmat2315. PMID 18953342. S2CID 25937023 – via www.nature.com.
19. Zhao, Jun; Adroja, D. T.; Yao, Dao-Xin; Bewley, R.; Li, Shiliang; Wang, X. F.; Wu, G.; Chen, X. H.; Hu, Jiangping; Dai, Pengcheng (August 17, 2009). "Spin waves and magnetic exchange interactions in CaFe2As2". Nature Physics. 5 (8): 555–560. arXiv:0903.2686. Bibcode:2009NatPh...5..555Z. doi:10.1038/nphys1336. S2CID 56035502 – via www.nature.com.
20. Chu, Jiun-Haw; Analytis, James G.; De Greve, Kristiaan; McMahon, Peter L.; Islam, Zahirul; Yamamoto, Yoshihisa; Fisher, Ian R. (2010). "In-Plane Resistivity Anisotropy in an Underdoped Iron Arsenide Superconductor". Science. 329 (5993): 824–826. arXiv:1002.3364. Bibcode:2010Sci...329..824C. doi:10.1126/science.1190482. PMID 20705856. S2CID 119266241.
21. Lu, Xingye; Park, J. T.; Zhang, Rui; Luo, Huiqian; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.; Si, Qimiao; Dai, Pengcheng (August 8, 2014). "Nematic spin correlations in the tetragonal state of uniaxial-strained BaFe 2− x Ni x As 2". Science. 345 (6197): 657–660. arXiv:1408.2756. Bibcode:2014Sci...345..657L. doi:10.1126/science.1251853. PMID 25081483. S2CID 786636.
22. Lu, Xingye; Scherer, Daniel D.; Tam, David W.; Zhang, Wenliang; Zhang, Rui; Luo, Huiqian; Harriger, Leland W.; Walker, H. C.; Adroja, D. T.; Andersen, Brian M.; Dai, Pengcheng (August 8, 2018). "Spin Waves in Detwinned BaFe
    ₂As
    ₂". Physical Review Letters. 121 (6): 067002. arXiv:1807.01471. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.067002. PMID 30141678. S2CID 52075558 – via APS.
23. Chen, Tong; Chen, Youzhe; Kreisel, Andreas; Lu, Xingye; Schneidewind, Astrid; Qiu, Yiming; Park, J. T.; Perring, Toby G.; Stewart, J. Ross; Cao, Huibo; Zhang, Rui; Li, Yu; Rong, Yan; Wei, Yuan; Andersen, Brian M.; Hirschfeld, P. J.; Broholm, Collin; Dai, Pengcheng (July 17, 2019). "Anisotropic spin fluctuations in detwinned FeSe". Nature Materials. 18 (7): 709–716. arXiv:1905.08399. Bibcode:2019NatMa..18..709C. doi:10.1038/s41563-019-0369-5. PMC 7895486. PMID 31110345.
24. Liu, Panpan; Klemm, Mason L.; Tian, Long; Lu, Xingye; Song, Yu; Tam, David W.; Schmalzl, Karin; Park, J. T.; Li, Yu; Tan, Guotai; Su, Yixi; Bourdarot, Frédéric; Zhao, Yang; Lynn, Jeffery W.; Birgeneau, Robert J.; Dai, Pengcheng (November 12, 2020). "In-plane uniaxial pressure-induced out-of-plane antiferromagnetic moment and critical fluctuations in BaFe2As2". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5728. arXiv:2009.04339. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5728L. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19421-5. PMC 7665052. PMID 33184278.
25. Song, Yu; Van Dyke, John; Lum, I. K.; White, B. D.; Jang, Sooyoung; Yazici, Duygu; Shu, L.; Schneidewind, A.; Čermák, Petr; Qiu, Y.; Maple, M. B.; Morr, Dirk K.; Dai, Pengcheng (September 28, 2016). "Robust upward dispersion of the neutron spin resonance in the heavy fermion superconductor Ce1−xYbxCoIn5". Nature Communications. 7 (1): 12774. arXiv:1607.05326. Bibcode:2016NatCo...712774S. doi:10.1038/ncomms12774. PMC 5052703. PMID 27677397.
26. Song, Yu; Wang, Weiyi; S. Van Dyke, John; Pouse, Naveen; Ran, Sheng; Yazici, Duygu; Schneidewind, A.; Čermák, Petr; Qiu, Y.; Maple, M. B.; Morr, Dirk K.; Dai, Pengcheng (May 29, 2020). "Nature of the spin resonance mode in CeCoIn5". Communications Physics. 3 (1): 98. arXiv:2005.08441. Bibcode:2020CmPhy...3...98S. doi:10.1038/s42005-020-0365-8. PMID 33655080. S2CID 218674357 – via www.nature.com.
27. Song, Yu; Wang, Weiyi; Cao, Chongde; Yamani, Zahra; Xu, Yuanji; Sheng, Yutao; Löser, Wolfgang; Qiu, Yiming; Yang, Yi-feng; Birgeneau, Robert J.; Dai, Pengcheng (June 18, 2021). "High-energy magnetic excitations from heavy quasiparticles in CeCu2Si2". npj Quantum Materials. 6 (1): 60. arXiv:2105.00387. Bibcode:2021npjQM...6...60S. doi:10.1038/s41535-021-00358-x. S2CID 256726839 – via www.nature.com.
28. Duan, Chunruo; Baumbach, R. E.; Podlesnyak, Andrey; Deng, Yuhang; Moir, Camilla; Breindel, Alexander J.; Maple, M. Brian; Nica, E. M.; Si, Qimiao; Dai, Pengcheng (December 23, 2021). "Resonance from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations for superconductivity in UTe$_2$". Nature. 600 (7890): 636–640. arXiv:2106.14424. Bibcode:2021Natur.600..636D. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04151-5. PMID 34937893. S2CID 245425198.
29. Duan, Chunruo; Sasmal, Kalyan; Maple, M. Brian; Podlesnyak, Andrey; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Si, Qimiao; Dai, Pengcheng (December 1, 2020). "Incommensurate Spin Fluctuations in the Spin-Triplet Superconductor Candidate ${\mathrm{UTe". Physical Review Letters. 125 (23): 237003. arXiv:2008.12377. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.237003. PMID 33337176. S2CID 221370671 – via APS.
30. "NSSA Sustained Research Prize". neutronscattering.org.

• Experimental physicists
• Zhengzhou University alumni
• University of Missouri alumni
• Rice University faculty
• Living people