Bartomeu Monserrat
Dr Bartomeu Monserrat
Lecturer, Dept Materials Science
Fellow of Robinson College
Office: 542 Mott Bld
Phone: +44(0)1223 3 37360
Email: bm418 @ cam.ac.uk
Personal web site
TCM Group, Cavendish Laboratory
19 JJ Thomson Avenue,
Cambridge, CB3 0HE UK.
Research Group
Research
Our research interests are in first-principles quantum condensed matter theory. We work on the development of new methods to understand the effects of atomic vibrations, quantum and thermal, in solids. We apply these methods to address a variety of problems in optoelectronics, topology, and superconductivity. Recent work in optoelectronics includes the study of exciton-phonon coupling in singlet fission materials and the study of luminescence in indirect band gap semiconductors. In topology, our emphasis is in understanding the interplay between topological order and external parameters such as temperature or electric fields. Our superconductivity research explores both high pressure materials and unconventional configurations, such as those in incommensurate crystals. Further details of our research can be found in our group website.
In Plain English
The building blocks of all the visible matter in the Universe are the electrons and nuclei inside atoms, and quantum mechanics is the theory that allows us to describe this microscopic world. My work focuses on how we can use our understanding of the smallest, in order to explain the largest, the world around us. In particular, I am investigating new ways in which we can describe temperature from an atomic point of view. For example, I have recently discovered a link between the effects of temperature on the helium atoms that make up the atmospheres of white dwarf stars, and the rate at which these stars cool down. The cooling rate is then used by astrophysicists in order to date the stars, and my work has shown that white dwarf stars are in reality somewhat older than we used to believe.
Featured Publications
-
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a dynamical structural probe of hydrogen under high pressure
Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 135501 (2019) -
Helium-iron compounds at terapascal pressures
Phys. Rev. Lett. 121 015301 (2018) -
Structure and metallicity of phase V of hydrogen
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 255701 (2018) -
Antiferroelectric topological insulators in orthorhombic AMgBi compounds (A=Li, Na, K)
Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 036802 (2017) -
Temperature effects in the band structure of topological insulators
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117 226801 (2016)
Topological insulators feel the heat -
Electron-phonon coupling and the metallization of solid helium at terapascal pressures.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 055504 (2014)