David Kersh
Research interests:
I am a 2nd year PhD student under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Jon Duffy. I received my BSc in Physics and Computer Science from Swansea University in 2011.
The Compton Scattering Group focuses almost exclusively on magnetic materials. Exotic magnetic materials express exciting phenomena such as:
- Half Metallicity - A metal which can only conduct electrons of one spin orientation.
- Multiferroicity - The possession of more than one ferroic order (ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, ferroelasticity).
- Superconductivity - Zero resistance below a certain temperature.
The experimental technique we employ to study these materials is Magnetic Compton Scattering (MCS) which uses very high energy, circularly polarised X-rays to measure the 1D electron momentum density. With such information, we can determine the spin moment of the magnetic electrons (with SQUID magnetometry) and determine which orbitals contribute to the magnetic structure.
As a result of MCS's dependence on high energy, circularly polarised synchrotron radiation, we are limited in which experimental facilities we can use. These facilities are SPring-8 in the Hyōgo prefecture, Japan and ESRF in Grenoble, France.
Write to:
Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
Contact Details:
Office: MAS Floor 3
Telephone: +44 (0)2476151911
E-mail: d.kersh@warwick.ac.uk