Monash Physics Alumnus - Kirrily Rule

Kirrily in Mexico, overlooking Guanajuato

Degree: PhD
Year completed: 2004
Thesis title: Magnetic Ordering in the Two Dimensional Antiferromagnet FePS₃
Job 1: Hamilton, Canada (just south of Toronto) at McMaster University in the department of Physics and Astronomy. The duration of my stay was 21 months.
Job 2: Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Institut in the department of Methods and Instruments.

Work

Job 1: In this post-doctoral position, I was looking at magnetic materials with interesting ground states, such as CuGeO₃­­ which undergoes a spin-Peierls transition to form a singlet ground state, and the frustrated pyrochlore Tb₂Ti₂O₇.

CuGeO₃ acts like a quantum magnet, where the ground state would prefer to be antiferromagnetically ordered. Below 14K, the Cu²⁺ ions form pairs within a 1 dimensional, linear chain. This is accompanied by the structural distortion of a spin-Peierls transition which results in a non-magnetic singlet ground state.

In Tb₂Ti₂O₇, the magnetic Tb³⁺ ions are located at the vertices of corner sharing tetrahedra - a structure which cannot satisfy antiferromagnetic interactions for all 4 Tb moments. Thus this material has a degenerate ground state and remains dynamically frustrated down to 15mK. We were able to induce a magnetically ordered phase by applying a magnetic field.

My job involved investigating materials using both neutron and X-ray scattering with temperatures as low as 0.3K and applied magnetic fields up to 10T. Part of the neutron work was performed at the Chalk River National Labs, located in the picturesque Algonquin forest - a hot spot for viewing bears and moose.

Job 2: I have a 3 year contract which began in February 2006.

I am responsible for a cold-neutron triple-axis spectrometer called FLEX. The instrument name is derived from the flexibility of the spectrometer parameters (eg wavelength, energy transfer and resolution) which allow for a large variety of non-standard experiments, including inelastic neutron scattering and Neutron Resonance Spin Echo (NRSE).

Part of my job includes setting up and running experiments on FLEX, and collaborating with international scientists who would like to use neutrons to investigate their samples. I also have time for my own research which has been extended to include crystal growth using a floating-zone image furnace as well as continued investigation on frustrated magnetic systems.

Neutrons are a great tool for studying materials - their structure, magnetism and dynamics. The thing I like most about my current position is interacting with scientists from all over the world - learning about new materials and different schools of thought.

My life

When I first found out that I would move to Germany for my current position, the first thing my fiancé and I did was to apply for World Cup tickets. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful, but we still enjoyed the vibe and excitement of Berlin. We were proud to cheer Australia through to the 2^nd round.

One thing that I enjoy about being a physicist is the traveling associated with it. Not only have I had the opportunity to live and experience life in both Canada and Germany, but I have also been able to travel to USA, France and UK for conferences and experiments. And what do I like to do when I am not traveling for work? Travel to other countries for holidays - usually somewhere warm! I have seen much of Central and South America and Europe on my holidays. The next big adventure will be Russia and Mongolia.