What I Learned
This project deepened my understanding of how structural degrees of freedom couple to magnetism in low-dimensional quantum materials. By combining neutron spectroscopy with x-ray and neutron diffraction, I learned how symmetry-breaking lattice distortions can fundamentally reshape magnetic exchange pathways, even in systems that are nominally two-dimensional.
I developed significant experience in analysing crystallographic symmetry lowering using group-theoretical arguments, particularly in identifying allowed transitions from rhombohedral to triclinic space groups. This provided concrete insight into how orbital degeneracy and spin–orbit coupling drive magnetoelastic instabilities in van der Waals magnets.
From the spectroscopic side, I gained hands-on experience interpreting neutron scattering data to distinguish exchange interactions between symmetry-equivalent and inequivalent sites. This was crucial in identifying the fragmentation of the honeycomb lattice into two interpenetrating magnetic sublattices, an effect that cannot be captured by simplified isotropic models.
More broadly, this work strengthened my ability to connect experimental observations to microscopic models, sharpened my scientific writing through the peer-review process, and reinforced the importance of magnetoelastic coupling in determining emergent phases in two-dimensional quantum magnets.