Ian Hayes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Physics
Contact
Building & Room:
SES 2354
Address:
845 West Taylor St.
Email:
About
Professor Hayes studies the many-body physics exhibited by electrons in solids.
In many materials, the constituent electrons can be thought of as living essentially independent, parallel lives. However, a few material systems exhibit distinctive forms of collective behavior in which the quantum aspects of the system become directly relevant for understanding the long-distance physics. These so-called “quantum materials” present distinctive intellectual challenges and are also the key ingredients for many next-generation quantum technologies.
In our lab we aim to understand the origin of these phenomena through the synthesis of novel crystalline materials. Using the tools of solid-state chemistry we attempt to isolate the microscopic factors that distinguish quantum materials from their more conventional counterparts. Using a suite of thermoelectric transport measurements at millikelvin temperatures we look for the distinctive signatures of quantum materials--such as zero resistance or quantized conductance--and try to single out physical properties that are “precursors” to the phases of interest.
Like the horizons of quantum materials research overall, the topics of interest in our lab are continually evolving, but current questions of interest include: are there any universal correlates of unconventional superconductivity in thermoelectric response functions? Can we predict the fate of 5f-electrons in actinoid compounds? and, does disorder inevitably disrupt the formation of a spin liquid?
Selected Publications
“Robust Nodal Behavior in the Thermal Conductivity of Superconducting UTe2” Phys. Rev. X 15, 021029 (2025)
“Superconductivity and quantum criticality linked by the Hall effect in a strange metal”, Nature Physics 17 58-62 (2021)
“Evidence for a delocalization quantum phase transition without symmetry breaking in CeCoIn5”, Science 375 76-81 (2021)
“Imaging anomalous nematic order and strain in optimally doped BaFe2(As,P)2” Phys. Rev. Lett. 121 027001 (2018)
“Scaling between temperature and magnetic field in a high temperature superconductor”, Nature Physics 12 916-919 (2016)
Education
Ian received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Dartmouth College, after which he studied for his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of California Berkeley. Before coming to UIC he spent five years as a research associate at the quantum materials center at the University of Maryland, College Park.