Johnston Research Group
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Welcome!
Welcome to the homepage of the Johnston Research Group. The members of our group are associated with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), and the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM). Here you will find information about our group members, research highlights, an up-to-date list of publications, a list of our active collaborators, and other useful links.
Highlights in the press
Ladder work featured in the Journal Club for Condensed Matter Physics
Our recent RIXS and INS studies on the cuprate ladder systems was highlighted in the Journal Club for Condensed Matter Physics with a commentary by Prof. Thierry Giamarchi at the University of Geneva.
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Exploring quantum materials: Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering captures microscopic, rapidly changing properties
M. Mitrano et al. , Physical Review X 14, 040501 (2024) — Our recently published perspective on the future of RIXS as a probe of quantum materials has been featured on Phys.org.
Superconducting silicon surface
F. Ming et al., Nature Physics 19, 500–506 (2023) — Our collaboration with Prof. Weitering studying the superconducting state of one-third monolayers of tin deposited on a Si(111) substrate has recenty appeared in Nature Physics. The work was also featured on the cover of the April 2023 issue.X-rays Reveal Electronic Details of Nickel-based Superconductors, a story about our recent papers published in PRX (here and here studying the electronic stucture of the low-valence nickelates.
Physicists uncover secrets of world’s thinnest superconductor , a story on our recent paper published in Nature Communications.
Researchers establish proof of principle in superconductor study.
Weird superconductor leads double life.
A new way to look at MITs. - A summary of our recent collaborative study on the rare-earth Nickelates. This work was funded by UTK's Organized Research Unit program.
Order on Command: Our collaborative study Switching Magnetism and Superconductivity with Spin-Polarized Current in Iron-Based Superconductor [Seokhwan Choi et al., PRL 119, 227001 (2017)] was selected both as an Editor's Suggestion and for a feature in Physics. The work was also featured at phys.org.
Our article Aspects of electron-phonon interactions with strong forward scattering in FeSe Thin Films on SrTiO3 substrates was selected as one of the highlights of 2017 by the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.
Rising Energy Costs - It’s rare that additional fees are welcome, but as Steven Johnston and his colleagues explain in Nature Communications, sometimes they can actually be a pleasant surprise.
Good Vibrations - UT's Steven Johnston and Colleagues Find that Phonons Boost Superconductivity in Iron Selenides.
High-temperature superconductivity: Electron mirages in an iron salt - Nature News and Views by J. Zaanen.
A sign-changing gap - Science Magazine Editor's Choice for Chi et al., Phys. Rev. B 89, 104522 (2014).
Funding Acknowledgements
Our research is currently supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.In the past, we have been funded in part by the US Department of Energy's SciDAC program, the Office of Naval Research, the University of Tennessee (UTK) Science Alliance's Joint Directed Research and Development program, and UTK's Organized Research Unit program.