My research is focused on the study of strongly-correlated electron materials under extreme conditions: very low temperatures (T, down to 20 mK), high pressures (P, up to 1 Mbar) and high magnetic fields (H ~ 10 T). I am also learning to grow single crystals with different doping contents (X) utilizing the broad spectrum of techniques available in the laboratory: flux-growth technique, Czochralski technique with our tetra-arc furnace, etc. Combining all these experimental tools we are allowed to change and control the most important state variables of solid state physics.

 

When you mix d- and f- electronic orbital elements in a solid crystal, interesting phenomena emerge, such as superconductivity, magnetism, heavy fermion (HF) and non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior. Here is a constantly-evolving (and always increasing) list of current research projects:

 

- Evolution of the charge density wave state of rare-earths tritellurides under pressure.

 

- Thorium is a very stubborn material at high pressures. It doesn’t want to change its superconducting T_c above 10 GPa. I am also interested in doing some experiments with cerium (Ce) metal under pressure.

 

- Studies of the hidden order phase of URu₂Si₂ under pressure.

 

- Progress on a project involving a high temperature superconductor and pressure.

 

- Is Ytterbium's valence 2 or 3? I am currently playing with YbCoIn₅.

 

- Non-Fermi liquid behavior and superconductivity in filled skutterudites: substitution studies of La_1-x(Ce, Nd)_xRu₄Sb₁₂.  Pressure studies of the heavy-fermion unconventional superconductor PrOs₄Sb₁₂.

 

 

V. S. Zapf, D. Zocco, B. R. Hansen, M. Jaime, N. Harrison, C. D. Batista, M. Kenzelmann, C. Niedermayer, A. Lacerda, and A. Paduan-Filho, "Bose-Einstein Condensation of S = 1 Ni spin degrees of freedom in NiCl₂-4SC(NH₂)₂,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 077204 (2006)

 

A. V. Silhanek, D. Zocco, M. Jaime, N. Harrison, T. Ebihara, "Approaching field tuned quantum criticality in CeIn_3-xSn_x,” Physica B 378-380, pp. 90 - 91 (2006)

 

D. Zocco, M. Monteverde, M. Nunez-Regueiro and C. Acha, "Uniaxial pressure dependence of the dynamical properties of vortex lines in Bi-2212 single crystals,” Physica B 354, pp. 261 - 265 (2004)

 

D. Zocco, M. Monteverde, M. Nunez-Regueiro and C. Acha, "Uniaxial pressure dependence of the dynamical properties of vortex lines in BSCCO single crystals", Congress "Pushing Physics at Low Temperatures,” Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 135, Nos. 1/2, 165 (2004)