
Rajan Plumley
Visiting Physicist, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Bio
I am a PhD Candidate at Carnegie Mellon University and Visiting Physicist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences. My research focuses on using state-of-the-art X-ray facilities such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC to study ultra-fast dynamics in materials. I am especially interested in how X-ray speckle phenomena can be used to understand the role fluctuations play in the emergence of novel quantum phases in low-dimensional materials.
Education & Certifications
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MS, Carnegie Mellon University, Physics (2022)
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BA, Washington & Jefferson College, Physics (2017)
All Publications
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On ultrafast x-ray scattering methods for magnetism
ADVANCES IN PHYSICS-X
2024; 9 (1)
View details for DOI 10.1080/23746149.2024.2423935
View details for Web of Science ID 001361792300001
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Understanding the superconductivity and charge density wave interaction through quasi-static lattice fluctuations.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
2024; 121 (50): e2412182121
Abstract
In unconventional superconductors, coupled charge and lattice degrees of freedom can manifest in ordered phases of matter that are intertwined. In the cuprate family, fluctuating short-range charge correlations can coalesce into a longer-range charge density wave (CDW) order which is thought to intertwine with superconductivity, yet the nature of the interaction is still poorly understood. Here, by measuring subtle lattice fluctuations in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+y on quasi-static timescales (thousands of seconds) through X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, we report sensitivity to both superconductivity and CDW. The atomic lattice shows remarkably faster relaxational dynamics upon approaching the superconducting transition at Tc ≈ 65 K. By tracking the momentum dependence, we show that the intermediate scattering function almost monotonically scales with the relaxation distance of atoms away from their average positions above Tc and in the presence of the CDW state, while this peculiar trend is reversed for other temperatures. These observations are consistent with an incipient CDW stabilized by local strain. This work provides insights into the crucial role of relaxational atomic fluctuations for understanding the electronic physics cuprates, which are inherently disordered due to carrier doping.
View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2412182121
View details for PubMedID 39630858
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3D Heisenberg universality in the van der Waals antiferromagnet NiPS<sub>3</sub>
NPJ QUANTUM MATERIALS
2024; 9 (1)
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41535-024-00696-6
View details for Web of Science ID 001366178200001
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Capturing dynamical correlations using implicit neural representations.
Nature communications
2023; 14 (1): 5852
Abstract
Understanding the nature and origin of collective excitations in materials is of fundamental importance for unraveling the underlying physics of a many-body system. Excitation spectra are usually obtained by measuring the dynamical structure factor, S(Q, ω), using inelastic neutron or x-ray scattering techniques and are analyzed by comparing the experimental results against calculated predictions. We introduce a data-driven analysis tool which leverages 'neural implicit representations' that are specifically tailored for handling spectrographic measurements and are able to efficiently obtain unknown parameters from experimental data via automatic differentiation. In this work, we employ linear spin wave theory simulations to train a machine learning platform, enabling precise exchange parameter extraction from inelastic neutron scattering data on the square-lattice spin-1 antiferromagnet La2NiO4, showcasing a viable pathway towards automatic refinement of advanced models for ordered magnetic systems.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-41378-4
View details for PubMedID 37730824
View details for PubMedCentralID 8662964
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Testing the data framework for an AI algorithm in preparation for high data rate X-ray facilities
IEEE. 2022: 1-9
View details for DOI 10.1109/XLOOP56614.2022.00006
View details for Web of Science ID 000968746500001
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Speckle correlation as a monitor of X-ray free-electron laser induced crystal lattice deformation.
Journal of synchrotron radiation
2020; 27 (Pt 6): 1470–76
Abstract
X-ray free-electron lasers (X-FELs) present new opportunities to study ultrafast lattice dynamics in complex materials. While the unprecedented source brilliance enables high fidelity measurement of structural dynamics, it also raises experimental challenges related to the understanding and control of beam-induced irreversible structural changes in samples that can ultimately impact the interpretation of experimental results. This is also important for designing reliable high performance X-ray optical components. In this work, X-FEL beam-induced lattice alterations are investigated by measuring the shot-to-shot evolution of near-Bragg coherent scattering from a single crystalline germanium sample. It is shown that X-ray photon correlation analysis of sequential speckle patterns measurements can be used to monitor the nature and extent of lattice rearrangements. Abrupt, irreversible changes are observed following intermittent high-fluence monochromatic X-ray pulses, thus revealing the existence of a threshold response to X-FEL pulse intensity.
View details for DOI 10.1107/S1600577520011509
View details for PubMedID 33147171
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Compact hard x-ray split-delay system based on variable-gap channel-cut crystals
OPTICS LETTERS
2019; 44 (10): 2582–85
Abstract
We present the concept and a prototypical implementation of a compact x-ray split-delay system that is capable of performing continuous on-the-fly delay scans over a range of ∼10 ps with sub-100 nanoradian pointing stability. The system consists of four channel-cut silicon crystals, two of which have gradually varying gap sizes from intentional 5 deg asymmetric cuts. The delay adjustment is realized by linear motions of these two monolithic varying-gap channel cuts, where the x-ray beam experiences pairs of anti-parallel reflections, and thus becomes less sensitive in output beam pointing to motion imperfections of the translation stages. The beam splitting is accomplished by polished crystal edges. A high degree of mutual coherence between the two branches at the focus is observed by analyzing small-angle coherent x-ray scattering patterns. We envision a wide range of applications including single-shot x-ray pulse temporal diagnostics, studies of high-intensity x-ray-matter interactions, as well as measurement of dynamics in disordered material systems using split-pulse x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy.
View details for DOI 10.1364/OL.44.002582
View details for Web of Science ID 000467906400050
View details for PubMedID 31090737