New understanding of the supercritical state of matter: from fundamental theory to environmental applications
- Supervisor: Professor Kostya Trachenko (SPCS)
- Funding: Queen Mary Principal's Studentship
- Deadline: 21st February 2022
The folllowing fully-funded PhD studentship is available with an expected start date of September 2022. The studentship will be held in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences.
Project description
According to current understanding, no differences can be made between a gas and a liquid above the critical point, an abrupt terminus of the liquid-gas coexisting line. Recently, we have discovered that this is not the case and proposed that a new line, the Frenkel line, exists on the phase diagram above the critical point at arbitrarily high pressure and temperature, and which separates two physically distinct states of matter [1,2]. Crossing the line corresponds to qualitative changes of the key physical properties of the system, including viscosity where it becomes quantum and attains the smalles value possible [3-5]. One implication of this is that water and life and well attuned to the degress of quantumness of the physical world [5], raising interesting new questions.
This project will use the combination of molecular dynamics simulations and theory to advance our fundamental understanding of the supercritical state of matter and its new transitions and properties. In addition to fundamental understanding, this project will have an applied component: the supercritical fluids are increasingly used in important extracting and cleaning processes as well as environmental applications to treat, separate and break a wide range of dangerous and toxic wastes from chemical, pharmaceutical and nuclear industry. The fluid solubility and extracting efficiency are maximal at the Frenkel line, and will calculate the line for several important ionic fluids.
Funding
This studentship is funded by QMUL. It will cover tuition fees, and provide an annual tax-free maintenance allowance for 3 years at the Research Council rate (£17,609 in 2021/22).
The project is open to UK and international students. The higher fees for international students (including EU) may be covered for up to 2 candidates applying for the Queen Mary Principal's PhD Studentships: Environment, Biodiversity and Genomics.
Elgibility and applying
Applications are invited from outstanding candidates with or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in physics, chemistry or materials science. A masters degree is desirable, but not essential.
Applicants from outside of the UK are required to provide evidence of their English language ability. Please see our English language requirements page for details.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Prof Kostya Trachenko (k.trachenko@qmul.ac.uk). Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by the stated deadline including a CV, personal statement and qualifications.
References
- K Trachenko and V Brazhkin, Collective modes and thermodynamics of the liquid state, Reports on Progress in Physics 79, 016502 (2016)
- C Cockrell, V Brazhkin and K Trachenko, Transition in the supercritical state of matter: review of experimental evidence, Physics Reports 941, 1 (2021)
- K Trachenko and V Brazhkin, Minimal quantum viscosity from fundamental physical constants, Science Advances 6, eaba3747 (2020)
- Physics World, https://physicsworld.com/a/fluids-only-get-so-runny-as-physicists-put-a-universal-lower-limit-on-viscosity
- K Trachenko and V Brazhkin, The quantum mechanics of viscosity, Physics Today 74, 12, 66 (2021)