11th International Workshop on the Dual Nature of f-Electrons 2025

WORKSHOP ON THE DUAL NATURE OF F-ELECTRONS

This workshop aims to provide a venue to discuss discoveries and progress on the nature of f-electrons in various correlated materials. The fascination with these materials results from the “dual nature” of the f-electrons, which highlights the strong local correlations. The electrons of the partially filled 4f- or 5f- shells mainly preserve their localized atomic characters but strongly modify their properties that depend on long-ranged coherence of wave functions. The strong Coulomb and spin-orbit interactions create a complex and highly correlated electronic state whose response is controlled collectively by the outer-shell electrons. This complexity generates a rich spectrum of physical states and exotic behaviors that pose the most challenging questions in today’s condensed matter physics. Such complexity is generally regarded as a resource because it opens up possibilities for new functionalities and therefore novel technical applications. The central challenges in this area are to predict and control material properties, characterize them with a broad spectrum of measuring methods, and develop a quantitative microscopic understanding of the theory.

The workshop explores emerging areas in strongly correlated quantum matter as exemplified by f-electron systems. Topics include but are not limited to:

· Understanding the relationship between chemistry, crystal structure, and electronic and magnetic properties that could form the basis for materials design.

· Exploring new quantum phases as well as their cooperation, coexistence or competition in real-end applied materials.

· Interpreting experimental data from depth- and time-resolved spectroscopies.

· Concepts and methods for theoretical approaches from combined first-principles and many-body perspectives.

We invite you to contribute and participate in a workshop devoted to debating and discussing the future directions of research and collaborations in the field.