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Home Home Faculties Faculty of Science Departments Department of Physics About Departmental Staff Auckland Park Prof Andre M Strydom

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 Prof Andre Strydom 

Prof André M. Strydom
Professor of Physics in the Faculty of Science
Current appointment: Head of the Physics Department
Scientific Director of the Science Faculty Central Analytical Facility 

Qualifications

  • MSc (Rand Afrikaans University), PhD (University of the Witwatersrand)  

Employment History

  • Experimental Officer in Analytical and Physical Chemistry at the former Atomic Energy Board (Pelindaba, Pretoria)
  • Senior Scientist at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Pelindaba, Pretoria)
  • Research Officer and Lecturer at School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
  • Faculty of Science appointment at the University of Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University) since April 2000.

Research Interests

The research of the Laboratory for Low Temperatures and Physics of Highly correlated Electron Systems is made possible by the following grants and awards to AM Strydom:

  • SA- National Research Foundation Focus Areas Programme: Strong Correlations in f-Electrons (2006 - 2010)
  • Team members: Prof P de V du Plessis (Physics Department, UJ), and Prof M.-B. Tchoula-Tchokonté (Physics Department, University of the Western Cape)
  • SA-National Research Foundation – Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft joint research programme with Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Dresden, Germany)
  • SA-National Research Foundation – Slovak Republic Bilateral Research Programme with scientists of the Slovak Academy of Science and Faculty of Sciences, University of Prešov, Slovakia.

Research Facilities

Our research synthesis facilities consist of the following:

SAMPLE SYNTHESIS:

  • Argon-gas getterer and purification plant (SAES)
  • High-temperature in-situ vacuum furnace (Centorr LF, 2000oC in 10?6 torr)
  • Argon-arc furnace (Edmund Bühler mini arc melter, ultra-clean and turbo-molecular vacuum environment)
  • Diverse further tube furnaces, large argon-arc melter and induction melting with growth-spinning also available

CHARACTERIZATION:

  • Within the Faculty Central Analytical Facility we have access to a variety of characterization methods such powder X-ray diffraction, XRF, SEM, and wavelength-dispersive microprobe.
  • H Real-time Laue orientation of single crystals by means of the Phovoltaik und Röntgen X-ray station (http://www.lauecamera.com/indexengl.htm) incorporating an area detector from Multiwire (http://www.multiwire.com/)   

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

Our cryogenic and low-temperature operations require a continuous and reliable supply of liquid helium. We operate a helium liquefier plant from Cryomech (www.cryomech.com) to produce cryogenic fuel as well as to recycle a high percentage of helium gas boiled off from research cryostats in our laboratory.  

The following properties can be studied in static applied magnetic fields up to 9 T, and in stable sample temperatures down to 2 K:

  • Thermal transport, including thermo-electric power and thermal conductivity
  • Magnetic moment by vibrating sample magnetometry
  • Electronic transport including angle-resolved ac-conductivity and Hall coefficient

A 3He cryostat permits studies of heat capacity and electrical resistivity down to 0.34 K, and in up to 9T.

Heat capacity, longitudinal electrical resistivity and Hall geometry transverse electrical resistivity can furthermore be measured in temperatures down to 0.05 K. These are made possible by a 3He/4He dilution refrigerator plus related options on the PPMS platform of Quantum Design (www.qdusa.com).

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES:

Magnetic moments, allowing the extraction of magnetization and magnetic susceptibility can be measured under high-sensitivity dc-field and ac-field conditions up to 7 T on the MPMS platform of Quantum Design.

The iQuantum option (http://www.iquantum.co.jp/eng/index.html) on the MPMS platform furthermore permits sample temperatures of down to 0.45 K to be reached for magnetic measurements by means of a 3He in-situ cooling fridge in the SQUID environment.

Collaborations

Current joint and collaborative work with the following groups form an integral part of our research:

  • Prof. F. Steglich and coworkers (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany, 
  • Prof Silke Bühler-Paschen and co-workers of the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria,
  • Dr. Marian Reiffers and coworkers of the Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Prešov, Slovakia,
  • Dr. Devashi Adroja, Dr. Adrian Hillier, and co-workers of the ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Facility of the Science & Technology Facilities Council, England, and
  • Dr. Pascale Deen of the neutron research reactor at the Laue-Langevin Institute in Grenoble, France.

Having been awarded a 2010 Senior Fellowship under the CV Raman Program, AM Strydom is expected to visit the Dr. S. ARUMUGAM, Coordinator of the Centre for High Pressure Research at the Bharathidisan University in Tiruchirappall, Tamil Nadu, India, early in 2011.

Recent research papers of AM Strydom

 2009

  1.    B Li, HL Alberts, AM Strydom, BM Wu, ARE Prinsloo, and ZhJ Chen, Magnetic properties of Cr-Fe-Mn alloys, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 321 (2009) 61. View    Abstract  
  2.    AM Strydom, Physical phenomena of the cage compounds RE3Pd20Si6 (RE=Lu, Yb), J. Alloys Comp., 480 (2009) 150. View           Abstract 
  3.    KC Mondal, AM Strydom, Z Tetana, SD Mhlanga, MJ Witcomb, J Havel, RM Erasmus, and NJ Coville, Boron-doped carbon microspheres, Mat. Chem. Phys.,  114 (2009) 973. View Abstract
  4.    BM Mhlungu, DT Adroja, AM Strydom, S. Paschen, and EA Goremychkin, Crystal electric field excitations in ferromagnetic CeTX compounds, Physica B, 404 (2009) 3032. View    Abstract
  5.    AM Strydom, Thermal and electronic transport in CeRu2Al10: evidence for a metal-insulator transition, Physica B, 404 (2009) 2981. View    Abstract
  6.    AA Gippius, M Baenitz, AK Rajarajan, EM Brüning, K Okhotnikov, R Walsted, AM Strydom, J Mydosh, and F Steglich, Magnetic Resonance on Correlated Semimetals: the case of U2Ru2Sn, CeRu4Sn6 and FeSb2, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 150 (2009) 042040. View    Abstract 
  7.    FC Ragel, P de V du Plessis, and AM Strydom, Dilution and non-Fermi liquid effects in the CePtIn Kondo lattice, J. Phys.: Cond. Mat. 21 (2009) 046008.
  8.    K Mallick, M Witcomb, and AM Strydom, Charge Transport property of One Dimensional Gold-polyaniline Composite Networks, Phys. Stat. Sol (a) 206 (2009) 2245.
  9.    N Manyala, BD Ngom, AC Beye, R Bucher, M Maaza, AM Strydom, A Forbes, ATC Johnson, Jr., and JF DiTusa, Structural and magnetic properties of e-Fe1-xCoxSi thin films deposited via pulsed laser deposition}, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94 (2009) 232503.
  10.    K Mallick, M Witcomb, M Scurell, AM Strydom, Optical, microscopic and low temperature electrical property of one-dimensional gold-polyaniline composite networks, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 42 (2009) 095409.
  11.    K Mallick, M Witcomb, R Erasmus, and AM Strydom, Low temperature magnetic property of polymer encapsulated gold nanoparticles, J. Appl. Phys. 106 (2009) 074303.
  12.    A Prokofiev, J Custers, M Kriegisch, S Laumann, M Müller, H Sassik, R Svagera, M Waas, K Neumaier, A M Strydom, and S Paschen, Crystal growth and composition-property relationship of Ce3Pd20Si6 single crystals, Phys. Rev. B 80 (2009) 235107.

2010

  1.    JAL Lodya, T Seda, AM Strydom, and S Manzini, Characterization of Fe/C catalysts supported on Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2}, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 200 (2010) 082016.
  2.    AM Strydom and BM Mhlungu, Magnetic ordering in hexagonal PrCuSi, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 200 (2010) 032071.
  3.    K Mallick, M Witcomb, R Erasmus, and AM Strydom, Electrical and optical properties of polyaniline with a weblike morphology, J. Appl. Polymer Science, 116 (2010) 1587.
  4.    PP Deen, AM Strydom, S Paschen, DT Adroja, W Kockelmann, and S Rols, Quantum fluctuations and the magnetic ground state of Ce3Pd20Si6, Phys. Rev. B 81 (2010) 064427.
  5.    K Mallick, M Witcomb, M Scurrell, and A Strydom, Paramagnetic polyaniline nanospheres, Chem. Phys. Lett, 494 (2010) 232.
  6.    K. Mallick, M. Coyanis, M. Witcomb, R. Erasmus, and A Strydom, In-situ generation of paramagnetism during polymerization, NSTI Conference Proceedings 1 (2010) 811.
  7.       ARE Prinsloo, HL Alberts, and AM Strydom, Electrical and Thermal transport properties of Cr-Si alloy single crystals}, J. Phys.: Conf. Series 200 (2010) 022048.
  8.    L Reddy, HL Alberts, ARE Prinsloo, and AM Strydom, Scaling of spin-density-wave effects in the (Cr71Ru14)1-xVx alloy system below the quantum critical point, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 200 (2009) 022050.
  9.    S Paschen, H Winkler, T Nezu, M Kriegisch, J Custers, A Prokofiev, and A M Strydom, Anisotropy of the Kondo insulator CeRu4Sn6, J. Phys.: Conf. Series 200 (2010) 012156.
  10.    HL Alberts, ARE Prinsloo, and AM Strydom, Electrical transport and specific heat of a Cr+2.2 at.% Al single crystal, J. Magn. Magn. Mat. 322 (2010) 1092.
  11.    AM Strydom, CeRu2Al10: anomalous magnetic ordering and its field stability, J. Low Temp. Phys. 159 (2010) 160.
  12.    A M Strydom, CeCu3Al2: incoherent Kondo, or non-Fermi liquid?, Phys. Stat. Solidi (b), 247 (2010) 713.
  13.    BM Sondezi-Mhlungu, DT Adroja, AM Strydom, W Kockelmann, and EA Goremychkin, Inelastic neutron scattering and specific heat of CeCuGe, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, 200 (2010) 012190.
  14.    AM Strydom, Magnetic ordering and metamagnetism in PrCuSi, Eur. Phys. J. B 74 (2010) 9.
  15.    AM Strydom, and A. Thamizhavel, Hall effect in quantum critical CeAuSb2, J. Phys.: Conf. Series, accepted, July 2010.
  16.    F Ragel, P de V du Plessis, and AM Strydom, Kondo  behaviour of the solid solution (Ce1-xLax)PtGa, J. Phys. Chem. Sol., in press, August 2010.
  17.    JL Snyman, K Flachbart, S Gabani, M Reiffers, N Shitsevalova, M Siemensmeyer, and AM Strydom, Magnetocaloric effect in geometrically frustrated magnetic compound HoB12, Acta Phys. Polon. A (accepted July 2010).
  18.    JZ Msomi, T Moyo, H M I Abdallah, A M Strydom, and D Britz, XRD, magnetic and Möossbauer spectral studies of AgxNi1-xFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles, J. Novel Supercond. Magn. in press, August 2010.
  19.    SC Ray, SK Ghosh, Z Chiguvare, U Palnitkar, WF Pong, I-Nan Lin, P Papakonstantinou, and AM Strydom, Electron Field Emission of silicon-doped diamond like carbon thin films, Japanese J. Appl. Phys. 49 (2010) 111301.
  20.    MB Tchoula Tchokonté, P de V du Plessis, D Kaczorowski, and AM Strydom, Magnetic, electrical and thermodynamical properties of RE8Pd24Sn, Sol. State Commun. In press, September 2010.
  21.    I Curlik, AM Strydom, and M Reiffers, Point contact properties of R3Pd20X6 (R=La, Ce; X=Si, Ge) cage compounds, Acta Phys. Polon. A (accepted July 2010).
  22.    EM Brüning, M Brando, M Baenitz, A Bentien, AM Strydom, RE Walstedt, and F Steglich, Low-temperature properties of CeRu4Sn6 from NMR and specific heat measurements: Heavy fermions emerging from a Kondo-insulating state, Phys. Rev. B 82 (2010) 125115.
  23.    DT Adroja, AD Hillier, PP Deen, AM Strydom, Y Muro, J Kajino, WA Kockelmann, T Takabatake, VK Anand, JR Stewart, and J Taylor, Long-range ordering of reduced magnetic moments in the spin-gap compound CeOs2Al10 as seen via muon spin relaxation and neutron scattering, Phys. Rev. B 82 (2010) 104405.
  24.    DD Khalyavin, AD Hillier, DT Adroja, AM Strydom, P Manuel, LC Chapon, P Peratheepan, K Knight, P Deen, C Ritter, Y Muro, and T Takabatake, Long-range magnetic order in CeRu2Al10 studied via muon spin relaxation and neutron diffraction, Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communications, 82 (2010) 100405.
  25.    AM Strydom, and D Britz, Magnetic field effects in antiferromagnetic CePd3In2, accepted to Solid State Phenomena, August 2010.
  26.    AM Strydom, P. Peratheepan, R. Sarkar, M. Baenitz, and F. Steglich, Electronic correlation effects in LnFe2Al10 (Ln=Y, Yb)}, accepted to Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, September 2010.
  27.    AM Strydom and P. Peratheepan, Magnetism and electronic correlations in the iron aluminides RFe2Al10 (R=Y, Yb)}, Physica Status Solidi Rapid Research Letters 4 (2010) 356.
  28.    CJ Sheppard, ARE Prinsloo, HL Alberts, and AM Strydom, Evidence of a possible Quantum Critical Point in a Cr-Si alloy doped with Mo, accepted to Journal of Applied Physics, November 2010.


PhD and MSc bursaries

Bursaries and studentships are available for South African or international candidates wishing to pursue an experimental research degree in the topics of our group. The envisaged research would include electronic, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of SCES, with furthermore the possibility of special emphasis on thermoelectric properties of SCES or related materials.


Post-Doctoral Fellowships

Generous Post-doctoral fellowships are available to qualified South African and International students who are interested in pursuing experimental Physics research into the physical properties of Strongly Correlated Electron (SCE) systems. Thermoelectric properties of SCE systems and related materials are offered as a research topic of special interest. The research of our group entails all aspects of sample synthesis and characterization, measurement and interpretation of physical properties, and participation in writing research publications and conference presentations. Grants for attending local and international conferences are available as part of the fellowships.

Contact Details

Tel: +27 (0)11 559 2320/2327
Fax: +27 (0)11 559 2339
Auckland Park Kingsway Campus: 126 C1 Lab
Email
     
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