Research interests
Fields of interest: quantum magnetism, geometrical frustration, low-D magnetism, multiferroics, diluted magnetic oxides, high-temperature superconductors
Experimental techniques: ESR, NMR, muSR, neutron scattering
Lab: Laboratory for measurements at large-scale user facilities (head)
Scientific achievements
- 112 original scientific papers (Nat. Mater. 2022, Nat. Phys. 2020, Nat. Phys. 2019, Nat. Phys. 2018, Nat. Phys. 2017, Nat. Commun. 2015, Adv. Funct. Mater 2015, Nat. Commun. 2013, Adv. Mater. 2002, 12 PRLs)
- 3 chapters in monographs
- 41 invited talks
h-index: 33, 3500+ citations
CV
Projects
Selected Papers
Invited Talks & Lectures
Panels and Boards
Publick Outreach
For Students
CV
Born: 18.11.1977, Brežice (Slovenia)
Education:
- 1996 – 2000: undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (University of Ljubljana), diploma thesis “Study of one-dimensional conductor (TMTTF)2Br with pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance”
- 2000 – 2004: PhD studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (University of Ljubljana), PhD thesis “Study of one- and two-dimensional magnetic systems with spin-singlet ground state“
Positions:
- 2025 – present: full professor of Physics, FMF UL
- 2024: visiting professor, Hokkaido Summer Institute, Hokkaido University, Japan
- 2023 – present: scientific councilor, Jozef Stefan Institute
- 2019 – 2025: associate professor of Physics, FMF UL
- 2018 – 2023: senior scientific associate, Jozef Stefan Institute
- 2015 – 2019: assistant professor of Physics, FMF UL
- 2009 – 2013: scientific associate, EN-FIST Centre of Excellence
- 2008 – 2018: scientific associate, Jozef Stefan Institute
- 2007 – 2008: post-doctoral fellow, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud 11, Orsay, France
- 2004 – 2008: post-doctoral fellow, Jozef Stefan Institute
- 2000 – 2004: young researcher, Jozef Stefan Institute
Awards:
- APS Robert E. Marshak Lectureship Award, American Physical Society, USA (2023)
- 2022 Science Impact Award, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Didcot, UK (2022)
- Excellence in Science Award 2022, Slovenian Research Agency, Ljubljana (2022)
- Jožef Stefan Golden Emblem Award for best Doctoral thesis, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana (2007)
- Futurum Award for best Doctoral thesis, Ad futura – Scientific and Educational Foundation of the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana (2006)
- Marie-Curie Intraeuropean Grant, European Commission, Brussels (2006)
- Faculty “Prešeren” Award for best Diploma thesis, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (2001)
- Member of the national team at the 37. International Mathematical Olympiad, Bombay, India (1996)
- Graduation with honors, Brežice (1996)
- Zois fellowship (1992-2000)
Projects
Principal investigator:
- 2026 – 2031: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Cofund project (European Comission) “Slovenian Quantum Science Hub (SQUASH)”, Grant No. 101177446
- 2024 – 2027: CRO-SLO research project (leading agency HRZZ) “Evolution of the complex magnetic and polar orders from simple 2D scaffolds in the layered hybrid organic-inorganic halometallates”, N1-0345
- 2023 – 2026: national research project “Anisotropic quantum magnetism in novel rare-earth materials”, J1-50008
- 2023 – 2025: SLO-CRO bilateral project “Layered hybrid metal-organic perovskites: structure – magnetism correlation”, BI-HR/23-24-014
- 2023 – 2023: industrial project “EPR measurements of polymers”, PR-12597
- 2022 – 2024: SLO-USA bilateral project “Novel quantum materials from a local-probe perspective”, BI-US/22-24-065
- 2020 – 2023: national research project “Novel experimental approach for determination of quantum spin liquids”, J1-2461
- 2020 – 2023: CH-SLO research project (leading agency SNSF) “Stabilization and destabilization of spin liquids by perturbations”, N1-0148
- 2018 – 2021: SLO-USA bilateral project “Magnetoresonance study of spin-liquid candidates”, BI-US/18-20-064
- 2015 – 2016: SLO-FR bilateral project “Spin-liquid ground state of quantum kagome antiferromagnets from a local-probe perspective”, BI-FR/15-16-PROTEUS-004
- 2014 – 2015: SLO-USA bilateral project “Local studies of frustrated quantum antiferromagnets”, BI-US/14-15-039
- 2014 – 2015: SLO-CRO bilateral project “Key role of magnetic anisotropy in low-dimensional spin systems”, BI-HR/14-15-003
- 2011 – 2012: SLO-FR bilateral project “Novel frustration induced states of quantum magnets”, Bi-FR/11-12-PROTEUS-008
- 2009 – 2012: SLO-USA bilateral project “Geometrically frustrated quantum magnetism”, BI-US/09-12-040
- 2007 – 2008: national research project “Magnetism in geometrically frustrated two-dimensional spin systems”, Z1-9530
- 2007 – 2008: national research project “Spin liquid states in highly frustrated magnets: local studies”, Marie-Curie Intraeuropean Grant MEIF-CT-2006-041243
- 2006 – 2007: SLO-USA bilateral project “Magneto-resonance studies of new porous materials for electrodes in Li-based batteries”, BI-US-06-07-037
Selected Papers
- J. Khatua et al., Experimental signatures of quantum and topological states in frustrated magnetism, Phys. Rep. 1041, 1 (2023).
- Arh et al., The Ising triangular-lattice antiferromagnet neodymium heptatantalate as a quantum spin liquid candidate, Nat. Mater. 21, 416 (2022).
- Arh et al., Origin of Magnetic Ordering in a Structurally Perfect Quantum Kagome Antiferromagnet, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 027203 (2020).
- Khuntia et al., Gapless ground state in the archetypal quantum kagome antiferromagnet ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, Nat. Phys. 16, 469 (2020).
- Gomilšek et al., Kondo screening in a charge-insulating spinon metal, Nat. Phys. 15, 754 (2019).
- Janša et al., Observation of two types of fractional excitations in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet, Nat. Phys. 14, 786 (2018).
- Gomilšek et al., Field-Induced Instability of a Gapless Spin Liquid with a Spinon Fermi Surface, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 137205 (2017).
- Klanjšek et al., A high-temperature quantum spin liquid with polaron spins, Nat. Phys. 13, 1130 (2017).
- Zorko et al., Symmetry Reduction in the Quantum Kagome Antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 017202 (2017).
- Pregelj et al., Spin-stripe phase in a frustrated zigzag spin-1/2 chain, Nat. Commun. 6, 7255 (2015).
- Pregelj et al., Controllable Broadband Absorption in the Mixed Phase of Metamagnets, Adv. Funct. Mater. 25, 3634 (2015).
- Zorko, et al., Frustration-induced nanometer-scale inhomogeneity in a triangular antiferromagnet, Nat. Commun. 5, 3222 (2014).
- Pregelj et al., Persistent Spin Dynamics Intrinsic to Amplitude-Modulated Long-Range Magnetic Order, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 227202 (2012).
- Zorko et al., Role of Antisymmetric Exchange in Selecting Magnetic Chirality in Ba3NbFe3Si2O14, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 257203 (2011).
- Zorko et al., Unconventional Magnetism in a Nitrogen-Containing Analog of Cupric Oxide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 047208 (2011).
- Loire, et al., Parity-Broken Chiral Spin Dynamics in Ba3NbFe3Si2O14, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 207201 (2011).
- Zorko et al., Ground State of the Easy-Axis Rare-Earth Kagome Langasite Pr3Ga5SiO14, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 057202 (2010).
- Pregelj et al., Spin Amplitude Modulation Driven Magnetoelectric Coupling in the New Multiferroic FeTe2O5Br, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 147202 (2009).
- Zorko et al., Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya Anisotropy in the Spin-1/2 Kagome Compound ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 026405 (2008).
- Zorko et al., Easy-Axis Kagome Antiferromagnet: Local-Probe Study of Nd3Ga5SiO14, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 147201 (2008).
- Mihailovic et al., Unusual Magnetic State in Lithium-Doped MoS2 Nanotubes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 146401 (2003).
- R. Dominko et al., Dichalcogenide Nanotube Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries, Adv. Mater. 14, 1531 (2002).
Invited Talks & Lectures
- 10/2025: Quantum Spin Liquids: Experimental Enigmas and Theoretical Challenges, Budapest, Hungary
- 10/2025: From spin liquids to spin supersolids and spin stripes in triangular-lattice rare-earth heptatantalates, International Conference on Strongly Correlated Quantum Materials (ICSCQM), Hvar, Croatia
- 03/2025: SQUASH (Slovenian Quantum Science Hub), Quantum Frontiers and Collaborative Innovation, Science Diplomacy Club, Carleton University and the Embassy of Slovenia, Ottawa, Canada
- 03/2025: Emergent Quantum Phases of the Triangular Spin Lattice: Spin Liquids, Supersolids, and Beyond, UK Neutron and Muon Science and User Meeting, Warwick, UK
- 01/2025: From spin liquids to supersolids in quantum magnets, Monday Physics Colloquium, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 09/2024: Quantum phases of rare-earth heptatantalates, Central European Condensed Matter Physics Day: 73rd Annual Meeting of the Austrian Physical Society, Linz, Austria
- 08/2024: Quantum magnetism in triangular-lattice antiferromagnets, New Frontiers in Advanced Magnetism 2024, Sapporo, Japan
- 07-08/2024: Magnetic spectroscopy experiment as a probe of the microscopic electronic properties of materials, advanced research course at Hokkaido Summer Institute, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- 07/2024: Quantum disorder on anisotropic triangular spin lattice, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- 07/2024: Spectroscopy of quantum magnets, Physics in Ljubljana 2024, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 07/2024: Experimental signatures of quantum spin liquids, Ljubljana PhD School on Quantum Physics – 2024, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 02/2024: Quantum-disordered anisotropic triangular antiferromagnets, Quantum Materials Symposium 2024, YongPyong, Korea
- 11/2023: Rare-earth heptatantalates as candidates for quantum disorder, ISIS/Diamond SCES seminar, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, GB
- 09/2023: Quantum spin liquids in triangular-lattice rare-earth heptatantalates, Magnetic Resonance of Correlated Electron Materials, Dresden, Germany
- 09/2023: Quantum spin liquids on triangular spin lattices, Muon User Meeting 2023, Oxford, GB
- 07/2023: Quantum disorder in the rare-earth heptatantalate family, LNS Seminar, Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- 06/2023: Spin liquids on the triangular spin lattice, Solid State Science and Research SCIRES 2023, Zagreb, Croatia
- 03/2023: Quantum spin liquid with the Ising character in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet neodymium heptatantalate, APS March Meeting 2023, Las Vegas, USA
- 12/2022: A novel spin liquid on the triangular lattice, 11th Nonequilibrium Quantum Workshop, Krvavec, Slovenia
- 12/2022: Ising spin liquid, Day of ARRS: Supporting Excellence, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 11/2022: The first realization of an Ising-like spin liquid on a triangular spin lattice, Chinese Physical Society Fall Meeting, Shenzhen, China
- 11/2022: Ising spin liquid in an antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice, 12. Conference of Physicists in Basic Research, Čatež, Slovenia
- 11/2022: Ising-like correlations in a spin-liquid ground state of a triangular antiferromagnet, Frustrated Magnetism and Topology, Radebeul, Germany
- 09/2022: Ising-like triangular antiferromagnet with a spin-liquid ground state, Frustrated Metals and Insulators, Bangalore, India
- 06/2022: Local probes (ESR/µSR/NMR), HFM22, Paris, France
- 04/2022: Magnetic resonance techniques for studies of magnetic systems, Specialized seminar on experimental Physics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 09/2021: Kondo screening in a spin liquid, Hyperfine 2021, Brasov, Romania
- 07/2021: Intriguing spinon-metal state of an insulating kagome lattice antiferromagnet, EUROMAR 2021, Portorož, Slovenia
- 05/2021: Chargeless spinon metal: from spinon pairing to Kondo screening, Techische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- 05/2020: Kondo screening in a spin liquid, HFM 2020, Shanghai, China (conference canceled)
- 03/2020: Kondo effect in a spinon metal, APS March Meeting 2020, Denver, USA
- 01/2017: What can defects reveal about quantum spin liquids?, Monday Physics Colloquium, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 12/2015: Inhomogeneous states of uniform spin systems, 14. Physics Symposium of UL, Maribor, Slovenia
- 10/2014: Phase separation in spin systems, Physics Department Seminar, Faculty of Science, Zagreb, Croatia
- 03/2014: Frustration-driven phase separation in a spin system, Monday Physics Colloquium, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 06/2012: Electron magnetic resonance in strongly correlated electronic systems: experimental aspects. NGSCES 2012, Portorož, Slovenia
- 07/2010: Mangetically frustrated kagomé lattice in the quantum limit, IESL FORTH, Heraklion, Greece
- 03/2010: Magnetic frustration on the spin-1/2 kagome lattice, NHMFL, Tallahasse, USA
- 10/2006: Magnetic properties of the novel 2D spin system 4X2 (X=Cl, Br), NHMFL, Tallahassee,USA
- 04/2006: Impurity-induced magnetic ordering in Haldane chains, GHMFL. Grenoble, France
- 11/2003: Magnetic properties of a novel 2D spin-gap system , Institute for Physics, Zagreb, Croatia
Panels and Boards
Memberships in Panels, Boards, etc.:
- President of the Governing Board of the Slovenian Quantum Science Hub – SQUASH (2025-present)
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee SINQ at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland (2024 – present)
- Member of the Investments Committee at JSI (2023 – present)
- Vice President of the International Society for muSR Spectroscopy responsible for Europe and Africa (2022 – present)
- Member of the Expert Committee for the Canada Foundation for Innovations, Canada (2022 – present)
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee SmuS at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland (2019 – present)
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the European School on Magnetism (2015 – 2021)
- Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports (2015 – present)
- Reviewer for national research agencies DOE (USA), SNSF (Switzerland), DFG (Germany), UEFISCDI (Romania), (2016 – present)
Organization of Conferences:
- Member of the International Program Committee of CMinCE: Condensed Matter in Central-Europe, Vienna, Austria (2025)
- Member of the International Advisory Committee of The 16th international Conference on Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation and Resonance, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (2025)
- Member of the Programme Committee of the European Conference on Neutron Scattering 2023, Munich, Germany (2023)
- Member of the International Advisory Committee of The 15th international Conference on Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation and Resonance, Parma, Italy (2022)
- Member of the Organizing Committee of EUROMAR 2021: European Conference on Magnetic Resonance, Portorož, Slovenia (2021)
- Member of the International Advisory Committee of The 13th international Conference on Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation and Resonance, Grindelwald, Switzerland (2014)
- Member of the Organizing Committee of the International Conference Magnetic Resonance in Highly Frustrated Magnetic Systems, HFMR 2010, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (2010)
Publick Outreach
Interviews
- L. Vidmar, L. Ulčakar, A. Ramšak, A. Zorko, R. Žitko, M. Kerin, R. J. Sunderland, A. Zeilinger, J. Dovč, P. Jeglič, M. Huš, I. Ulčakar, M. Rigler, Kvantni dan na Valu 202, Radio Slovenija, Val 2002, Frekvenca X, 16. 4. 2025.
- A. Zorko, Slovenski fiziki odkrili potencialno osnovo za kvantne računalnike, Dnevnik online, 18. 1. 2022.
- A. Zorko, Eksperiment, ki odpira vrata kvantnim računalnikom, Radio Slovenija, III. program, program ARS, Podobe znanja, 28. 6. 2019.
Popular articles
- A. Zorko, T. Arh in M. Pregelj, Nenavadna tekočina, ki to sploh ni, Delo.si, 20. 1. 2022
- A. Zorko, Slovenski znanstveniki prvi potrdili 70 let staro teorijo, 24ur.com, 5. 1. 2022.
- A. Zorko in M. Gomilšek, Nenavadni magnetizem kvantnega materiala, Delo, 13. 1. 2019, vol. 61, no. 134, p. 13.
Professional articles
- M. Pregelj, T. Arh, A. Zorko, Uporaba novih metod za raziskave magnetizma na IJS, Novice IJS, March 2022, no. 200, p. 19-22.
- M. Gomilšek, A. Zorko, Nov kvanten odziv nečistoč v kvantnih spinskih tekočinah, Novice IJS, December. 2019, no. 191, p. 8-12.
- A. Zorko, O. Adamopoulos, M. Komelj, D. Arčon, A. Lappas, On the inhomogeneous grounds state of a triangular antiferromagnet. ESRF newsletter vol. 2014, p. 118-119 (2014).
- A. Zorko, Muons reveal unconventional magentism in a cupric-oxide analogue, Inside NMI, 3. 5. 2012, no. 3, p. 10.
For Students
Course in Magnetic Spectroscopy, Hokkaido Summer Institute 2024, Hokkaido University
Modern Physics course for students of the program Techniques of Measurement in Physics, FMF, UL
University textbooks and educational material:
- A. Zorko, Magnetic spectroscopy experiments as a probe of the microscopic electronic properties of materials, Sapporo University (2024)
- A. Zorko, Izpitna vprašanja in teme seminarskih nalog pri Moderni fiziki za študente Aplikativne fizike (2023)
- A. Zorko, Moderna fizika – Izbor povzetkov in interaktivnih vsebin (2022)
- A. Zorko, Moderna fizika – Video predavanja (2021)
- A. Zorko, Moderna fizika – Zapiski (2021)
- A. Zorko, M. Nemevšek, N. Košnik, M. Lubej, Zbirka rešenih nalog iz moderne fizike (DMFA založništvo, 2018)
- A. Zorko, M. Škarabot, Zbirka nalog iz fizike z rešitvami (Univerza v Ljubljani, FKKT, 2017)
