/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In a new publication in Nature Materials, an international team of researchers has developed groundbreaking artificial chains of the iconic "olympicene" molecules to realize the antiferromagnetic (AF) spin-½ Heisenberg model, a flagship quantum spin model that has been the cornerstone of quantum magnetism, since the seminal work of Bethe, for almost a century now. This study makes nanographenes (NGs) an ideal platform for realizing and studying highly entangled quantum spin systems, with potential applications in insulator-based AF spintronics. /news/2025-03-olympicene-molecular-chains-quantum-spintronics.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:23:03 EDT news661170181 Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, is known for its exceptional properties: incredible strength (about 200 times stronger than steel), light weight, flexibility, and excellent conduction of electricity and heat. These properties have made graphene increasingly important in applications across various fields, including electronics, energy storage, medical technology, and, most recently, quantum computing. /news/2024-12-graphene-stacking-discovery-herald-era.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:01:16 EST news653068874 Moiré superlattices are materials consisting of two layers stacked on top of each other with either a small rotational misalignment or a lattice mismatch between them. The Kondo lattice model, on the other hand, describes systems in which conduction electrons interact with localized magnetic impurities, which changes the systems' electrical and magnetic properties. /news/2024-10-physicists-emergence-ferromagnetism-onset-kondo.html Condensed Matter Thu, 17 Oct 2024 06:40:01 EDT news648127967 Unconventional superconducting states are states of superconductivity rooted in physical processes that do not conform with the conventional theory of superconductivity, namely Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory. These states are characterized by close interactions between magnetism and superconductivity. /news/2024-04-spontaneous-emergence-1d-superconducting-stripes.html Superconductivity Mon, 08 Apr 2024 09:39:39 EDT news631787972 A new magnetic material developed by RIKEN physicists could boost computer memory storage by enabling higher memory density and faster memory writing speeds. Their research has been published in the journal Nature Communications. /news/2024-03-electron-effect-boost-memory.html Condensed Matter Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:35:03 EDT news630668102 Lectures continue to dominate university teaching, but especially when it comes to big introductory courses, more group work and alternative assignments, such as making podcasts, can have a positive effect. /news/2024-01-podcasts-compulsory-student.html Social Sciences Education Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:17:26 EST news624125842 Quantum computing could revolutionize our world. For specific and crucial tasks, it promises to be exponentially faster than the zero-or-one binary technology that underlies today's machines, from supercomputers in laboratories to smartphones in our pockets. But developing quantum computers hinges on building a stable network of qubits—or quantum bits—to store information, access it and perform computations. /news/2023-06-quantum-magnetic.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:42:55 EDT news607099370 Ferromagnets are materials that become magnetized and remain so while they are exposed to an external magnetic field. In these materials, electric currents typically induce a so-called transverse Hall voltage (i.e., a voltage resulting from the deflection of electrons), which is proportional to their internal magnetization. /news/2023-05-spontaneous-topological-hall-effect-driven.html Condensed Matter Wed, 17 May 2023 10:30:02 EDT news603536963 Researchers at Harvard University, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Arizona State University, and other institutes in the United States have recently observed an antiferromagnetic metal phase in electron-doped NdNiO3 a material known to be a non-collinear antiferromagnet (i.e., exhibiting an onset of antiferromagnetic ordering that is concomitant with a transition into an insulating state). /news/2023-02-unveils-antiferromagnetic-metal-phase-electron-doped.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Feb 2023 10:10:06 EST news596368309 Excitons are quasiparticles that are formed in insulators or semiconductors when an electron is promoted to a higher energy band, leaving a positively charged hole behind. /news/2022-09-evidence-excitonic-insulators-moir-superlattices.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 07 Sep 2022 10:30:01 EDT news581765281 An advance in the use of antiferromagnetic materials in memory storage devices has been made by an international team of physicists. /news/2022-08-scientists-unravel-hall-effect-mystery.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:24:03 EDT news580040641 Using a network of vibrating nano-strings controlled with light, researchers from AMOLF have made sound waves move in a specific irreversible direction and attenuated or amplified the waves in a controlled manner for the first time. This gives rise to a lasing effect for sound. To their surprise, they discovered new mechanisms, so-called "geometric phases," with which they can manipulate and transmit sound in systems where that was thought to be impossible. "This opens the way to new types of (meta)materials with properties that we do not yet know from existing materials," says group leader Ewold Verhagen who, together with shared first authors Javier del Pino and Jesse Slim, publishes the surprising results on June 2 in Nature. /news/2022-05-discovery-mechanisms.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 01 Jun 2022 11:00:06 EDT news573206505 A hallmark of so-called topological quantum states is that they are protected against local perturbations. ETH physicists now demonstrate that in the paradigmatic case of the integer quantum Hall effect, vacuum fluctuations can cause a breakdown of topological protection. /news/2022-03-vacuum-fluctuations-topological.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 04 Mar 2022 12:48:17 EST news565620494 The kagome pattern, a network of corner-sharing triangles, is well known amongst traditional Japanese basket weavers—and condensed matter physicists. The unusual geometry of metal atoms in the kagome lattice and resulting electron behavior makes it a playground for probing weird and wonderful quantum phenomena that form the basis of next-generation device research. /news/2022-02-insight-unconventional-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 09 Feb 2022 11:08:54 EST news563627329 The world we experience is governed by classical physics. How we move, where we are, and how fast we're going are all determined by the classical assumption that we can only exist in one place at any one moment in time. /news/2022-01-physicists-ultracold-atoms-crystal-quantum.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 05 Jan 2022 12:29:55 EST news560608190 When can we say that a certain property of a system is robust? Intuitively, robustness implies that, even under the effect of external perturbations on the system, no matter how strong or random, said property remains unchanged. In mathematics, properties of an object that are robust against deformations are called topological. For example, the letters s, S, and L can be transformed into each other by stretching or bending their shape. The same holds true for letters o, O, and D. However, it is impossible to turn an S into an O without a discontinuous operation, such as cutting the O apart or sticking the two ends of the S together. Therefore, we say that the letters s, S and L have the same topology—as do the letters o, O and D—whereas the two groups of letters have different topologies. But how does topology relate to biology? /news/2021-07-exploring-topology-biology.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 23 Jul 2021 10:22:49 EDT news546254565 An international team led by researchers at Princeton University has uncovered a new pattern of ordering of electric charge in a novel superconducting material. /news/2021-06-team-unexpected-quantum-behavior-kagome.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:43:11 EDT news543242585 The electronic structure of metallic materials determines the behavior of electron transport. Magnetic Weyl semimetals have a unique topological electronic structure—the electron's motion is dynamically linked to its spin. These Weyl semimetals have come to be the most exciting quantum materials that allow for dissipationless transport, low power operation, and exotic topological fields that can accelerate the motion of the electrons in new directions. The compounds Co3Sn2S2 and Co2MnGa, recently discovered by the Felser group, have shown some of the most prominent effects due to a set of two topological bands. /news/2021-06-harmonious-electronic-quantum-materials.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:56:38 EDT news541778195 Identical twins might seem 'indistinguishable,' but in the quantum world the word takes on a new level of meaning. While identical twins share many traits, the universe treats two indistinguishable quantum particles as intrinsically interchangeable. This opens the door for indistinguishable particles to interact in unique ways—such as in quantum interference—that are needed for quantum computers. /news/2021-05-tunable-twin-particles.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 11 May 2021 11:34:16 EDT news539951651 Electric current is deflected by a magnetic field—in conducting materials, this leads to the so-called Hall effect. This effect is often used to measure magnetic fields. A surprising discovery has now been made at TU Wien, in collaboration with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), McMater University (Canada), and Rice University (U.S.): an exotic metal made of cerium, bismuth and palladium was examined and a giant Hall effect was found to be produced by the material, in the total absence of any magnetic field. The reason for this unexpected result lies in the unusual properties of the electrons: They behave as if magnetic monopoles were present in the material. These discoveries have now been published in the scientific magazine PNAS. /news/2021-02-magnetic-effect-magnet.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 22 Feb 2021 09:36:05 EST news533208962 Electrons in materials have a property known as 'spin," which is responsible for a variety of properties, the most well-known of which is magnetism. Permanent magnets, like the ones used for refrigerator doors, have all the spins in their electrons aligned in the same direction. Scientists refer to this behavior as ferromagnetism, and the research field of trying to manipulate spin as spintronics. /news/2021-02-magnetic-graphene.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 05 Feb 2021 09:40:20 EST news531740411 Compared with the chiral spin textures in ferromagnets, their antiferromagnetic counterparts can be manipulated by spin currents with a more direct approach due to the absence of the skyrmion Hall effect, and much lower power consumption, as well. So far, most research has focused on isolated excitation in perpendicular antiferromagnetic spin systems, for example, skyrmion solitons. Meanwhile, the characteristics and the related physics of its in-plane analog, the bimeron, remain elusive. /news/2020-11-in-plane-antiferromagnets-host-rich-class.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:28:27 EST news524478505 Sometimes combinations of different things produce effects that no one expects, such as when completely new properties appear that the two combined parts do not have on their own. Dr. Libor Å mejkal from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) found such an unexpected property: He combined antiferromagnetic substances with non-magnetic atoms and found that, contrary to the current doctrine, a Hall current occurs—which is not the case with either antiferromagnetic or non-magnetic substances individually. /news/2020-11-antiferromagnets-suitable-dissipationless-nanoelectronics-contrary.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 09 Nov 2020 13:09:12 EST news524149748 Over the past few years, a growing number of researchers worldwide has been conducting studies investigating the properties and features of so-called twisted van der Waals (vdW) materials. This unique class of materials could be an ideal platform to examine correlated phases that occur as a result of strong interactions between electrons. /news/2020-10-spontaneous-symmetry-bilayer-graphene.html Nanomaterials Thu, 15 Oct 2020 05:38:06 EDT news521959074 Composite fermions are exotic quasi-particles found in interacting 2-D fermion systems at relatively large perpendicular magnetic fields. These quasi-particles, which are composed of an electron and two magnetic flux quanta, have often been used to describe a physical phenomenon known as the fractional quantum Hall effect. /news/2020-09-bloch-ferromagnetism-composite-fermions.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:34:00 EDT news519633771 Emerging quantum materials can be defined by topology and strong electron correlations, although their applications in experimental systems are relatively limited. Weyl semimetals incorporating magnetism offer a unique and fertile platform to explore emerging phenomena in developing topological matter and topological spintronics. The triangular antiferromagnet Mn3Sn exhibits many exotic physical properties as an antiferromagnetic (AFM) Weyl semimetal (WSM), including an attractively large spontaneous Hall effect. /news/2020-09-kondo-physics-antiferromagnetic-weyl-semimetal.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Condensed Matter Tue, 08 Sep 2020 09:20:04 EDT news518770502 An international research team led by The University of Manchester has revealed a nanomaterial that mirrors the "magic angle" effect originally found in a complex man-made structure known as twisted bilayer graphene—a key area of study in physics in recent years. /news/2020-08-advance-superconductors-rhombohedral-graphite.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:45:42 EDT news516455138 An international team led by researchers at Princeton University has uncovered a new class of magnet that exhibits novel quantum effects that extend to room temperature. /news/2020-07-scientists-topological-magnet-exotic-quantum.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 23 Jul 2020 02:58:36 EDT news514691907 Topological photonics underpins a promising paradigm for robust light manipulation, as well as smart design of optical devices with improved reliability and advanced functionalities that are governed by the nontrivial band topology. Nanostructures made of high-index dielectric materials with resonant elements and lattice arrangements show special promise for implementation of topological order for light at the nanoscale and optical on-chip applications. High-index dielectrics such as III-V semiconductors that can contain strong optical gain further enhanced by topological field localization form a promising platform for active topological nanophotonics. /news/2020-07-valley-hall-nanoscale-lasers.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Jul 2020 08:32:04 EDT news514625520 Nontrivial band topology can combine with magnetic order in a magnetic topological insulator to produce exotic states of matter such as quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators and axion insulators. An aim of condensed matter physics is to find new materials with useful properties and apply quantum mechanics to study them. The field has allowed physicists to better understand the uses of magnets for hard disk data storage, computer displays and other technologies. The recent discovery of topological insulators have attracted broad interest and researchers predict that the interplay between ferromagnetism and the topological insulator state can realize a range of exotic quantum magnetic phenomena of interest in fundamental physics and device applications. /news/2020-02-quantum-anomalous-hall-effect-intrinsic.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:30:02 EST news500800253