https://phys.org/physics-news/materials en-us The latest news on Physics, Materials, Science and Technology Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown that quantum states of single electron spins can be controlled by currents of electrons whose spins are evenly aligned. In the future, this method could be used in electronic circuit elements. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-alternative-quantum-states.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:44:26 EDT news638117062 Terahertz waves are being intensely studied by researchers around the world seeking to understand the "terahertz gap." Terahertz waves have a specific frequency that puts them somewhere between microwaves and infrared light. This range is referred to as a "gap" because much remains unknown about these waves. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-generation-intense-terahertz-magnetic-material.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:15:03 EDT news638010901 A joint research team that included members from Tohoku University has unveiled a new topological insulator (TI), a unique state of matter that differs from conventional metals, insulators, and semiconductors. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-discovery-dimensional-topological-insulator-qubits.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:12:48 EDT news638007164 In a paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers offer a new theory that predicts defect density across a variety of phase transitions. The research opens new routes for the exploration of defect formation in fields such as materials science, high-energy physics and cosmology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-theory-broadens-phase-transition-exploration.html General Physics Condensed Matter Tue, 18 Jun 2024 14:48:02 EDT news637940881 A research group from University of Tsukuba has discovered that fluctuations of electron spins in magnetic materials trigger a large anomalous Hall effect during phase transition known as the devil's staircase magnetic transition. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-large-anomalous-hall-effect-triggered.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:50:02 EDT news637923001 The so-called Casimir force or Casimir effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon resulting from fluctuations in the electromagnetic field between two conducting or dielectric surfaces that are a short distance apart. Studies have shown that this force can be either be attractive or repulsive, depending on the dielectric and magnetic properties of the materials used in experiments. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-reversibly-casimir-external-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:30:01 EDT news637857959 An international team led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, has made a significant breakthrough in how to enable and exploit ultra-fast spin behavior in ferromagnets. The research, "Spin inertia and auto-oscillations in ferromagnets," is published in Physical Review Letters and highlighted as an editors' suggestion, paves the way for ultra-high frequency applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ferromagnets-ready-ultra-fast-communication.html Condensed Matter Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:30:03 EDT news637579801 Magnetic materials have traditionally been classified as either ferromagnetic, like the decorative magnets on iron refrigerator doors that are seemingly always magnetic, or antiferromagnetic, like two bar magnets placed end-to-end with opposite poles facing each other, canceling each other out so that the material has no net magnetism. However, there appears to be a third class of magnetic materials exhibiting what in 2022 was dubbed altermagnetism. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-approach-altermagnetic-materials.html Condensed Matter Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:55:08 EDT news637577706 Halide perovskites are a class of materials with an underlying structure resembling that of mineral perovskites, but with X sites occupied by halide ions, while their A and B sites are occupied by cations. These materials have various advantageous properties that make them promising candidates for the development of photovoltaics (PVs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and other optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-exploring-polaron-formation-halide-perovskites.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Fri, 14 Jun 2024 08:20:01 EDT news637491282 Research teams led by Prof. Zeng Changgan and Zhang Hui from the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved a reversible transition from the Casimir attraction to repulsion under magnetic field control by using a magnetic fluid as an intermediate medium. Their study is published in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tune-casimir-magnetic-fields.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:07:02 EDT news637495621 In recent years, the field of metamaterials has experienced substantial growth, revealing exciting potential, especially in advancing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. Three new studies led by Dr. Xin Zhang, a BU College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and a professor at the BU Photonics Center, highlight the promising opportunities within this field. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-science-metamaterials-mri.html General Physics Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news637406757 Magnetic monopoles are elementary particles with isolated magnetic charges in three dimensions. In other words, they behave as isolated north or south poles of a magnet. Magnetic monopoles have attracted continuous research interest since physicist Paul Dirac's first proposal in 1931. However, real magnetic monopoles have not yet been observed and their existence remains an open question. On the other hand, scientists have discovered quasi-particles that mathematically behave as magnetic monopoles in condensed matter systems, resulting in interesting phenomena. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unveil-dynamical-nature-emergent-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:42:03 EDT news637411321 A team of Monash researchers have uncovered for the first time the full effects of interactions between exciton-polaritons and their associated dark excitonic reservoir. The study, "Polaronic polariton quasiparticles in a dark excitonic medium," was published in Physical Review B. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-dark-excitons.html Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:24:29 EDT news637406665 A new study published in Nature Physics introduces a theory of electron-phonon coupling that is affected by the quantum geometry of the electronic wavefunctions. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-theory-links-quantum-geometry-electron.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Wed, 12 Jun 2024 06:50:01 EDT news637231783 A study led by Nagoya University in Japan revealed that a simple thermal reaction of gallium nitride (GaN) with metallic magnesium (Mg) results in the formation of a distinctive superlattice structure. This represents the first time researchers have identified the insertion of 2D metal layers into a bulk semiconductor. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-natural-coincidence-gallium-nitride-magnesium.html Condensed Matter Tue, 11 Jun 2024 10:41:59 EDT news637321316 A trio of physicists at Sorbonne Université, in France, has observed a thermoelectric effect between two liquid materials for the first time. In their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Marlone Vernet, Stephan Fauve and Christophe Gissinger put two types of liquid metals together at room temperature and subjected them to a heat gradient. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-thermoelectric-effect-liquid-materials.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Tue, 11 Jun 2024 09:05:37 EDT news637315404 The wide availability of light-emitting devices (LEDs) for consumer use has led to a dramatic decrease in the cost of lighting our homes and other buildings. This is owing to the much higher efficiency of LEDs in converting electrical energy into light when compared with incandescent or even fluorescent bulbs. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-impact-carbon-impurities-quality-gallium.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:38:44 EDT news637231121 Calcium oxide is a cheap, chalky chemical compound commonly used in the manufacturing of cement, plaster, paper, and steel. But the material may soon have a more high-tech application. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-calcium-oxide-quantum-secret-noiseless.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:36:04 EDT news636896162 A highly sensitive diamond quantum magnetometer utilizing nitrogen-vacancy centers can achieve millimeter-scale resolution magnetoencephalography (MEG), as reported by scientists from Tokyo Tech. The novel magnetometer, based on continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance, marks a significant step towards realizing ambient condition MEG and other practical applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-highly-sensitive-diamond-quantum-magnetometer.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:03:04 EDT news636883379 Hydrogen storage, heat conduction, gas storage, CO2 and water sequestration—metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have extraordinary properties due to their unique structure in the form of microporous crystals, which have a very large surface area despite their small size. This makes them extremely interesting for research and practical applications. However, MOFs are very complex systems that have so far required a great deal of time and computing power to simulate accurately. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientist-advance-simulation-metal-frameworks.html Condensed Matter Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:30:04 EDT news636881402 Three-dimensional (3D) antiferromagnets are materials in which magnetic moments of atoms or ions are arranged in a 3D lattice structure with neighboring spins aligned in opposite directions. Physicists have observed a fascinating magnetic field–induced phase transition in these materials, described at magnon Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-quantum-critical-bose-gas-magnons.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 06 Jun 2024 06:50:01 EDT news636798704 Researchers at Harvard University, Sabanci University, and Peking University recently gathered findings that could shed light on the origin of the high-temperature absorption peaks observed in strange metals, a class of materials exhibiting unusual electronic properties that do not conform to the conventional theory of metals. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-uncovers-quantum-acoustical-drude-peak.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 04 Jun 2024 09:19:21 EDT news636711555 They say that one can miss the forest for the trees. But it's often worth taking a closer look at the trees to make sense of the dense, brambly whole. That's what a Stanford University group did to tackle a thorny quantum-information problem in diamond. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-crystal-clarity-diamond-quantum.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 03 Jun 2024 15:30:04 EDT news636647401 Researchers have for the first time observed a time crystal on a microscale semiconductor chip oscillating at a rate of several billion times per second, unveiling exceptionally high non-linear dynamics in the GHz range. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-chip-ghz-crystals-semiconductor-photonic.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Fri, 31 May 2024 11:34:40 EDT news636374076 Recently, a research group developed a giant magneto-superelasticity of 5% in a Ni34Co8Cu8Mn36Ga14 single crystal. This was achieved by introducing arrays of ordered dislocations to form preferentially oriented martensitic variants during the magnetically induced reverse martensitic transformation. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-giant-magneto-superelasticity-metal.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 May 2024 09:56:46 EDT news636281804 Researchers have designed a novel oxide material, Ca3Co3O8, through atomic precision manipulation of correlated oxides. It demonstrated a remarkable combination of properties—ferromagnetism, polar distortion and metallicity, which shines a spotlight on polar metals and sparks significant scientific interest. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-high-magnetic-field-intrinsic-ferromagnetic.html Condensed Matter Wed, 29 May 2024 12:29:03 EDT news636204542 Researchers from Lancaster University and Radboud University Nijmegen have managed to generate propagating spin waves at the nanoscale and discovered a novel pathway to modulate and amplify them. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-energy-efficient-quantum-magnets.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 29 May 2024 11:00:02 EDT news636197077 Materials scientists and engineers would like to know precisely how electrons interact and move in new materials and how the devices made with them will behave. Will the electrical current flow easily within the material? Is there a temperature at which the material will become superconducting, enabling current to flow without a power source? How long will the quantum state of an electron spin be preserved in new electronic and quantum devices? https://phys.org/news/2024-05-reveal-electrons-interact-materials.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 28 May 2024 13:19:04 EDT news636121141 Transistors are the basis for microchips and the whole electronic industry. The invention of transistors, by Bardeen and Brattain in 1947, awarded with a Nobel prize, is regarded as one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-unveiling-microscopic-mechanism-superconducting-metallic.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Tue, 28 May 2024 09:28:40 EDT news636107308 A Bloch point is a singular point around which the field vectors are oriented in nearly all directions. In magnetics, it is the natural link between classical and quantum magnetism, and it has not been directly observed. In ferroelectrics, it has only been predicted in a few cases. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-polar-bloch-strained-ferroelectric.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 27 May 2024 09:28:23 EDT news636020901