Quantum critical points are thresholds that mark the transition of materials between different electronic phases at absolute zero temperatures, around which they often exhibit exotic physical properties.
Condensed Matter
Thermopower-based technique can detect fractional quantum Hall states
If one side of a conducting or semiconducting material is heated while the other remains cool, charge carriers move from the hot side to the cold side, generating an electrical voltage known as thermopower.
Thermomajorization theory provides new framework for quantifying mysterious Mpemba effect
The Mpemba effect is an intriguing physical phenomenon that causes some systems to cool faster when they are hot than when they are warm or colder. This effect was observed in various systems, including water, which sometimes freezes faster when it is hot than when it...
The first observation of amplified spontaneous emission from electron-hole plasma in 2D semiconductors
Amplified spontaneous emission is a physical phenomenon that entails the amplification of the light spontaneously emitted by excited particles, due to photons of the same frequency triggering further emissions. This phenomenon is central to the functioning of various...
Physicists uncover two superconducting regimes in a Kagome lattice superconductor
Superconductivity, which entails an electrical resistance of zero at very low temperatures, is a highly desirable and thus widely studied quantum phenomenon. Typically, this state is known to arise following the formation of bound electron pairs known as Cooper pairs,...
Researchers discover magnetic equivalent of the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation
Materials are known to interact with electromagnetic fields in different ways, which reflect their structures and underlying properties. The Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation is a physics construct that describes the relationship between a material's static and dynamic...
Atomically thin NbSe₂ demonstrates resilient superconducting fluctuations
Superconductivity is an intriguing property observed in some materials, which entails the ability to conduct electric current combined with an electrical resistance of zero at low temperatures. Physicists have observed this property in various solid materials with...
Researchers observe a phase transition in a 1D chain of atoms using a quantum simulator
Phase transitions, shifts between different states of matter, are widely explored physical phenomena. So far, these transitions have primarily been studied in three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) systems, yet theories suggest that they could also occur in...
Surface roughness disrupts glass transition in colloidal ellipsoids, offering a new material design parameter
The so-called glass transition is the process by which some liquid-like materials become solid-like, without forming a crystalline structure. In contrast to conventional solid materials, which exhibit an orderly atom arrangement, glass is characterized by a disordered...
Study demonstrates phase-tunable spin-wave-mediated mutual synchronization of spin Hall nano-oscillators
Spin Hall nano-oscillators (SHNOs) are nanoscale spintronic devices that convert direct current into high-frequency microwave signals through spin wave auto-oscillations. This is a type of nonlinear magnetization oscillations that are self-sustained without the need...