Chiral superconductors are unconventional superconducting materials with distinctive topological properties, in which time-reversal symmetry is broken. Two of the first materials to be identified as chiral superconductors are UPt3 and Sr2RuO4. So far, experimental evidence for broken time-reversal symmetry in both these materials was based primarily on surface measurements collected at a magnetic field equal to zero. …
Tag: superconductors
Time crystals and topological superconductors merge
“Powering a topological superconductor using a time crystal gives you more than the sum of its parts,” says Jason Alicea, a researcher at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US. The discovery of topological states has bred reams of research revealing new condensed matter and quantum physics, with potential technological applications in spintronics and quantum computing. Similarly, not long after…
Quantum technologies: New insights into superconducting processes
The development of a quantum computer that can solve problems, which classical computers can only solve with great effort or not at all—this is the goal currently being pursued by an ever-growing number of research teams worldwide. The reason: Quantum effects, which originate from the world of the smallest particles and structures, enable many new technological applications. So-called superconductors, which allow…
Exotic new topological state discovered in Dirac semimetals
Fundamental research in condensed matter physics has driven tremendous advances in modern electronic capabilities. Transistors, optical fiber, LEDs, magnetic storage media, plasma displays, semi-conductors, superconductors—the list of technologies born of fundamental research in condensed matter physics is staggering. Scientists working in this field continue to explore and discover surprising novel phenomena that hold promise for tomorrow’s technological advances. …
US Navy Files Patent For Compact Fusion Reactor
Bodhammer shares a report from Popular Mechanics: The U.S. Navy has jumped into the game by filing a patent for a compact fusion reactor, according to exclusive reporting by The War Zone. The success of the device, developed by researcher Salvatore Cezar Pais of the Naval Air Warfare Center — Aircraft Division, relies on a part called a dynamic fusor. According…
A novel tool to probe fundamental matter
Identifying elementary constituents of matter including quarks, bosons and electrons, and the manner by which these particles interact with each other, constitutes one of the greatest challenges in modern physical sciences. Resolving this outstanding problem will not only deepen our understanding of the early days of the universe, but will also shed light on exotic states of matter, such as superconductors….
One step closer future to quantum computers
Physicists at Uppsala University in Sweden have identified how to distinguish between true and ‘fake’ Majorana states in one of the most commonly used experimental setups, by means of supercurrent measurements. This theoretical study is a crucial step for advancing the field of topological superconductors and applications of Majorana states for robust quantum computers. New experiments testing this approach are expected…
Utrafast magnetism: Electron-phonon interactions examined at BESSY II
How fast can a magnet switch its orientation, and what are the microscopic mechanisms at play? An HZB team at BESSY II has, for the first time, experimentally assessed the principal microscopic process of ultra-fast magnetism. The methodology developed for this purpose can also be used to investigate interactions between spins and lattice oscillations in graphene, superconductors or other quantum materials….
Computing faster with quasi-particles
Majorana particles are very peculiar members of the family of elementary particles. First predicted in 1937 by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana, these particles belong to the group of so-called fermions, a group that also includes electrons, neutrons and protons. Majorana fermions are electrically neutral and also their own anti-particles. These exotic particles can, for example, emerge as quasi-particles in topological…
David Thouless, 84, Dies; Nobel Laureate Cast Light on Matter
Using math to explain strange states of matter, like superconductivity, he had a “transformational” impact on physics, with real-world applications. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/obituaries/david-thouless-dead.html?partner=rss&emc=rss…