Category archives: Quantum physics

Finite size analogue of a heavy Fermi liquid in an atomic scale Kondo lattice

Finite size analogue of a heavy Fermi liquid in an atomic scale Kondo lattice

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The scattering of conduction electrons in metals owing to impurities with magnetic moments is known as the Kondo effect, after Jun Kondo, who analysed the phenomenon in 1964. This scattering increases the electrical resistance and has the consequence that, in contrast to ordinary metals, the resistance reaches a minimum as the temperature is lowered and […]

A higher spin generalization of Weyl fermions without equivalence in elementary particle physics

A higher spin generalization of Weyl fermions without equivalence in elementary particle physics

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Back in 1929, theoretical physicist Hermann Weyl predicted the existence of a new elementary particle with intriguing properties. Specifically, it would be massless (like a photon), have half-integer spin (like an electron) and exist in two mirror-image versions (like left- and right-handed gloves)—a property known as chirality. Imagine there exist a material in which an […]

Why SnSe is so thermoelectrically efficient

Why SnSe is so thermoelectrically efficient

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

With the possible exception of Avogadro’s number, which was in reality defined and made popular by Stanislao Cannizzaro, many things in the sciences are usually named after the person who makes them popular. The Seebeck effect is an example. Originally discovered in 1794 by Alessandro Volta, it is named after Thomas Johann Seebeck, who in […]

An efficient tensor network algorithm for capturing thermal states of 2D quantum lattice systems

An efficient tensor network algorithm for capturing thermal states of 2D quantum lattice systems

Condensed matterQuantum physicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

The concept of vector should be familiar: a quantity for which both magnitude and direction must be stated. This compares with a scalar quantity, where direction is not applicable, like temperature in a precise point. But, what if the magnitude varies with the direction? A vector would be a particular case, with only one direction […]

A unique combination of properties in a van der Waals antiferromagnet

A unique combination of properties in a van der Waals antiferromagnet

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The so-called van der Waals materials consist of two-dimensional layers bound by weak van der Waals forces. After the isolation of graphene, the field of two-dimensional van der Waals materials has experienced an explosive growth and new families of two-dimensional systems and block-layered bulk materials, such as tetradymite-like topological insulators – electronic materials that have […]

A Talbot carpet of electrons in nanoporous graphene

A Talbot carpet of electrons in nanoporous graphene

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyQuantum physicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

Controlling electron waves by harnessing phase-coherence and interference effects is a cornerstone for future nanoelectronics or quantum computing. To this end, design of platforms with well-defined, narrow, and low-loss propagation channels is essential. Nanoporous graphene (NPG) holds great potential for distributing and controlling currents on the nanoscale. But the effects derived from the wave nature […]

Spin in a closed-shell organic molecule stabilized on a metallic surface

Spin in a closed-shell organic molecule stabilized on a metallic surface

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyQuantum physics

By DIPC

Every year the amount of data produced is of the order of magnitude of the Avogadro’s constant, thus 6.028×1023. This trend is supposed to increase even more in the next future. This implies that more and more special metals will be needed. The point is: what might happen if the resources used for manufacturing common […]

27% of all materials in nature are topological. And now there is a catalogue

27% of all materials in nature are topological. And now there is a catalogue

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Topological materials have special universal properties, which are protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. Topological materials behave like an ordinary insulator in the bulk but have conducting states on their boundaries, i.e., edges or […]