Category archives: Condensed matter

Milestone in the quest for THz magnonic devices working at room temperature

Milestone in the quest for THz magnonic devices working at room temperature

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materialsMaterials

By DIPC

Magnons or spin waves are elementary quasiparticles, which represent a collective motion of magnetic moments in ordered systems. Spin waves can propagate in materials and therewith transport a spin current. This spin flow requires no electrical charge transport and therefore no electrical losses creating Joule heating. Spin waves enclose a wide frequency range, from gigahertz […]

A topological pair-density-wave of spin-triplet Cooper pairs

A topological pair-density-wave of spin-triplet Cooper pairs

Condensed matterMaterials

By César Tomé

pair-density-wave Scientists have revealed a new phase of matter in candidate topological superconductors that could have significant consequences for condensed matter physics and for the field of quantum computing and spintronics. Researchers at the Macroscopic Quantum Matter Group at Cornell University have discovered and visualized a crystalline yet superconducting state in a new and unusual […]

Tunneling electrons excite a superconducting pair-breaking transition in the presence of magnetic impurities

Tunneling electrons excite a superconducting pair-breaking transition in the presence of magnetic impurities

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materialsMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The development of superconducting devices was greatly stimulated after the acceptance of the basic theory of superconductivity proposed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer – BCS theory. The basic idea is that the electron waves in the superconducting state no longer act independently, as in Bloch’s model. Instead, they are paired […]

Substrate dependency of the charge density wave orders of monolayer VSe<sub>2</sub>

Substrate dependency of the charge density wave orders of monolayer VSe2

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materialsMaterials

By DIPC

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are an ideal platform to artificially engineer heterostructures with new functionalities due to the weak van der Waals bonding between layers. Monolayers hosting symmetry-broken phases, such as superconductivity, magnetism, ferroelectricity, charge density waves (CDWs), or multiferroicity, represent the most interesting building blocks to design novel phases of matter. One of the main […]

First real-space images of THz plasmon polaritons

First real-space images of THz plasmon polaritons

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By César Tomé

Polaritons attract wide attention due to their ability to confine and guide light at the nanometre scale. These capacities are key for the development of ultrasmall resonators and waveguides that can be used for sensing, heat transfer and optical circuitry applications. But, what are polaritons in the first place? If, for the sake of the […]

Engineering quantum states and electronic landscapes

Engineering quantum states and electronic landscapes

Condensed matterDIPC InterfacesMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Surfaces are at the frontier of every solid. They provide versatile supports for functional nanostructures and mediate essential physicochemical processes. Intimately related to two-dimensional materials, interfaces and atomically thin films often feature distinct electronic states with respect to the bulk, which is key to many relevant properties, such as catalytic activity, interfacial charge-transfer, and crystal […]

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

Computer scienceCondensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By César Tomé

Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics celebrated the fundamental interest of quantum entanglement, and also envisioned the potential applications in “the second quantum revolution” — a new age when we are able to manipulate the weirdness of quantum mechanics, including quantum superposition and entanglement. A large-scale and fully functional quantum network is the holy grail […]

Machine learning to understand water’s liquid phases

Machine learning to understand water’s liquid phases

ChemistryComputer scienceCondensed matterMaterialsPhysics

By César Tomé

Water has puzzled scientists for decades. For the last 30 years or so, they have theorized that when cooled down to a very low temperature like -100 ºC, water might be able to separate into two liquid phases of different densities. Like oil and water, these phases don’t mix and may help explain some of […]

The new world of Rashba-like physics: mechanisms, materials, effects

The new world of Rashba-like physics: mechanisms, materials, effects

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materials

By DIPC

Spintronic devices are based on the inherent spin magnetic moment of the electron, the same way electronic ones are on just its charge, to store and process information. These devices should, in theory, operate faster and at lower temperatures than their current electronic-only counterparts because an electron’s spin can be flipped much quicker than its […]