Category Archives: Quantum physics
The tautomerization of porphycene on Cu(111) in simple physical terms
There are compounds, called isomers, that have the same molecular formulae but different molecular structures or different arrangements of atoms in space. In the so-called cis-trans isomerism, isomers have different positions of groups or specific atoms with respect to a […]
A link between straintronics and valleytronics in graphene
So-called “valleytronics” is a new type of electronics that could lead to faster and more efficient computer logic systems and data storage chips in next-generation devices. Valley electrons are so named because they carry a valley “degree of freedom.” This […]
First case of observed current asymmetries in single chiral molecular junctions
We have considered in some previous articles the importance of the spin-orbit interaction. But it is interesting to go through some basic concepts we have seen elsewhere once again in order to grasp the surprising discovery we will be […]
A spin-sensitive probe
The Pioneer plaques are a pair of gold–anodized aluminium plaques which were placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Pioneer 11 spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message, in case either Pioneer 10 or 11 […]
Plasmons galore for myriad applications
Worldwide research efforts on plasmons and metamaterials have been growing exponentially for the past ten years. Now, Antonio I. Fernández-Domínguez (IFIMAC), Francisco J. García-Vidal (IFIMAC & DIPC), and Luis Martín-Moreno (ICMA) discuss new directions for the future, such as the […]
How to study magnetic Weyl fermions experimentally
Imagine there exist a material in which an electron could be split into two quasiparticles. These two quasiparticles both would carry electric charge, move in opposite directions but could not move backwards. Furthermore these quasiparticles would be massless. And we […]
Quantifying the screening of electrons in graphene heterostructures
Beginning in 1928, Felix Bloch, an assistant to Werner Heisenberg in Leipzig, began to make some realistic assumptions in an attempt to formulate a more complete quantum mechanics of electrical conductivity. First, because he wanted to assign a definite momentum […]
Beyond the standard description of Raman scattering
When light encounters molecules, the predominant mode of scattering is elastic scattering (Rayleigh). This scattering is responsible for the blue colour of the sky, for example. It is also possible for the incident photons to interact with the molecules in […]
The ultrafast electronic response of graphene
Faster. That is the word that describes de evolution of electronics. Any new development has to be faster than anything before, if it is going to cope with the huge amount of information that the device where it may be […]
Dark states can be much better excitation carriers
When we study for the first time the structure of the atom in high school we encounter for the first time the concept of quantum excitation. We learn that excitation is the process in which a nucleus, electron, atom, ion, […]