Category archives: Materials

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. However, it was not until the 1990s […]

A Kondo effect by manipulating spin chains

A Kondo effect by manipulating spin chains

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

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 […]

Towards a universal quantum simulator: acoustic traps for quasiparticles

Towards a universal quantum simulator: acoustic traps for quasiparticles

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The ability to trap and control particles with the help of well-controlled electromagnetic fields has led to revolutionary advances in the fields of biology, condensed- matter physics, high-precision spectroscopy, and quantum information, enabling unprecedented control both in the study of isolated single particles as well as in few and many-body systems subject to controlled and […]

Modified adsorption geometry preserves the topological surface state

Modified adsorption geometry preserves the topological surface state

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their edge or surface. The conducting surface is not what makes topological insulators unique, but the fact that it is protected due to the combination of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry, the so-called topological surface […]

Breakdown of the free electron gas concept for electronic stopping

Breakdown of the free electron gas concept for electronic stopping

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

There is a variable that is relevant for such seemingly different fields as outer space exploration , nanotechnology , fusion research , or medicine. And that is electronic stopping, its precise knowledge important for the understanding of space weathering, ion beam patterning, plasma-wall interactions, or radiation therapy, respectively. When ions propagate in matter, they are […]

Validating the existence of a new phase of matter, the exciton condensate

Validating the existence of a new phase of matter, the exciton condensate

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

According to how the electronic band theory is usually explained, solids can be classified as insulators, semiconductors, or metals. But, actually, there is another kind of solid between semiconductors and metals, the semimetals. In insulators and semiconductors the filled valence band is separated from an empty conduction band by a band gap, in metals there […]

A new benchmark for any future models of solid-state photoemission

A new benchmark for any future models of solid-state photoemission

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

In 1882, Heinrich Hertz devoted himself to the study of electromagnetism, including the recent and still generally unappreciated work of Maxwell. Two years later he began his famous series of experiments with electromagnetic waves. During the course of this work, Hertz discovered the photoelectric effect, which has had a profound influence on modern physics. The […]