Kagome metals have long mystified scientists for their ability to exhibit collective behavior when cooled below room temperature. A research team has discovered that the kagome electrons’ unusual synchronicity is due to another behavior known as an electronic singularity, or the Van Hove singularity, which involves the relationship between the electrons’ energy and velocity. Read more »
With a Little Help, New Optical Material Assembles Itself
Researchers have demonstrated that tiny concentric nanocircles self-assemble into an optical material with precision and efficiency. Electron microscopy and x-ray scattering revealed the structure and spatial distribution of each ingredient in the resulting materials. The new findings could enable the large-scale manufacturing of multifunctional nanocomposites. Read more »
Hardening Effects in Superhard Transition-Metal Borides
Novel superhard materials with exciting potential for applications in cutting tools and abrasives can be designed by combining incompressible transition metals with boron to create phases like WB4, pictured here. Diamond-cell-based high-pressure radial diffraction enables the direct study of lattice specific mechanisms for hardening. Read more »
How Shark Egg Cases Balance Toughness and Permeability
Also known as “mermaid’s purses,” shark egg cases are both tough and permeable—two opposing characteristics that are necessary for the embryo’s survival. X-ray scattering at the ALS and electron microscopy helped explain how the material’s nanoarchitecture contributes to its toughness, informing future development of high-performance synthetic materials. Read more »
Unexpected Transformations Reinforce Roman Architectural Concrete
Researchers used the ALS to study binding phases in Roman architectural concrete, revealing reactions and profound transformations that contribute to long-term cohesion and durability. The findings add to our growing understanding of cementing processes in Roman concretes, informing resilient materials of the future. Read more »
The Elusive Electronic Structure of Liquid Metals Unveiled
Over 50 years ago, renowned physicists formulated theoretical models for the electronic structure of liquid metals. Now, for the first time, researchers observed the distinct spectral features predicted by those models, at the interface of a crystalline insulator (black phosphorus) and disordered dopants (alkali metals). Read more »
Laser-Induced Cooperative Transition in Molecular Electronic Crystal
The cooperative tuning of a supramolecular electronic crystal enables access to a long-lived hidden conducting phase with a broad temperature range. Researchers demonstrate a dynamic and cooperative phase in K-TCNQ, with the control of pulsed electromagnetic excitation. A dedicated charge–spin–lattice decoupling is required to activate and subsequently stabilize the non-equilibrium phase. Read more »
A Two-Dimensional Room-Temperature Magnet
Researchers have made the world’s thinnest (one atom thick) magnet that’s chemically stable under ambient conditions. The two-dimensional material, magnetically characterized at the ALS, could enable big advances in next-generation memory devices, computing, spintronics, and quantum physics. Read more »
A Powerful Infrared Technique Broadens Its Horizons
Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) focuses infrared light to dimensions below the diffraction limit, measuring properties with components perpendicular to the sample surface. Researchers have now devised a way to probe components parallel to the sample, where the technique has been less sensitive. Read more »
This Exotic Particle Had an Out-of-Body Experience; These Scientists Took a Picture of It
Scientists have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called a quantum spin liquid (QSL), in which electrons decompose into spin-like particles (spinons) and charge-like particles (chargons). The achievement could facilitate the development of superfast quantum computers and energy-efficient superconductors. Read more »
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