http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html
An international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago,
in a real material. This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes
electrons -- thought to be indivisible building blocks of nature -- to
break into pieces. The researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a quantum spin liquid, known
as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal Nature
Materials. Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which
are thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature. The observation of one of their most
intriguing properties -- electron splitting, or fractionalisation -- in
real materials is a breakthrough. The resulting Majorana fermions may be
used as building blocks of quantum computers, which would be far faster
than conventional computers and would be able to perform calculations
that could not be done otherwise.
n
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
"This is a new quantum state of matter, which has been predicted but
hasn't been seen before," said Dr Johannes Knolle of Cambridge's
Cavendish Laboratory, one of the paper's co-authors.
In a typical magnetic material, the electrons each behave like tiny
bar magnets. And when a material is cooled to a low enough temperature,
the 'magnets' will order themselves, so that all the north magnetic
poles point in the same direction, for example.
But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if that
material is cooled to absolute zero, the bar magnets would not align but
form an entangled soup caused by quantum fluctuations.
"Until recently, we didn't even know what the experimental
fingerprints of a quantum spin liquid would look like," said paper
co-author Dr Dmitry Kovrizhin, also from the Theory of Condensed Matter
group of the Cavendish Laboratory. "One thing we've done in previous
work is to ask, if I were performing experiments on a possible quantum
spin liquid, what would I observe?"
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An international team
of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious new state of matter,
first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material. This state, known as a
quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought to be indivisible
building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
"This is a new quantum state of matter, which has been predicted but
hasn't been seen before," said Dr Johannes Knolle of Cambridge's
Cavendish Laboratory, one of the paper's co-authors.
In a typical magnetic material, the electrons each behave like tiny
bar magnets. And when a material is cooled to a low enough temperature,
the 'magnets' will order themselves, so that all the north magnetic
poles point in the same direction, for example.
But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if that
material is cooled to absolute zero, the bar magnets would not align but
form an entangled soup caused by quantum fluctuations.
"Until recently, we didn't even know what the experimental
fingerprints of a quantum spin liquid would look like," said paper
co-author Dr Dmitry Kovrizhin, also from the Theory of Condensed Matter
group of the Cavendish Laboratory. "One thing we've done in previous
work is to ask, if I were performing experiments on a possible quantum
spin liquid, what would I observe?"
Knolle and Kovrizhin's co-authors, led by the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, used neutron scattering techniques to look for experimental
evidence of fractionalisation in crystals of ruthenium chloride (RuCl3).
The researchers tested the magnetic properties of the RuCl3 crystals by
illuminating them with neutrons, and observing the pattern of ripples
that the neutrons produced on a screen.
A regular magnet would create distinct sharp spots, but it was a
mystery what sort of pattern the Majorana fermions in a quantum
spin liquid
would make. The theoretical prediction of distinct signatures by Knolle
and his collaborators in 2014 match well with what experimentalists
observed on the screen, providing for the first time direct evidence of a
quantum spin liquid and the fractionalisation of electrons in a two dimensional material.
"This is a new addition to a short list of known quantum states of matter," said Knolle.
"It's an important step for our understanding of quantum matter,"
said Kovrizhin. "It's fun to have another new quantum state that we've
never seen before - it presents us with new possibilities to try new
things."
More information:
Proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid behaviour in a honeycomb magnet,
Nature Materials,
DOI: 10.1038/nmat4604
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
"This is a new quantum state of matter, which has been predicted but
hasn't been seen before," said Dr Johannes Knolle of Cambridge's
Cavendish Laboratory, one of the paper's co-authors.
In a typical magnetic material, the electrons each behave like tiny
bar magnets. And when a material is cooled to a low enough temperature,
the 'magnets' will order themselves, so that all the north magnetic
poles point in the same direction, for example.
But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if that
material is cooled to absolute zero, the bar magnets would not align but
form an entangled soup caused by quantum fluctuations.
"Until recently, we didn't even know what the experimental
fingerprints of a quantum spin liquid would look like," said paper
co-author Dr Dmitry Kovrizhin, also from the Theory of Condensed Matter
group of the Cavendish Laboratory. "One thing we've done in previous
work is to ask, if I were performing experiments on a possible quantum
spin liquid, what would I observe?"
Knolle and Kovrizhin's co-authors, led by the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, used neutron scattering techniques to look for experimental
evidence of fractionalisation in crystals of ruthenium chloride (RuCl3).
The researchers tested the magnetic properties of the RuCl3 crystals by
illuminating them with neutrons, and observing the pattern of ripples
that the neutrons produced on a screen.
A regular magnet would create distinct sharp spots, but it was a
mystery what sort of pattern the Majorana fermions in a quantum
spin liquid
would make. The theoretical prediction of distinct signatures by Knolle
and his collaborators in 2014 match well with what experimentalists
observed on the screen, providing for the first time direct evidence of a
quantum spin liquid and the fractionalisation of electrons in a two dimensional material.
"This is a new addition to a short list of known quantum states of matter," said Knolle.
"It's an important step for our understanding of quantum matter,"
said Kovrizhin. "It's fun to have another new quantum state that we've
never seen before - it presents us with new possibilities to try new
things."
More information:
Proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid behaviour in a honeycomb magnet,
Nature Materials,
DOI: 10.1038/nmat4604
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
"This is a new quantum state of matter, which has been predicted but
hasn't been seen before," said Dr Johannes Knolle of Cambridge's
Cavendish Laboratory, one of the paper's co-authors.
In a typical magnetic material, the electrons each behave like tiny
bar magnets. And when a material is cooled to a low enough temperature,
the 'magnets' will order themselves, so that all the north magnetic
poles point in the same direction, for example.
But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if that
material is cooled to absolute zero, the bar magnets would not align but
form an entangled soup caused by quantum fluctuations.
"Until recently, we didn't even know what the experimental
fingerprints of a quantum spin liquid would look like," said paper
co-author Dr Dmitry Kovrizhin, also from the Theory of Condensed Matter
group of the Cavendish Laboratory. "One thing we've done in previous
work is to ask, if I were performing experiments on a possible quantum
spin liquid, what would I observe?"
Knolle and Kovrizhin's co-authors, led by the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, used neutron scattering techniques to look for experimental
evidence of fractionalisation in crystals of ruthenium chloride (RuCl3).
The researchers tested the magnetic properties of the RuCl3 crystals by
illuminating them with neutrons, and observing the pattern of ripples
that the neutrons produced on a screen.
A regular magnet would create distinct sharp spots, but it was a
mystery what sort of pattern the Majorana fermions in a quantum
spin liquid
would make. The theoretical prediction of distinct signatures by Knolle
and his collaborators in 2014 match well with what experimentalists
observed on the screen, providing for the first time direct evidence of a
quantum spin liquid and the fractionalisation of electrons in a two dimensional material.
"This is a new addition to a short list of known quantum states of matter," said Knolle.
"It's an important step for our understanding of quantum matter,"
said Kovrizhin. "It's fun to have another new quantum state that we've
never seen before - it presents us with new possibilities to try new
things."
More information:
Proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid behaviour in a honeycomb magnet,
Nature Materials,
DOI: 10.1038/nmat4604
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
An
international team of researchers have found evidence of a mysterious
new state of matter, first predicted 40 years ago, in a real material.
This state, known as a quantum spin liquid, causes electrons - thought
to be indivisible building blocks of nature - to break into pieces.
The
researchers, including physicists from the University of Cambridge,
measured the first signatures of these fractional particles, known as
Majorana fermions, in a two-dimensional material with a structure
similar to graphene. Their experimental results successfully matched
with one of the main theoretical models for a
quantum spin liquid, known as a Kitaev model. The results are reported in the journal
Nature Materials.
Quantum spin liquids are mysterious states of matter which are
thought to be hiding in certain magnetic materials, but had not been
conclusively sighted in nature.
The observation of one of their most intriguing properties—electron
splitting, or fractionalisation—in real materials is a breakthrough. The
resulting Majorana fermions may be used as building blocks of quantum
computers, which would be far faster than conventional computers and
would be able to perform calculations that could not be done otherwise.
"This is a new quantum state of matter, which has been predicted but
hasn't been seen before," said Dr Johannes Knolle of Cambridge's
Cavendish Laboratory, one of the paper's co-authors.
In a typical magnetic material, the electrons each behave like tiny
bar magnets. And when a material is cooled to a low enough temperature,
the 'magnets' will order themselves, so that all the north magnetic
poles point in the same direction, for example.
But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if that
material is cooled to absolute zero, the bar magnets would not align but
form an entangled soup caused by quantum fluctuations.
"Until recently, we didn't even know what the experimental
fingerprints of a quantum spin liquid would look like," said paper
co-author Dr Dmitry Kovrizhin, also from the Theory of Condensed Matter
group of the Cavendish Laboratory. "One thing we've done in previous
work is to ask, if I were performing experiments on a possible quantum
spin liquid, what would I observe?"
Knolle and Kovrizhin's co-authors, led by the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, used neutron scattering techniques to look for experimental
evidence of fractionalisation in crystals of ruthenium chloride (RuCl3).
The researchers tested the magnetic properties of the RuCl3 crystals by
illuminating them with neutrons, and observing the pattern of ripples
that the neutrons produced on a screen.
A regular magnet would create distinct sharp spots, but it was a
mystery what sort of pattern the Majorana fermions in a quantum
spin liquid
would make. The theoretical prediction of distinct signatures by Knolle
and his collaborators in 2014 match well with what experimentalists
observed on the screen, providing for the first time direct evidence of a
quantum spin liquid and the fractionalisation of electrons in a two dimensional material.
"This is a new addition to a short list of known quantum states of matter," said Knolle.
"It's an important step for our understanding of quantum matter,"
said Kovrizhin. "It's fun to have another new quantum state that we've
never seen before - it presents us with new possibilities to try new
things."
More information:
Proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid behaviour in a honeycomb magnet,
Nature Materials,
DOI: 10.1038/nmat4604
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-state-two-dimensional-material.html#jCp
Posts
