Condensed-Matter Physics

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July 2, 2020
News Feature
How iron transforms under pressure
New research could offer insights into the formation of planets like Earth and inform the design of more resilient materials.
Iron impact header
June 16, 2020
News Feature
A new way to study how elements mix deep inside giant planets
It could offer insights into the evolution of planetary systems and guide scientists hoping to harness nuclear fusion as a new source of energy.
Scattered photons
May 18, 2020
News Feature
To decipher Earth’s evolutionary tale, researchers probe materials at deep-Earth conditions
Learning how liquid silicates behave at these extreme temperatures and pressures has been a longstanding challenge in the geosciences.
liquid silicates
May 15, 2020
News Feature
In a step forward for orbitronics, scientists break the link between a quantum material's spin and orbital states
The advance opens a path toward a new generation of logic and memory devices that could be 10,000 times faster than today's.
Fanciful illustration based on electron orbitals
April 2, 2020
News Feature
A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch and clamp
Turning a brittle oxide into a flexible membrane and stretching it on a tiny apparatus flipped it from a conducting to an insulating state and changed its magnetic properties. The technique can be used to study and design a broad range of materials for use in things like sensors and detectors.
Close up of strain pattern produced by stretching membrane
January 20, 2020
News Brief
First detailed electronic study of new nickelate superconductor
Discovered at SLAC and Stanford, this new class of unconventional superconductors is starting to give up its secrets – including a surprising 3D metallic state.
Graphic showing electronic structure of nickelate superconductor
December 3, 2019
News Feature
Study sheds light on the really peculiar ‘normal’ phase of high-temperature superconductors
It reveals an abrupt transition in cuprates where particles give up their individuality. The results flip a popular theory on its head.
Illustration of abrupt transition in normal state of a cuprate
November 21, 2019
News Brief
Theorists probe the relationship between ‘strange metals’ and high-temperature superconductors
Computer simulations yield a much more accurate picture of these states of matter.
Illustration of a Monte Carlo simulation
October 21, 2019
News Feature
A day in the life of an extreme matter scientist
Chemist Ben Ofori-Okai investigates what happens to matter under extreme conditions at microscopic scales to better understand its behavior at massive scales, such as what happens in the Earth’s core.
Ben Ofori-Okai
September 26, 2019
News Feature
Scientists finally find superconductivity in exactly the place they've been looking for decades
The Hubbard model, used to understand electron behavior in numerous quantum materials, now shows us its stripes, and superconductivity too, in simulations for cuprate superconductors.
Diagram of electrons moving to neighboring atoms in Hubbard model

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