Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Researchers at Princeton University have made a breakthrough in understanding kinetic magnetism by using ultracold atoms in a laser-built lattice to image a new type of polaron, revealing how impurity motion in an atomic array causes robust magnetism at high temperatures. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Bakr and his team studied this novel form of magnetism on a level of detail unrealized in previous research. With the control afforded by ultracold atomic systems, the researchers have been able to visualize, for the first time, the finely-grained physics that gives rise to kinetic magnetism. While a ferromagnet with aligned spins is the most familiar type of magnet, in the simplest theoretical setting, strongly interacting electrons on a lattice actually tend towards antiferromagnetism, in which the spins align in alternating directions. This preference for anti-alignment of neighboring spins occurs as the result of an indirect coupling of neighboring electron spins known as superexchange.
When these gases are cooled down using laser beams to extreme temperatures only a few billionths of a degree above, their behavior begins to be governed by the principles of quantum mechanics rather than the more familiar classical mechanics.“Once we’ve achieved this quantum system, the next thing we do is load the atoms into the triangular optical lattice. In the cold atom setup, we can control how fast atoms move around or how strongly they interact with each other,” said Spar.
In real materials, this new form of magnetism has previously been observed in so-called moiré materials consisting of stacked two-dimensional crystals, and this has only occurred in the last year.“The probes of magnetism available for these materials are limited. Experiments with moiré materials have measured macroscopic effects, associated with how a large piece of material responds when a magnetic field is applied,” said Spar.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Princeton historians discover Titanic survivors buried in Oakland CemeteryNellie Becker survived the Titanic along with her three children. She's buried with one of them and her husband in Princeton's Oakland Cemetery.
Read more »
Physicists solve puzzle about ancient galaxy found by Webb telescopePhysicists solve a puzzle linked to JWST-ER1g, a massive ancient galaxy that formed when the universe was just a quarter of its current age.
Read more »
Physicists explain, and eliminate, unknown force dragging against water droplets on superhydrophobic surfacesMicroscopic chasms forming a sea of conical jagged peaks stipple the surface of a material called black silicon. While it's commonly found in solar cell tech, black silicon also moonlights as a tool for studying the physics of how water droplets behave.
Read more »
Quantum Leap: Rice Physicists Unlock Flash-Like Memory for Future QubitsScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »
Princeton man gets 52 years for sexually abusing childA Collin County jury sentenced a man to 52 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing a child for years.
Read more »
Physicists explain--and eliminate--unknown force dragging against water droplets on superhydrophobic surfacesResearchers adapt a novel force measurement technique to uncover the previously unidentified physics at play at the thin air-film gap between water droplets and superhydrophobic surfaces.
Read more »