Phys.org February 2, 2024 To harness the potential of a quantum computer, quantum information must be protected against error by encoding it into a logical state that is suitable for quantum error correction. The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) qubit is a promising candidate because the required multiqubit operations are readily available at optical frequency. An international team of researchers (Japan, Germany, Czech Republic, USA – University of Virginia) developed and verified a GKP state in propagating light at telecommunication wavelength. The generation was based on interference of cat states, followed by homodyne measurements. Their final states exhibited nonclassicality and non-Gaussianity, including the […]
Physicists develop highly robust time crystal
Phys.org February 1, 2024 Crystals spontaneously break the continuous translation symmetry of free space. An international team of researchers (Germany, Russia) demonstrated a robust continuous time crystal in an electron–nuclear spin system of a semiconductor tailored by tuning the material composition. Continuous, time-independent external driving of the sample produced periodic auto-oscillations with a coherence time exceeding hours. Varying the experimental parameters revealed wide ranges in which the time crystal remained stable. At the edges of these ranges, they found chaotic behaviour with a lifted periodicity corresponding to the melting of the crystal. According to the researchers time crystal state enabled […]
A positive spin-electrospinning and electrospraying synergism for the nanomaterials industry
Nanowerk February 1, 2024 Researchers in Hong Kong reviewed the development history of E-spinning and E-spraying technologies and showed how they move from unity to fragmentation. According to the different forms of cooperation, EES is mainly divided into three categories: E-spinning before E-spraying, alternate E-spinning/E-spraying, and simultaneous E-spinning/E-spraying. They summarized the development, application, and challenges of the EES in four different main areas, namely natural environment, energy utilization, human health, and functional membrane regulation. The challenges, bottlenecks, and development prospects of EES technology in all fields were highlighted, summarized, and discussed from a future perspective… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Researchers add a ‘twist’ to classical material design
Phys.org January 24, 2024 Epitaxial growth of a crystalline film normally proceeds from one substrate. Researchers at Stanford University expanded the concept of epitaxy to a regime of “twisted epitaxy” with the epilayer crystal orientation between two substrates influenced by their relative orientation. They annealed nanometer-thick gold nanoparticles between two substrates of exfoliated hexagonal molybdenum disulfide with varying orientation of their basal planes with a mutual twist angle ranging from 0° to 60°. For larger twist angles, Au had only a small misorientation with the bottom MoS2. Further revealed a periodic strain variation (<|±0.5%|) in the Au nanodisks associated with […]
Scientists make breakthrough in quantum materials research
Science Daily January 31, 2024 Although fine-tuning of topologically protected states in quantum materials holds great promise for novel electronic devices, there are limited methods that allow for the controlled and efficient modulation of the crystal lattice while simultaneously monitoring the changes in the electronic structure within a single sample. A team of researchers in the US (UC Irvine, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Tennessee) applied significant and controllable strain to high-quality HfTe5 samples and performed electrical transport measurements to reveal the topological phase transition from a weak topological insulator phase to a strong topological insulator phase. After applying […]
Short X-ray pulses reveal source of light-induced ferroelectricity in SrTiO?
Phys.org February 1, 2024 An international team of researchers (Germany, USA, Switzerland, UK) studied the time evolution of lattice fluctuations in the quantum paraelectric SrTiO3, in which mid-infrared drives have been shown to induce a metastable ferroelectric state. Crucial in these physics is the competition between polar instabilities and antiferrodistortive rotations, which in equilibrium frustrate the formation of long-range ferroelectricity. They made use of high-intensity mid-infrared optical pulses to resonantly drive the Ti–O-stretching mode at 17?THz, and measured the resulting change in lattice fluctuations using time-resolved X-ray diffuse scattering at a free-electron laser. They observed a long-lived quench in R-point […]
Tracking unconventional superconductivity
Science Daily January 31, 2024 In order to better understand the field-resistant superconducting phase, an international team of researchers (Germany, Japan, France) conducted magnetic-torque and magnetotransport measurements in pulsed magnetic fields. They determined the record-breaking upper critical field of ?0Hc2???73?T and its evolution with angle. The normal-state Hall effect experiences a drastic suppression indicative of a reduced band polarization above Hm in the angular range around 30° caused by a partial compensation between the applied field and an exchange field. According to the researchers this promotes the Jaccarino-Peter effect as a likely mechanism for the reentrant superconductivity above Hm… read […]
A type of plastic that can be shape-shifted using tempering
Phys.org February 2, 2024 A team of researchers in the US (University of Chicago, S DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, NIST, NASA Glenn Research Center, Northwestern University) applied concept of pluripotency to adjust the microstructure of a range of materials, including many metals. They achieved through the inclusion of thia-Michael bonds that are relatively weak and capable of reshuffling at lower temperatures compared with the covalent bonds in the polymer. At higher tempering temperatures, the cross-link density of the thia-Michael network decreased, resulting in a lower stiffness of the material, whereas tempering at lower temperatures created a stiffer material. The material […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of January 26, 2024
01. Combining diamond and lithium niobate as a core component for future quantum technologies 02. Dynamics of skyrmion spin states confirmed in neutron-scattering experiments 03. Field-induced superconductivity in quantum materials 04. Illuminating the nanoscale: the forceful dance of light and heat 05. In a new light – new approach overcomes long-standing limitations in optics 06. New conductive, cotton-based fiber developed for smart textiles 07. New technique for photon detection 08. Newly developed material gulps down hydrogen, spits it out, protects fusion reactor walls 09. Physicists discover new quantum phases in low-dimensional polar systems 10. Researchers achieve chemically controlled, reversible magnetic […]
Ultrafast lasers on ultra-tiny chips
Nanowerk November 10, 2023 Mode-locked lasers (MLLs) generate ultrashort pulses with peak powers substantially exceeding their average powers. However, integrated MLLs that drive ultrafast nanophotonic circuits have remained elusive because of their typically low peak powers, lack of controllability, and challenges when integrating with nanophotonic platforms. Researchers at CalTech demonstrated an electrically pumped actively MLL in nanophotonic lithium niobate based on its hybrid integration with a III-V semiconductor optical amplifier. It generated 4.8-ps optical pulses around 1065 nm at a repetition rate of ∼10 GHz, with energies exceeding 2.6 pJ and peak powers beyond 0.5 W. The repetition rate and […]