Recent studies have revealed that electrons passing through chiral molecules exhibit significant spin polarization—a phenomenon known as chirality-induced spin selectivity. This effect stems from a nontrivial coupling between electron motion and spin within chiral structures, yet quantifying it remains challenging.

To address this, researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) /SOKENDAI investigated an organic superconductor with chiral symmetry. They focused on nonreciprocity related to spin-orbit coupling and observed an exceptionally large nonreciprocal transport in the superconducting state, far exceeding theoretical predictions. Remarkably, this was found in an organic material with inherently weak spin-orbit coupling, suggesting that chirality significantly enhances charge current-spin coupling with inducing mixed spin-triplet Cooper pairs.

The work is published in the journal Physical Review Research.

It’s not ready to replace cement just yet, but it’s really promising.

To understand superconductors, researchers explore their behavior at the limits of superconductivity, such as at high temperature or under strong magnetic field. New experiments investigate superconductivity at the limits of thickness, finding unexpected vortex behavior in ultrathin films [1]. Using a high-resolution magnetic imaging technique, Nofar Fridman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and colleagues measured vortex sizes in superconducting samples of various thicknesses and found larger-than predicted vortices in films made up of six or fewer atomic layers. The results suggest that thin superconductors host two superconducting states: one in the bulk of the material, the other confined to the surface layers. This behavior challenges our present understanding of how superconductors behave.

When a superconductor is exposed to an external magnetic field, it generates electrical screening currents, which generate a counter magnetic field, explains team member Yonathan Anahory from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The net effect is the external field lines bend around the superconductor without penetrating the material.

However, the situation changes in thin superconducting films, where the material’s ability to completely expel magnetic fields is weakened. Instead of being fully excluded, the field enters the film through narrow columns, called vortices, around which superconducting screening currents flow. Inside each vortex, there is exactly one quantum of magnetic flux.

Crucially, they demonstrated that the hydrogen present in this material was intrinsic, and not from contamination. This suggests that the material which our planet was built from was far richer in hydrogen than previously thought.

A common lithium salt has revealed new possibilities for manufacturing cheaper, longer-lasting battery materials.

New research has found that variations in rock composition within oceanic plates, caused by ancient tectonic processes, can significantly affect the path and speed of these plates as they sink into Earth’s mantle.

At depths between 410 and 660 kilometers lies the mantle transition zone (MTZ), a key boundary layer that regulates the movement of material into the planet’s deeper interior. When subducting plates, those that dive beneath others, encounter large concentrations of basalt within the MTZ, their descent can slow down or even stall, rather than continuing smoothly into the lower mantle. While basalt-rich regions in the MTZ have been observed before, their origins have remained uncertain until now.