Here, the authors break the symmetry of atomically thinion metal dichalcogenides using a tunable uniaxial strain, and demonstrate pseudospin analogs of spintronic phenomena such as the Zeeman effect and Larmor precession.
Category: particle physics – Page 15
Atoms passing through walls: Quantum tunneling of hydrogen within palladium crystal
At low temperatures, hydrogen atoms move less like particles and more like waves. This characteristic enables quantum tunneling, the passage of an atom through a barrier with a higher potential energy than the energy of the atom. Understanding how hydrogen atoms move through potential barriers has important industrial applications. However, the small size of hydrogen atoms makes direct observation of their motion extremely challenging.
In a study published in Science Advances, researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo report precise detection of quantum tunneling of hydrogen atoms in palladium metal.
Palladium is a metal that absorbs hydrogen. Palladium atoms are arranged in a repeating three-dimensional cubic pattern, otherwise known as a lattice. Hydrogen atoms can enter this lattice by occupying interstitial sites between the large palladium atoms. These sites are octahedral and tetrahedral in shape. Hydrogen sits stably in an octahedral site and can hop to another octahedral site via a tetrahedral site, which is metastable, i.e., less stable than an octahedral site.
Mirror symmetry prompts ultralow magnetic damping in 2D van der Waals ferromagnets
Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets are thin and magnetic materials in which molecules or layers are held together by weak attractive forces known as vdW forces. These materials have proved to be promising for the development of spintronic devices, systems that operate leveraging the spin (i.e., intrinsic angular momentum) of electrons, as opposed to electric charge.
A crucial parameter in the context of magnetization is the so-called Gilbert damping coefficient, which indicates how quickly a material’s magnetization loses energy and returns to a state of equilibrium after being disturbed. A lower damping coefficient is more favorable for the development of spintronics, as it means that less energy is lost once a material’s magnetization is set into motion.
Researchers at Beijing Normal University, Shanghai University and Fudan University carried out a study aimed at better understanding the underpinnings of low Gilbert damping in 2D vdW ferromagnets.
Quantum Breakthrough Unlocks Potential of “Miracle Material” for Future Electronics
Graphene is a remarkable “miracle” material, consisting of a single, atom-thin layer of tightly connected carbon atoms that remains both stable and highly conductive. These qualities make it valuable for many technologies, including flexible screens, sensitive detectors, high-performance batteries, and advanced solar cells.
A new study, carried out by the University of Göttingen in collaboration with teams in Braunschweig and Bremen in Germany, as well as Fribourg in Switzerland, shows that graphene may be even more versatile than previously believed.
For the first time, researchers have directly identified “Floquet effects” in graphene. This finding settles a long-running question: Floquet engineering – an approach that uses precise light pulses to adjust a material’s properties – can also be applied to metallic and semi-metallic quantum materials like graphene. The work appears in Nature Physics.
The Physicist Who Says Reality Is Not What It Seems
Quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral proposes a radical vision of reality, one in which observers don’t exist, there are no particles and there is no space or time. Instead, for Vedral, quantum numbers, also known as Q numbers, are the true essence of reality, and it’s a much more beautiful and useful way to understand the world.
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Airborne sensors map ammonia plumes in California’s Imperial Valley
A recent study led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the nonprofit Aerospace Corporation shows how high-resolution maps of ground-level ammonia plumes can be generated with airborne sensors, highlighting a way to better track the gas.
A key chemical ingredient of fine particulate matter—tiny particles in the air known to be harmful when inhaled—ammonia can be released through agricultural activities such as livestock farming and geothermal power generation as well as natural geothermal processes. Because it’s not systematically monitored, many sources of the pungent gas go undetected.
Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, the study focuses on a series of 2023 research flights that covered the Imperial Valley to the southeast of the Salton Sea in inland Southern California, as well as the Eastern Coachella Valley to its northwest. Prior satellite-based research has identified the Imperial Valley as a prolific source of gaseous ammonia.
China’s JUNO announces first physics result after two-month commissioning
Researchers work at a control room of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in Jiangmen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Aug. 26, 2025. The world’s largest transparent spherical detector began operation in China on Tuesday, making it the world’s first operational ultra-large scientific facility dedicated to neutrino research with ultra-high precision. Having completed the filling of its 20,000-tonne liquid scintillator detector, JUNO in Guangdong began taking data after more than a decade of preparation and construction. (Photo by Liu Yuexiang/Xinhua)