The Press Stories
Scientists looking for an unusual superconductor have provided the most conclusive evidence to date. In two papers, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMT) Quantum Materials Center (QMC) and their colleagues showed this – Uranium Telluride (or UTe for short)2) It has many properties of topographic superconductors that can help discover new ways to build quantum computers and other devices of the future.
Researchers plant a new topographic superconducting crystal (Image: NIST)
It is reported that superconductors can carry electricity without resistance. Common ones include large superconducting coils in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other scientific instruments, but are unlikely to enter the homes of ordinary people for the next few decades.
Since the early 2000s, scientists have been looking for a special superconductor that actually relies on the complex arrangement of subatomic particles to carry its current.
Recently, UMT physics professor, QMC director and senior author of a journal Johnpierre Bucklion said:
“Nature may be evil, but we see these different things, and there may be other reasons. To be honest, in my life, we have never seen anything like this.”
Research Figure-1: UT.2 Microwave surface resistance of a single crystal
Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Quantum Materials Center have introduced a promising topographic superconducting crystal they have grown. The so-called tonic can change these shapes with each other by gently pushing and pulling.
For example, a ball can be made into a doughBreadOr pizza. But if you don’t punch a hole in the middle, you can’t turn it into a donut. But from a topographical point of view, bread and pies are one type, and donuts another.
In topological superconductors, electrons dance around each other, while orbiting a hole similar to the center of a donut. Unfortunately, there are no good ways to cut and zoom the superconductor to notice this electronic dance.
Currently, the best way to determine if electrons are trembling in a brief donut is to observe how the object works in the experiment. The good news is, the new research article shows that UTe2 It seems to have a previously unproven topographic structure.
Research Figure-2: UT.2 Comparison of abnormal residual conductivity with other superconductors
Cooperation between the Paclion team and the Aaron Capitolnik team at Stanford University2 There are not only one, but two superconductors at the same time.
Based on this conclusion, and the way light changes when the object is disconnected (other than previously published experimental evidence), researchers were able to reduce the types of superconductors with spatial structures to two.
Curious friends, see the “Science” published on July 15, 2021 (Science) This article in the magazine, first of all “Irregular Normal Fluid Response in a Cyrillic Superconductor UTe2“.
In another study, a research team led by Steven Anlage, a physics professor at UMT and a member of the QMC, revealed that the surface of the same object behaved erratically, which coincided with the long-awaited spatial conservation majorana model phenomenon. Unanimously.
The so-called majorana methods refer to strange particles that act like half-electrons, and scientists expect it to appear on the surface of topographic superconductors.
Research Figure-3: Evidence from the axis three pairs of superfluid densities
This discovery is very exciting for scientists because it is expected to lay the foundation for the creation of a powerful quantum system. Interested friends can read Nature Communications magazine on May 21, 2021.
Anlej and his team pointed out in the report that superconductors exhibit only special properties below a certain temperature, just as water freezes below zero degrees Celsius.
In ordinary superconductors, the electrons combine to form a two-person Konga line and follow each other through the metal. But in some rare cases, electronic puppets circle each other and dance in a circular dance like the waltz.
If this is explained from the perspective of topographical studies, this situation is even more special – there is a “hurricane eye” in electronic circuit dance. Once the electrons are connected in this way, it is difficult to get out of the vortex. This is the difference between topical superconductors and normal dance steps.
In fact, in early 2018, the team worked with the team of Nicholas Putin, an associate professor of physics at UMT and a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and unexpectedly joined UT.2 This super conductor.
It is worth noting that it does not appear to be affected by a large magnetic field (usually the superconductivity is destroyed by the separation of the electronic dance), which is UTe2 The first clue that the pair of electrons are more closely integrated than usual.
Presumably, this may be because their pair of dance steps are round, and then this idea has piqued the interest of many interested in research in this field.
Anlage added: “It’s kind ofAestheticsThe Storm Superconductor combines many features never seen before. “
In addition, in the new paper, Paglion and co-workers report two new measurement results revealing UTe2 Internal system.
The UMT panel measures the specific heat of the object, i.e. the energy required to heat the object to 1. C. The researchers measured specific heat at different starting temperatures and observed temperature change with superconducting properties.
Under normal circumstances, the energy level will have a large tab when the material switches to the superconducting state. But we actually saw two tabs.
So this is UTe2 This feature is extraordinary, not only with evidence for two superconducting changes.
SCI Tech Daily Point out that the two tabs refer to UTe2 You can combine electrons to do any of the two different dance modes.
During the second measurement, the Stanford team irradiated the laser to a portion of the UTe2 In the model, and noticed that the reflected light was slightly distorted.
When emitting a light source, the reflected light mainly moves up and down, but it also has left and right characteristics, i.e. something inside the superconductor has distorted the light and its seal cannot be elevated during emission.
The Capitolnik team at Stanford University later discovered that a magnetic field could force UTe2 Distort the light in one way or another.
If an upward magnetic field is applied when the sample is superconducting, the emitted light will tilt to the left. If you point the magnetic field downward, the light will tilt to the right.
The researchers pointed out that the dancing electrons inside the model have some special features at the top and bottom of the crystal.
To find out what this means for electrons in superconductors, the researchers asked Daniel F., a theorist and professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With the help of Akterberg and co-author of the paper “Science”.
The theory states that uranium and tellurium atoms are present in UT2 The arrangement in the crystal allows the electrons to configure teams in eight different dances from time to time.
Akterberg illustrates all the different ways to combine these eight dances, as the specific heat measurement shows that the two heat dances are performed simultaneously.
In addition, the torque properties of the reflected light and the compulsion of the magnetic field on the vertical axis reduce the potential to four.
Previous results refer to UTe2 Its superconductivity and robustness under large magnetic fields further restricts it to two electronic dance modes.
Both of these electronic pairing dances form a vortex and represent a storm topography dance.
Interestingly, considering the limitations of the situation we saw in the experiment, the current best theory shows its UTe2 Superconducting state topography.
