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August 30, 2023
In numerous strange metals, the characteristic time between electron collisions, with each other and against anything that they encounter in their path, is set by the Planck’s constant and the temperature, said Debanjan Chowdhury, assistant professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and a co-author of the paper. A vast majority of the known high-temperature superconductors, when heated above their superconducting temperature, exhibit this property.
This is why it has been believed for a while that the clue to understanding the origin of high-temperature superconductivity lies in understanding the common thread across these materials that leads to this universal Planckian time scale.
August 16, 2023
A Cornell research team has developed a new way to design complex microscale machines, one that draws inspiration from the operation of proteins and hummingbird beaks.
The group’s paper, “Bifurcation Instructed Design of Multistate Machines,” published Aug. 14 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The lead author is Itay Griniasty, a Schmidt AI postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Itai Cohen, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
August 3, 2023
Social phenomena occur when many individuals interact. Societies develop characters that depend on demographics, population density, and the environment. In the real Quantum Realm (as opposed to that of the Marvel movies), electrons form societies whose character depends on the interaction among constituents and the effect of their environment. The characteristics of electron communities manifest through material properties. While human activities can be easily surveilled, the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle, forbids complete surveillance of electrons. In this talk, Kim discusses how we observe and simulate the fundamentally mystical life of electrons to understand and predict the characters of various electron societies in the real quantum realm. Kim also talks about how AI tools can help in this challenging endeavor.
June 29, 2023
Cornell researchers validate key features of a novel unconventional superconductor and a fundamentally new phase of matter has been identified in topological superconductors.
The findings are published in the paper, “Detection of a Pair Density Wave State in UTe2,” published 29 June in Nature. Cooper-pair density waves are a form of electronic quantum matter in which pairs of electrons, instead of forming a conventional “superconductive” fluid where all are in the same freely moving state, freeze into a superconductive electron-pair crystal called a pair density wave state.
June 29, 2023
Like light switches, transistors control the flow of electric currents. Transistors are the fundamental building blocks of any computing device, from smartphones to the computers in cars. According to Phuong Nguyen, a PhD candidate under the direction of Kin Fai Mak, Physics, and Jie Shan, Applied Engineering and Physics, we could possibly fit billions or even trillions more transistors into a device, creating a computer that is ultrafast and consumes less energy. The key: two-dimensional materials.