Hypothesis: Gradients in the concentration of amphiphiles play an important role in many non-equilibrium processes involving complex fluids. Here we explore if non-equilibrium interfacial behaviors of thermotropic (oily) liquid crystals (LCs) can amplify microscopic gradients in surfactant concentration into macroscopic optical signals. Experiments: We use a milli-fluidic system to generate gradients in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration and optically quantify the dynamic ordering of micrometer-thick nematic LC films that contact the gradients.

Moiré materials with superlattice periodicity many times the atomic length scale have shown strong electronic correlations and band topology with unprecedented tunability. Non-volatile control of the moiré potentials could allow on-demand switching of superlattice effects but has remained challenging to achieve. Here we demonstrate the switching of the correlated and moiré band insulating states, and the associated nonlinear anomalous Hall effect, by the ferroelectric effect.

We present room-temperature measurements of magnon spin diffusion in epitaxial ferrimagnetic insulator MgAl0.5Fe1.5O4 (MAFO) thin films near zero applied magnetic field where the sample forms a multi-domain state. Due to a weak uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, the domains are separated primarily by 180° domain walls.

Twisted van der Waals multilayers are widely regarded as a rich platform to access novel electronic phases thanks to the multiple degrees of freedom available for controlling their electronic and chemical properties. Here, we propose that the stacking domains that form naturally due to the relative twist between successive layers act as an additional ”knob” for controlling the behavior of these systems and report the emergence and engineering of stacking domain-dependent surface chemistry in twisted few-layer graphene.

Recent progress in the field of micron-scale spatial resolution direct conversion X-ray detectors for high-energy synchrotron light sources serve applications ranging from nondestructive and noninvasive microscopy techniques which provide insight into the structure and morphology of crystals, to medical diagnostic measurement devices. Amorphous selenium (a-Se) as a wide-bandgap thermally evaporated photoconductor exhibits ultra-low thermal generation rates for dark carriers and has been extensively used in X-ray medical imaging.

A growing number of two-dimensional superconductors are being discovered in the family of exfoliated van der Waals materials. Due to small sample volume, the superfluid response of these materials has not been characterized. Here, we use a local magnetic probe to directly measure this key property of the tunable, gate-induced superconducting state in MoS2. We find that the backgate changes the transition temperature non-monotonically whereas the superfluid stiffness at low temperature and the normal state conductivity monotonically increase.

Synthetic methods to control the structure of materials at sub-micron scales are typically based on the self-assembly of structural building blocks with precise size and morphology. On the other hand, many living systems can generate structure across a broad range of length scales in one step directly from macromolecules, using phase separation. Here, we introduce and control structure at the nano- and microscales through polymerization in the solid state, which has the unusual capability of both triggering and arresting phase separation.

The Kondo lattice—a matrix of local magnetic moments coupled through spin-exchange interactions to itinerant conduction electrons—is a prototype of strongly correlated quantum matter1–4. Usually, Kondo lattices are realized in intermetallic compounds containing lanthanide or actinide1,2. The complex electronic structure and limited tunability of both the electron density and exchange interactions in these bulk materials pose considerable challenges to studying Kondo lattice physics.

We aim to address the following question: if we start with a quantum state with a spontaneously broken higher-form symmetry, what is the fate of the system under weak local quantum measurements? We demonstrate that under certain conditions, a phase transition can be driven by weak measurements, which suppresses the spontaneous breaking of the 1-form symmetry and weakens the 1-form symmetry charge fluctuation.