Princeton graduate student wins prestigious plasma physics award

Eduardo Rodriguez, a 2022 graduate of the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has won the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award.

Bubbling, frothing and sloshing: Long-hypothesized plasma instabilities finally observed

PPPL scientists have observed new details of how plasma interacts with magnetic fields, potentially providing insight into the formation of enormous plasma jets that stretch between the stars.

Unleashing the potential of high-spin polymers for next-gen optoelectronics and spintronics

In a significant article, scientists have shed new light on the capabilities of open-shell oligomers and polymers. These materials, distinguished by their high-spin ground states, hold promise for advancing technologies in ambipolar organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), photodetectors, thermoelectrics, and spintronics.

It’s the spin that makes the difference

Biomolecules such as amino acids and sugars occur in two mirror-image forms – in all living organisms, however, only one is ever found. Why this is the case is still unclear. Researchers at Empa and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have now found evidence that the interplay between electric and magnetic fields could be at the origin of this phenomenon.

Study finds nickelate superconductors are intrinsically magnetic

Scientists embedded elementary particles called muons into a nickel oxide superconductor to learn more about its magnetic properties. They discovered very different magnetic behavior than the best known unconventional superconductors, the cuprates, display.

Lasers trigger magnetism in atomically thin quantum materials

Researchers discovered that light can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electron “spin.” By controlling & aligning electron spin at this level of detail & accuracy, this platform could have applications in quantum computing & simulation.

Three PPPL scientists win competitive awards to conduct frontier plasma science work

World-class expertise in the study of plasma — the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions, that makes up 99 percent of the visible universe — has won frontier science projects for three physicists at PPPL.

Magnetism Meets Topology on a Superconductor’s Surface

Scientists have found an energy band gap—an energy range where no electrons are allowed—opens at a point where two allowed energy bands intersect on the surface of an iron-based superconductor. This unusual electronic energy structure could be used for quantum information science and electronics.

Scientists develop forecasting technique that could help advance quest for fusion energy

An international group of researchers has developed a technique that forecasts how tokamaks might respond to unwanted magnetic errors. These forecasts could help engineers design fusion facilities that create a virtually inexhaustible supply of safe and clean fusion energy to generate electricity.

Quantum Materials Quest Could Benefit From Graphene That Buckles

Graphene, an extremely thin two-dimensional layer of the graphite used in pencils, buckles when cooled while attached to a flat surface, resulting in beautiful pucker patterns that could benefit the search for novel quantum materials and superconductors, according to Rutgers-led research in the journal Nature. Quantum materials host strongly interacting electrons with special properties, such as entangled trajectories, that could provide building blocks for super-fast quantum computers. They also can become superconductors that could slash energy consumption by making power transmission and electronic devices more efficient.

Scientists Dive Deep Into Hidden World of Quantum States

A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a technique that could lead to new electronic materials that surpass the limitations imposed by Moore’s Law.

ORNL neutrons add advanced polarization capability for measuring magnetic materials

Neutron scattering instruments at ORNL’s HFIR and SNS are undergoing upgrades which will enable them to study magnetic phenomena previously not possible in the US. Incorporating a device for spherical neutron polarimetry enables the ability to characterize complex magnetic systems in new dimensions for materials that could be developed for enhanced data storage and quantum computing technologies.

How a Magnet Could Help Boost Understanding of Superconductivity

Physicists have unraveled a mystery behind the strange behavior of electrons in a ferromagnet, a finding that could eventually help develop high temperature superconductivity. A Rutgers co-authored study of the unusual ferromagnetic material appears in the journal Nature.