SLAC, Stanford researchers make a new type of quantum material with a dramatic distortion pattern

The resulting distortions are ‘huge’ compared to those in other materials, and represent the first demonstration of the Jahn-Teller effect in a layered material with a flat, planar lattice, like a high-rise building with evenly spaced floors.

In a step forward for orbitronics, scientists break the link between a quantum material’s spin and orbital states

Until now, electron spins and orbitals were thought to go hand in hand in a class of materials that’s the cornerstone of modern information technology; you couldn’t quickly change one without changing the other. This study raises the possibility of controlling them separately.