MADRID, June 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
For the first time, the spin of electrons in matter has been measuredthat is, the curvature of the space in which the electrons live and move.
This pioneering measurement by an international research team, which is presented in Nature Physics, has been produced within so-called “kagome materials”, a new class of quantum materials.
The results obtained, published in Nature Physics, could revolutionize the way quantum materials are studied in the future, opening the door to new developments in quantum technologies, with potential applications in a variety of technological fields, from renewable energy to biomedicine, from electronics to quantum computers.
The success was achieved thanks to an international collaboration of scientists, with the participation of the University of Bologna and other Italian ones, together with the University of Wurzburg, in Germany, that of St. Andrews, in Scotland, and that of Santa Barbara (USA). USA).
Through advanced experimental techniques, using the light generated by a particle accelerator, the Synchrotron, and thanks to modern techniques to model the behavior of matteracademics were able to measure the spin of electrons for the first time, related to the concept of topology.
“If we take two objects like a soccer ball and a donut, we notice that their specific shapes determine different topological properties, for example, the donut has a hole while the soccer ball does not,” explains Domenico, a professor at the University of Bologna. Di Sante, author of the research.
“Similarly, the behavior of electrons in materials is influenced by certain quantum properties that determine their ‘spin’ or spin in the matter in which they are foundsimilar to how the path of light in the universe is modified by the presence of stars, black holes, dark matter and energy, which bend time and space.”
Although this characteristic of electrons has been known for many years, no one has been able to directly measure this “topological twist” until now. To achieve this, the researchers exploited a particular effect known as “circular dichroism”: a special experimental technique that can only be used with a synchrotron source, which exploits the ability of materials to absorb light differently depending on its polarization.
Scholars have focused especially on “kagome materials,” a class of quantum materials that get their name from their resemblance to the weave of woven bamboo threads that make up a traditional Japanese basket (called, in fact, “kagome”). These materials are revolutionizing quantum physics and the results obtained could help us better understand its special magnetic, topological, and superconducting properties.
“These important results were possible thanks to a strong synergy between experimental practice and theoretical analysis,” adds Di Sante. “Theoretical researchers in the team employed sophisticated quantum simulations, only possible with the use of powerful supercomputers, and in this way guided their experimental colleagues to the specific area of the material where the circular dichroism effect could be measured.”
