Electric fields deflect the propagation direction of magnetic textures, as revealed by neutron scattering
Electric fields deflect the propagation direction of magnetic textures, as revealed by neutron scattering. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/ AI-assisted visualisation
16.06.2025
•Future Technologies
•5 min

Steering magnetic textures with electric fields

Neutrons reveal a new way to control magnetism at the nanoscale

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© Adobe Stock
PSI researchers have measured the charge radius of helium-3 using muonic helium with unprecedented precision – a milestone for theories of light atomic nuclei. The image illustrates the helium-3 nucleus with two protons (red) and one neutron (yellow). © Adobe Stock
22.05.2025
•Fundamentals of Nature
•8 min

New standards in nuclear physics

With unprecedented precision: PSI researchers measure the nuclear radius of muonic helium-3 and put the theories of atomic physics to the test.

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Barely larger than a fingernail, the miniature Roman box lock from the 3rd or 4th century AD
Barely larger than a fingernail, the miniature Roman box lock from the 3rd or 4th century AD is skilfully crafted out of gold. The iron mechanism inside remained hidden for a long time because conventional imaging techniques were thwarted by the dense gold casing. It was only with the help of neutron tomography at PSI that the box lock could finally be deciphered non-destructively. © LWL/S. Brentführer
01.05.2025
•Large research facilities
•9 min

A tiny golden object from Roman times

PSI’s David Mannes has used neutrons to unravel the mystery of a fascinating archaeological artefact.

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Christian Rüegg
18.12.2024
•Large research facilities
•7 min

IMPACT: Upgrade at PSI research facility approved

Financing for renovations to PSI’s proton accelerator facility has been approved by the Swiss Parliament. 

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PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Sciences

The PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Sciences uses neutrons and muons to explore and understand matter and materials.

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WOPM 2025 - Participants

WOPM2025 at PSI - Workshop on optically-pumped magnetometers

From August 6 to 8, the 2025 workshop on 'Optically-Pumped Magnetometers' took place at PSI with a full day of Summer School lectures, followed by scientific sessions attended by 145 researchers from institutions worldwide. 

Lee et al

Observation of Magnetic Pseudogap Behavior in Phosphorus-Doped Silicon

The recent discovery of a Kondo condensate in phosphorus-doped silicon (Si:P) presents its significant potential for achieving novel many-body quantum states. Si:P exhibits Kondo condensation, characterized by an energy gap in the electronic density of states, while the precise nature of its magnetic state has yet to be determined. 

Here, we utilize ...

Ahl et al

Hydration- and Temperature-Dependent Rotational Dynamics and Water Diffusion in Nanocellulose

Nanocellulose is a promising alternative to fossil-derived materials, but its development is hindered by a limited understanding of cellulose–water interactions. Herein, quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) is used to investigate how hydration and temperature affect the localized rotations in cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and the diffusion of mobile water. QENS reveals ...

Bhardwaj et al

Bright Monocompound Metal Halide Scintillator for Fast Neutron Radiography

Fast neutron imaging is a promising technique for visualizing objects containing dense, mixed light-and-heavy-elements materials, such as combustion engines, nuclear fuel assemblies, and fossils, where X-rays and thermal neutrons are ineffectiv. However, the limited efficiency of current detection technologies hinders their widespread adoption. Recoil proton detection ...

Battaglia et al

Neutron imaging in 2D and 3D as a powerful tool to investigate electrolyte degradation and plating mechanisms in sodium-ion batteries

To develop durable and high-performance sodium-ion batteries, it is crucial to understand the degradation processes taking place during electrochemical cycling. This study presents the first demonstration of visualizing the effects of electrolyte degradation in sodium-ion batteries, via 2D and 3D neutron imaging thereby visualizing the degradation of the cells. The experiment  ...

Guguchia

A New Quantum Landscape: Coexisting High-Tc Superconductivity, Magnetism, and Complex Charge Order in LaRu3Si2.

Despite intense research on kagome superconductors, many fundamental questions remain—especially regarding the unconventional nature of their charge order and superconducting phases. These materials are rich in complexity, and to truly unravel their behavior, a broad and integrated approach is essential. In our study ...

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Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ

Neutron scattering techniques are highly versatile and powerful tools for studying the structure and dynamics of condensed matter. A wide scope of problems, ranging from fundamental to solid state physics and chemistry, and from materials science to biology, medicine and environmental science, can be investigated with neutrons. In addition to scattering, non-diffractive methods like imaging techniques allows for non-destructive inspection of materials and components, providing information on their internal structure, composition, and integrity with growing relevance also for industrial applications.
  • Genix AC, Sharma S, Akkaya C, Alauzun JG, Kohlbrecher J, Bizien T, et al.
    Heterogeneous decoration of ionic mesopores by ionic and poly(ionic) liquids
    ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 2025; 17(33): 47532-47542. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c11985
    DORA PSI
  • Turnali A, Hariharan A, Polatidis E, Peter NJ, Gehlmann J, Sofras C, et al.
    Harnessing additive manufacturing-induced microstructure and solute heterogeneities for the design of precipitation-strengthened alloys
    Acta Materialia. 2025; 298: 121423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121423
    DORA PSI
  • Dutsov C, Hume T, Schmidt-Wellenburg P
    Systematic effects in the search for the muon electric dipole moment using the frozen-spin technique
    In: Gligorova A, Amsler C, Simon M, Widmann E, eds. 8th international symposium on symmetries in subatomic physics (SSP 2022). Vol. 282. EPJ web of conferences. EDP Sciences; 2023:01013 (11 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202328201013
    DORA PSI
  • Maiz J, Verde-Sesto E, Asenjo-Sanz I, Juranyi F, Pomposo JA, Arbe A, et al.
    Impact of composition on the crystal texture and on the dynamics of P(THF-co-ECH) copolymers
    In: Arbe A, Colmenero J, eds. QENS/WINS 2022 – 15th edition of the QENS series and 10th of the WINS workshops. Vol. 272. EPJ web of conferences. EDP Sciences; 2022:01005 (6 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202227201005
    DORA PSI
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The center is organized in 5 laboratories and 1 staff group.

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