NUM division - Publication Highlights
Tunable unconventional kagome superconductivity in charge ordered RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5
Unconventional superconductors often feature competing orders, small super- fluid density, and nodal electronic pairing. While unusual superconductivity has been proposed in the kagome metals AV3Sb5, key spectroscopic evidence has remained elusive. Here we utilize pressure-tuned and ultra-low temperature muon spin spectroscopy to uncover the unconventional nature of super- conductivity in RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5. At ambient pressure, we observed time- reversal symmetry breaking charge order below T*1≃110 K in RbV3Sb5 with an additional transition at T*2≃50 K. Remarkably ....
Further optimising car brakes
Research scientists at PSI and ANAXAM use neutrons to look inside brake callipers and identify potential ways of reducing CO2 emissions.
A two-part upgrade for the proton accelerator
A two-part upgrade is planned for HIPA from 2025 to 2028. Preparations are already under way.
Making sense of the muon’s misdemeanours
An exotic atom called muonium could explain why muons won’t stick to the rules, believe researchers using the Swiss Muon Source at Paul Scherrer Institute PSI.
Upgraded pixel detector back in action at CERN
Built at Paul Scherrer Institute, the detector forms the heart of the CMS experiment. It is producing data again following an upgrade during the LHC shutdown.
Single-domain stripe order in a high-temperature superconductor
The coupling of spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom results in the emergence of novel states of matter across many classes of strongly correlated electron materials. A model example is unconventional superconductivity, which is widely believed to arise from the coupling of electrons via spin excitations. In cuprate high-temperature superconductors, the interplay of charge and spin degrees of freedom is also reflected in a zoo of charge and spin- density wave orders that are intertwined with superconductivity ...
Perspective on muon-spin rotation/relaxation under hydrostatic pressure
Pressure, together with temperature, electric, and magnetic fields, alters the system and allows for the investigation of the fundamental prop- erties of matter. Under applied pressure, the interatomic distances shrink, which modifies the interactions between atoms and may lead to the appearance of new (sometimes exotic) physical properties, such as pressure-induced phase transitions; quantum critical points; new structural, magnetic, and/or superconducting states; and changes of the temperature evolution and symmetry of the order parameters...
Silver Medal in Electronics for Mario Liechti
PSI electronics technician Mario Liechti comes in second place at the world championships for non-academic professions.
Emergence of spinons in layered trimer iridate Ba4Ir3O10
Spinons are well-known as the elementary excitations of one-dimensional antiferromagnetic chains, but means to realize spinons in higher dimensions is the subject of intense research. Here, we use resonant x-ray scattering to study the layered trimer iridate Ba4Ir3O10, which shows no magnetic order down to 0.2 K. An emergent one-dimensional spinon continuum is observed that can be well-described by XXZ spin-1/2 chains with magnetic exchange of ∼55 meV and a small Ising-like anisotropy. With 2% isovalent Sr doping ...