Scientific Highlights
Search for the lepton flavour violating decay μ+→e+γ with the full dataset of the MEG experiment
The final results of the search for the lepton flavour violating decay μ+→e+γ based on the full dataset collected by the MEG experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut in the period 2009–2013 and totalling 7.5×1014 stopped muons on target are presented.
Catching proteins in the act
Some of the fastest processes in our body run their course in proteins activated by light. The protein rhodopsin sees to it that our eyes can rapidly take in their ever-changing surroundings. Free-electron X-ray lasers such as SwissFEL at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI now make it possible for the first time to catch such processes in flagranti. Free-electron X-ray lasers generate extremely short and intense pulses of X-ray light.
Coexisting multiple order parameters in single-layer LuMnO3 films
Magnetoelectric multiferroics hold great promise for electrical control of magnetism or magnetic control of ferroelectricity. However, single phase ferroelectric materials with a sizeable ferromagnetic magnetization are rare. Here, we demonstrate that a single-phase orthorhombic LuMnO3 thin film features coexisting magnetic and ferroelectric orders.
High-resolution hard x-ray magnetic imaging with dichroic ptychography
Imaging the magnetic structure of a material is essential to understanding the influence of the physical and chemical microstructure on its magnetic properties. Magnetic imaging techniques, however, have been unable to probe three-dimensional micrometer-size systems with nanoscale resolution. Here we present the imaging of the magnetic domain configuration of a micrometer-thick FeGd multilayer with hard x-ray dichroic ptychography at energies spanning both the Gd L3 edge and the Fe K edge, providing a high spatial resolution spectroscopic analysis of the complex x-ray magnetic circular dichroism.
Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning
RENiO3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or pressure (V2O3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important.
Call for expressions of interest: Beamline partners at the SLS for PX II and PX III
We invite companies and institutions to secure access to the beamlines X10SA/PX II and X06DA/PX III through a long term contract.
On the Interaction between Digitonin and Cholesterol in Langmuir Monolayers
In this article, we describe the effect of a highly hemolytic saponin, digitonin, on model lipids cholesterol and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) using a combination of tensiometric (surface pressure and dilatational surface elasticity), spectroscopic (infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, IRRAS), microscopic (fluorescence microscopy), and scattering techniques (neutron reflectivity, NR, and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, GIXD).
Low temperature activation of supported metathesis catalysts by organosilicon reducing agents
Industrial alkene metathesis processes rely on silica-supported tungsten oxide catalysts, which operate at high temperatures (>350 °C) due to the difficulty in generating active sites (carbenes or metallacyclobutanes). We report here a low temperature activation process of well-defined metal oxo surface species using organosilicon reductants, which generate a large amount of active species at only 70 °C (0.6 active sites/W).
Phononic Structure Engineering: the Realization of Einstein Rattling in Calcium Cobaltate for the Suppression of Thermal Conductivity
Phonons in condensed matter materials transmit energy through atomic lattices as coherent vibrational waves. Like electronic and photonic properties, an improved understanding of phononic properties is essential for the development of functional materials, including thermoelectric materials. Recently, an Einstein rattling mode was found in thermoelectric material Na0.8CoO2, due to the large displacement of Na between the [CoO2] layers.
Physical realization of a quantum spin liquid based on a complex frustration mechanism
Unlike conventional magnets where the magnetic moments are partially or completely static in the ground state, in a quantum spin liquid they remain in collective motion down to the lowest temperatures. The importance of this state is that it is coherent and highly entangled without breaking local symmetries.