MSGID: 1:317/3 641a8468   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    'Y-ball' compound yields quantum secrets    
    Physicists provide theoretical insights on experiment involving a   
   'strange metal' that could be foundational to next-generation quantum   
   technologies    
      
     Date:   
         March 21, 2023   
     Source:   
         Rutgers University   
     Summary:   
         Scientists investigating a compound called 'Y-ball' -- which   
         belongs to a mysterious class of 'strange metals' viewed as   
         centrally important to next-generation quantum materials -- have   
         found new ways to probe and understand its behavior.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Scientists investigating a compound called "Y-ball" - which belongs to   
   a mysterious class of "strange metals" viewed as centrally important to   
   next- generation quantum materials - have found new ways to probe and   
   understand its behavior.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The results of the experiments, aided by the insights of theoretical   
   physicists at Rutgers, could play a role in the development of   
   revolutionary technologies and devices.   
      
   "It's likely that that quantum materials will drive the next generation   
   of technology and that strange metals will be part of that story,"   
   said Piers Coleman, a Distinguished Professor at the Rutgers Center   
   for Materials Theory in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the   
   Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and one of the theoreticians involved   
   in the study. "We know that strange metals like Y-ball exhibit properties   
   that need to be understood to develop these future applications. We're   
   pretty sure that understanding this strange metal will give us new ideas   
   and will help us design and discover new materials."  Reporting in the   
   journal Science, an international team of researchers from Rutgers, the   
   University of Hyogo and the University of Tokyo in Japan, the University   
   of Cincinnati and Johns Hopkins University described details of electron   
   motion that provide new insight into the unusual electrical properties   
   of Y-ball. The material, technically known as the compound YbAlB4,   
   contains the elements ytterbium, aluminum and boron. It was nicknamed   
   "Y-ball" by the late Elihu Abrahams, founding director of the Rutgers   
   Center for Materials Theory.   
      
   The experiment revealed unusual fluctuations in the strange metal's   
   electrical charge. The work is groundbreaking, the researchers said,   
   because of the novel way the experimenters examined Y-ball, firing gamma   
   rays at it using a synchrotron, a type of particle accelerator.   
      
   The Rutgers team -- including Coleman, fellow physics professor Premala   
   Chandra and former postdoctoral fellow Yashar Komijani (now an assistant   
   professor at the University of Cincinnati) -- have spent years exploring   
   the mysteries of strange metals. They do so through the framework   
   of quantum mechanics, the physical laws governing the realm of the   
   ultra-small, home of the building blocks of nature such as electrons.   
      
   Analyzing the material using a technique known as Mossbauer spectroscopy,   
   the scientists probed Y-ball with gamma rays, measuring the rate at which   
   the strange metal's electrical charge fluctuates. In a conventional   
   metal, as they move, electrons hop in and out of the atoms, causing   
   their electrical charge to fluctuate, but at a rate that is thousands   
   of times too fast to be seen by Mossbauer spectroscopy. In this case,   
   the change happened in a nanosecond, a billionth of a second.   
      
   "In the quantum world, a nanosecond is an eternity," said Komijani. "For   
   a long time, we have been wondering why these fluctuations are actually   
   so slow." "We reasoned," continued Chandra, "that each time an electron   
   hops into an ytterbium atom, it stays there long enough to attract the   
   surrounding atoms, causing them to move in and out. This synchronized   
   dance of the electrons and atoms slows the whole process so that it can   
   be seen by the Mossbauer."  They moved to the next step. "We asked the   
   experimentalists to look for these vibrations," said Komijani, "and   
   to our delight, they detected them."  Coleman explained that when an   
   electrical current flows through conventional metals, such as copper,   
   random atomic motion scatters the electrons causing friction called   
   resistance. As the temperature is raised, the resistance increases in   
   a complex fashion and at some point it reaches a plateau.   
      
   In strange metals such as Y-ball, however, resistance increases linearly   
   with temperature, a much simpler behavior. In addition, further   
   contributing to their "strangeness," when Y-ball and other strange   
   metals are cooled to low temperatures, they often become superconductors,   
   exhibiting no resistance at all.   
      
   The materials with the highest superconducting temperatures fall into   
   this strange family. These metals are thus very important because they   
   provide the canvas for new forms of electronic matter -- especially   
   exotic and high temperature superconductivity.   
      
   Superconducting materials are expected to be central to the next   
   generation of quantum technologies because, in eliminating all   
   electrical resistance, they allow an electric current to flow in a   
   quantum mechanically synchronized fashion. The researchers see their   
   work as opening a door to future, perhaps unimaginable possibilities.   
      
   "In the 19th century, when people were trying to figure out electricity   
   and magnetism, they couldn't have imagined the next century, which   
   was entirely driven by that understanding," Coleman said. "And so,   
   it's also true today, that when we use the vague phrase 'quantum   
   materials,' we can't really envisage how it will transform the lives of   
   our grandchildren."   
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   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Rutgers_University. Original written   
   by Kitta MacPherson.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Hisao Kobayashi, Yui Sakaguchi, Hayato Kitagawa, Momoko Oura, Shugo   
         Ikeda, Kentaro Kuga, Shintaro Suzuki, Satoru Nakatsuji, Ryo Masuda,   
         Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Makoto Seto, Yoshitaka Yoda, Kenji Tamasaku,   
         Yashar Komijani, Premala Chandra, Piers Coleman. Observation of   
         a critical charge mode in a strange metal. Science, 2023; 379   
         (6635): 908 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc4787   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230321112646.htm   
      
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