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Oxide interfaces put new twist on electron spins

DOE/US Department of Energy

Electrons in magnetic solids feel each other as an effective magnetic field that forces the electrons’ spins to align. If the arrangement of atoms is not fully symmetric, an additional magnetic force known as Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI) can emerge, forcing the spins to reorient and form whirling patterns called skyrmions. Researchers joined two different materials to enable skyrmion generation.

Journal: Science Advances

Rachel Mandelbaum: Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner

DOE/US Department of Energy

Rachel Mandelbaum prepares to measure weak gravitational lensing, the tiny deflections of light from distant galaxies due to the gravitational influence of dark matter and visible matter that the light rays pass by on their way to Earth. Those measurements can help answer fundamental questions.

Lead-isotope computations connect physics from the subatomic to the cosmic scale

DOE/US Department of Energy

Scientists used statistical tools, machine learning, and models run on supercomputers to explore nuclear force models. This allows scientists to make quantitative predictions about the structure of atomic nuclei and their interactions. Scientists used this approach to study the nucleus of lead-208 and predict its neutron skin. The results indicate the neutron skin is constrained by nucleon-nucleon scattering data.

Journal: Nature Physics

Scientists twist X-rays with artificial spin crystals

DOE/US Department of Energy

“Twisted” X-ray beams carrying orbital angular momentum hold great promise for imaging and probing materials at the nanoscale. Scientists have now developed and demonstrated a new technique that uses a special patterned array of engineered nanoscale magnets called an artificial spin ice to impart OAM to X-ray beams. The beams can be switched on and off using changes in temperature and magnetic fields.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

Shape-shifting experiment challenges interpretation of how cadmium nuclei move

DOE/US Department of Energy

Atomic nuclei take a range of shapes, from spherical to football-like deformed. Spherical nuclei are often described by the motion of a small fraction of the protons and neutrons, while deformed nuclei tend to rotate as a collective whole. A third kind of motion, nuclear vibration, has been proposed since the 1950s. However, a new investigation of cadmium-106 nuclei found that these nuclei rotate, not vibrate, counter to scientists’ expectations.

Journal: Physics Letters B

When material goes quantum, electrons slow down and form a crystal

DOE/US Department of Energy

Moiré patterns can occur when scientists stack two-dimensional crystals with mismatched atomic spacings. Moiré superlattices display exotic physical properties that are absent in the layers that make up the patterns. Researchers have discovered a new property in the moiré superlattices formed in tungsten diselenide/tungsten disulfide crystals, in which the electrons “freeze” and form an ordered array.

Journal: Nature

U.S. Department of Energy announces $68 million for small businesses developing technologies to cut emissions and study climate

DOE/US Department of Energy
Grant and Award Announcement

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced awards totaling more than $68 million that will go to 53 small businesses that are solving scientific problems. Projects include developing tools for climate research and advanced materials and technologies for clean energy conversion. Understanding the climate and the ability to convert and store energy are instrumental to meeting President Biden’s goal of a completely clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

Machine learning takes hold in nuclear physics

DOE/US Department of Energy

In the past several years, nuclear physics researchers have initiated a flurry of machine learning projects and published many papers on the subject. A new survey by 18 authors from 11 institutions summarizes this work to provide an educational resource and a roadmap for future endeavors in the field.

Journal: Reviews of Modern Physics

Volker Rose: Then and now / 2012 Early Career Award winner

DOE/US Department of Energy

At Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source and its Center for Nanoscale Materials, physicist Volker Rose’s team built a one-of-a-kind microscope. They developed techniques to combine the chemical sensitivity of synchrotron X-rays with the high spatial resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy.

A trial run for smart streaming readouts

DOE/US Department of Energy

Instruments that measure subatomic particles in nuclear physics experiment generate enormous amounts of data. Nuclear physicists are turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to process this torrent. Recent tests of two systems that use machine learning and artificial intelligence-based streaming readout found that these systems were able to perform real-time processing of raw experimental data.

Journal: The European Physical Journal Plus

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