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.

Zhu et al

Continuum Excitations in a Spin Supersolid on a Triangular Lattice

Magnetic, thermodynamic, neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering are used to study spin correlations in the easy-axis XXZ triangular lattice magnet K2Co(SeO3)2. Despite the presence of quasi-2D “supersolid” magnetic order, the low-energy excitation spectrum contains no sharp modes and is instead a broad and structured multiparticle continuum. Applying a weak magnetic field ...

Andriushin et al

Reentrant multiple-q magnetic order and a “spin meta-cholesteric” phase in Sr3Fe2O7

Topologically nontrivial magnetic structures such as skyrmion lattices are well known in materials lacking lattice inversion symmetry, where antisymmetric exchange interactions are allowed. Only recently, topological multi-q magnetic textures that spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, for example, three-dimensional hedgehog lattices, were discovered in centrosymmetric compounds, where they are instead driven by frustrated interactions. Here we show that ...

Shin et al

Ferromagnetic quantum critical point protected by nonsymmorphic symmetry in a Kondo metal

Quantum critical points (QCPs), zero-temperature phase transitions, are win- dows to fundamental quantum-mechanical phenomena associated with universal behaviour. Magnetic QCPs have been extensively investigated in the vicinity of antiferromagnetic order. However, QCPs are rare in metallic ferromagnets due to the coupling of the order parameter to electronic soft modes. Recently, antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric systems was suggested to protect ferromagnetic QCPs. Nonetheless, multiple centrosymmetric materials ...

Xie et al

Quantum Spin Dynamics Due to Strong Kitaev Interactions in the Triangular-Lattice Antiferromagnet CsCeSe2

The extraordinary properties of the Kitaev model have motivated an intense search for new physics in materials that combine geometrical and bond frustration. In this Letter, we employ inelastic neutron scattering, spin wave theory, and exact diagonalization to study the spin dynamics in the perfect triangular-lattice antiferromagnet (TLAF) CsCeSe2. This material orders into a stripe phase, which is demonstrated to arise as a consequence of the off-diagonal bond-dependent terms in the spin Hamiltonian ...

Deng et al

Evidence for time-reversal symmetry-breaking kagome superconductivity

Superconductivity and magnetism are often antagonistic in quantum matter, although their intertwining has long been considered in frustrated-lattice systems. Here we utilize scanning tunnelling microscopy and muon spin resonance to demonstrate time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity in kagome metal Cs(V, Ta)3Sb5, where the Cooper pairing exhibits magnetism and is modulated by it. In the magnetic channel, we observe spontaneous internal magnetism ...

300

The CNM center hosts 300 members of staff, in addition 40 PhD students perform their thesis work within CNM

5+1

The center is organized in 5 laboratories and 1 staff group.

3/30

CNM operates 3 of the 5 large scale user facilities: the Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ, the Swiss Muon Source SμS and the facilities for particle physics CHIRSP with approximately 30 experimental stations open for users.

1700

The facilities in the CNM center are open to international access — with approximately 1700 annual user visits the associated user program is a key activity for the center and for PSI as a whole.

Postal address
Paul Scherrer Institut
Center for Neutron and Muon Sciences CNM

WHGA/345
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland