Transition énergétique

X-rays and neutrons has been used to investigate the correlation between structural and magnetic chirality in magnetic fields and its impact on the polarization in multiferroic langasites. A long wavelength modulation of the magnetic structure has been found, and it is shown that the chirality of the crystals structure connects to chirality of the magnetic structure that leads to an additional electric polarization in this field induced phase, which, depending on the christal chirality, can either increase the electric polarization or lead to a reversal of it for increasing magnetic fields. The theoretical description based on allowed Lifshitz invariants intriguingly contain all the essential ingredients for the realization of topologically stable antiferromagnetic skyrmions.

Every folded protein presents an interface with water that is composed of domains of varying hydrophilicity/-phobicity. Many simulation studies have highlighted the nonadditivity in the wetting of such nanostructured surfaces in contrast with the accepted theoretical formula that is additive. We present here an experimental study on surfaces of identical composition but different organization of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains.

A new PSI spin-off is on the horizon: Dr. Florian Döring, PostDoc in the Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, received a PSI Founder Fellowship at Park Innovaare.

Researchers from FRS and the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed the Electricity Supply Resilience Index (ESRI) to measure electricity supply resilience in 140 countries.

The emittance is a fundamental parameter of particle distributions accounting for the average spread of the particles’ positions and momenta. We have generated and characterized intense ultralow-emittance electron beams, setting new standards for electron linear accelerators. The measurements have been carried out at the SwissFEL accelerator of PSI. SwissFEL is one of the few X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) worldwide, which are cutting-edge research instruments to investigate matter with resolutions at the level of atomic processes.

Magnetic ground states with peculiar spin textures, such as magnetic skyrmions and multifunctional domains are of enormous interest for the fundamental physics governing their origin as well as potential applications in emerging technologies. Of particular interest are multiferroics, where sophisticated interactions between electric and magnetic phenomena can be used to tailor several functionalities.

Muon spin rotation experiments provide unique microscopic insight into the superconductivity and magnetism of transition metal dichalcogenides — and reveal complex and unconventional patterns, hinting towards a common mechanism for and electronic origin of ‘unconventional’ superconductivity.

Transition metals, characterized by their partially filled d-orbitals, provide the basis for many of the most relevant processes in chemistry, biology, and physics. Embedded as single atoms or in small clusters, they give rise to exceptional optical, chemical, and magnetic properties. So far, it has proven impossible to disentangle the complex network of excited quantum states, which greatly hinders predicting and controlling of material properties. We employed double-resonant four-wave mixing spectroscopy to quantitatively resolve the bright and perturbing dark quantum states of the neutral copper dimer.

Detailed characterization of cellular structure and development of exceptionally preserved ancient tiny fossils from South China by synchrotron based X-ray tomographic microscopy at TOMCAT led an international team of researchers from the University of Bristol and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology to the discovery that animal-like embryos evolved long before the first animals appear in the fossil record.

The origin of the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) in RNiO₃ perovskites with R = trivalent 4f ion has challenged the condensed matter research community for almost three decades. A drawback for progress in this direction has been the lack of studies combining physical properties and accurate structural data covering the full nickelate phase diagram. Here we focus on a small region close to the itinerant limit (R = Pr, 1.5K < T < 300K), where we investigate the gap opening and the simultaneous emergence of charge order in PrNiO₃.

A study of the extended Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice that factors in Kitaev, Heisenberg and off-diagonal symmetric interactions provides both a definitive answer on proximate Kitaev states and an essential guide to the physics of candidate Kitaev materials.