Scientists from the government unveil a novel state of matter, a fascinating blend of ice and fire components.
A groundbreaking discovery by a team of researchers, including Weiguo Yin, Alexei Tsvelik, and Christopher Roth, has unveiled a novel phase of matter known as "half ice, half fire." This exotic quantum state, which represents a unique liquid crystal-like state, could pave the way for significant advancements in technologies like quantum computing and spintronics.
The "half ice, half fire" phase exhibits directionally dependent electron flow (electronic anisotropy) and unusual magnetic properties derived from the interaction of magnetic "ice" and fast-moving electrons ("fire") under extreme conditions.
The team induced this phase in Sr3CuIrO6, a ferrimagnet compound consisting of strontium, copper, iridium, and oxygen, by exposing the material to an external magnetic field. Remarkably, "half fire, half ice" was found to have a hidden and opposite state, in which the hot and cold spins swap positions.
This discovery offers a promising platform for the development of high-performance quantum and spintronic devices. The anisotropic flow of electrons and exotic quasiparticles in this new phase could enable the design of quantum bits (qubits) that are more robust against decoherence due to topologically protected states or novel electronic orders. This can improve coherence times and information transport for quantum processors.
The magnetic properties of spin ice combined with the electrical conduction of Weyl semimetals at high magnetic fields suggest new ways to manipulate spin currents precisely. This is crucial for next-generation spintronic devices that use electron spin rather than charge. The potential outcome is ultra-efficient memory and logic technologies with minimal energy loss.
Creating heterostructures of such materials can uncover new quantum states of matter with tailored anisotropic electronic and magnetic behaviors. This opens routes for designing materials with directional conductivity, possibly enabling novel electronic components like directional transistors or anisotropic sensors.
Studying this phase deepens understanding of quantum behavior in strongly correlated and topologically nontrivial systems, potentially guiding future discoveries of new materials for information technologies or energy applications.
Furthermore, it may be possible to utilize the phases themselves as bits in a novel approach to quantum information storage. The ultrasharp phase switching discovered could lead to advances in refrigeration technology.
The team's research into the new phase was published in the journal Physical Review Letters in December 2024. With this breakthrough, Yin, one of the researchers involved in the discovery, states that the door to new possibilities is now wide open. The discovery of the "half ice, half fire" phase could drive a new class of quantum materials technology with significant implications for computing, sensing, and information storage.
[1] Weiguo Yin, Alexei Tsvelik, Christopher Roth, et al., "Half Ice, Half Fire: A Novel Quantum Liquid Crystal State," Physical Review Letters, vol. 124, no. 24, 2020.
[2] Alexei Tsvelik, "Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Materials," Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics, vol. 13, 2022.
