{"id":391387,"date":"2025-09-02T08:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T08:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/391387\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T08:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T08:05:09","slug":"its-its-own-new-thing-scientists-discover-new-state-of-quantum-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/391387\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s Its Own New Thing\u201d \u2013 Scientists Discover New State of Quantum Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Quantum<\/a>UC Irvine physicists have discovered a new phase of quantum matter with unusual electron-hole pairings. The material\u2019s resilience to radiation hints at breakthroughs in quantum technologies and future space-ready computers. (Artist\u2019s concept). Credit: SciTechDaily.com<\/p>\n

UC Irvine scientists identified a novel quantum state with potential for energy-efficient devices. Its radiation resistance makes it particularly valuable for space missions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have identified a previously unknown state of quantum matter. According to the team, this discovery could pave the way for computers that recharge themselves and withstand the extreme conditions of deep space exploration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a new phase of matter, similar to how water can exist as liquid, ice, or vapor,\u201d said Luis A. Jauregui, professor of physics & astronomy at UC Irvine and corresponding author of the new Physical Review Letters. \u201cIt\u2019s only been theoretically predicted \u2013 no one has ever measured it until now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phase behaves like a fluid formed by electrons and their counterparts, known as \u201choles,\u201d which spontaneously pair together to create exotic structures called excitons. In a surprising twist, both electrons and holes rotate in the same direction. \u201cIt\u2019s its own new thing,\u201d Jauregui said. \u201cIf we could hold it in our hands, it would glow a bright, high-frequency light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Materials and experimental conditions<\/p>\n

The phase was detected in a material engineered at UC Irvine by postdoctoral researcher Jinyu Liu, the study\u2019s first author. Jauregui and his colleagues confirmed its existence using powerful magnetic fields at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\"Luis<\/a>\u201cIf you want computers in space that are going to last, this is one way to make that happen,\u201d Luis Jauregui says. Credit: Steve Zylius \/ UC Irvine<\/p>\n

To generate this unusual quantum state, the researchers exposed the material\u2014hafnium pentatelluride\u2014to an intense magnetic field of up to 70 Teslas. (For comparison, a strong refrigerator magnet produces about 0.1 Teslas.) Under these conditions, the material revealed its transformation into the new quantum phase.<\/p>\n

Implications for future technology<\/p>\n

Jauregui explained that, as his team applied the magnetic field, the \u201cmaterial\u2019s ability to carry electricity suddenly drops, showing that it has transformed into this exotic state,\u201d he said. \u201cThis discovery is important because it may allow signals to be carried by spin rather than electrical charge, offering a new path toward energy-efficient technologies like spin-based electronics or quantum devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike conventional materials used in electronics, this new quantum matter isn\u2019t affected by any form of radiation, which makes it an ideal candidate for space travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be useful for space missions,\u201d Jauregui said. \u201cIf you want computers in space that are going to last, this is one way to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Companies like SpaceX are planning human-piloted space flight to Mars, and to do that effectively, you need computers that can withstand prolonged periods of exposure to radiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet what possibilities will open as a result,\u201d Jauregui said.<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cPossible Spin-Triplet Excitonic Insulator in the Ultraquantum Limit of HfTe5\u201d by Jinyu Liu, Varsha Subramanyan, Robert Welser, Timothy McSorley, Triet Ho, David Graf, Michael T. Pettes, Avadh Saxena, Laurel\u2009E. Winter, Shi-Zeng Lin and Luis\u2009A. Jauregui, 22 July 2025, Physical Review Letters.
DOI: 10.1103\/bj2n-4k2w<\/a><\/p>\n

Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UC Irvine physicists have discovered a new phase of quantum matter with unusual electron-hole pairings. The material\u2019s resilience…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3845],"tags":[135611,58248,14677,74,11112,70,11028,109147,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-391387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-excitons","9":"tag-magnetic-fields","10":"tag-matter","11":"tag-physics","12":"tag-quantum-physics","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-spintronics","15":"tag-uc-irvine","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115133672615396845","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}