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Superconductivity

All articles tagged with #superconductivity

science9 days ago

Vacuum-boosted superconductivity observed in NbSe2 inside a split-ring cavity

A Nature study reports that embedding NbSe2 in a split-ring cavity resonator increases its superconducting transition temperature, as well as the critical current and critical field near Tc. The results align with theory that hybridization between electronic states and fluctuating cavity modes lowers the superconducting state's energy, providing a noninvasive proof-of-principle that vacuum fluctuations can enhance superconductivity with potential implications for quantum technologies.

via Nature|
#nbse2#quantum-materials#science
science11 days ago

Plasmon Clues Hint at Unconventional Pairing in Magic-Angle Graphene

Barrier and colleagues stacked two decoupled twisted bilayer graphene layers and used independent gating to screen electrons in the superconducting, magic-angle layer. They observed that stronger interlayer screening suppresses superconductivity, a result opposite to expectations for conventional, phonon-mediated pairing and consistent with an unconventional mechanism—possibly plasmon-mediated—driven by the high density of states in the flat moiré bands and electronic correlations. The findings challenge phonon-dominated explanations and may relate to the disappearance of correlated insulating phases, signaling a new direction for understanding superconductivity in graphene-based systems.

via American Physical Society|
#plasmon-mediated-pairing#science#screening
Pressure Unveils 2D Van der Waals Heavy-Fermion Superconductivity in CeSiI
science1 month ago

Pressure Unveils 2D Van der Waals Heavy-Fermion Superconductivity in CeSiI

A study on CeSiI, a two‑dimensional van der Waals heavy‑fermion metal, maps its temperature–pressure phase diagram: the Kondo coherence temperature T* drops non‑monotonically with pressure to form a V shape, while antiferromagnetic order is suppressed and a superconducting dome with Tc ≈ 240 mK emerges. The superconductivity sits near magnetic instability and features a large upper critical field, suggesting unconventional pairing. Normal-state transport shows non‑Fermi‑liquid behavior and a diverging effective mass near a quantum critical point, positioning CeSiI as a platform to explore the interplay of strong correlations, Kondo hybridization, magnetism, and unconventional superconductivity in a quasi‑2D system.

via Nature|
#heavy-fermion#high-pressure#quantum-criticality
Knee relief breakthrough, room-temperature superconductivity, and cosmic enigmas this week
science1 month ago

Knee relief breakthrough, room-temperature superconductivity, and cosmic enigmas this week

This This Week in Science roundup covers six stories: a minimally invasive knee treatment using dissolvable gel beads that block new nerve growth to OA pain, potentially halving knee pain over a year; a new world record for superconductivity at ambient pressure and higher temperatures; two patients with severe autoimmune disease achieving remission after alloHCT (donor stem cell reboot of the immune system); JWST-detected a mysterious chemical signature on Pluto and Titan; a lab analog simulating Hawking radiation backreaction in a black-hole-like system; and evidence that a fast-mimicking diet may reduce gum disease-related inflammation, highlighting links between diet, inflammation, and oral health. Watch the TWIS video recap for highlights.

via ScienceAlert|
#hawking-radiation#immune-system-reset#knee-pain
Ambient-Pressure Superconductivity Achieved in Hg1223 via Pressure-Quenching
science1 month ago

Ambient-Pressure Superconductivity Achieved in Hg1223 via Pressure-Quenching

Physicists achieved a metastable superconducting state in the cuprate Hg1223 at ambient pressure by rapidly releasing pressure after compressing it to 30 GPa in a diamond-anvil cell, reaching roughly −122 °C—the highest ambient-pressure superconducting temperature to date; confirmed by Advanced Photon Source analysis and reported in PNAS, this advances the quest for room-temperature superconductivity but practical devices remain distant.

via ScienceAlert|
#ambient-pressure#cuprate#hg1223
Fuel-Free Boost: Orbital Test Validates Superconducting Supertorquer
technology1 month ago

Fuel-Free Boost: Orbital Test Validates Superconducting Supertorquer

Zenno Astronautics’ Supertorquer, a compact superconducting-magnet thruster, was tested in orbit aboard the Mira satellite to demonstrate propulsion and attitude control using Earth’s magnetic field with no propellant. Powered by solar energy and cooled by space-based heat rejection, energizing the superconducting coils creates a controllable magnetic thrust. The first orbital test succeeded, and the company envisions larger systems for docking, close-proximity operations, and even radiation shielding via magnetic fields.

via Space|
#propulsion#satellites#space
Graphene's layered superconductivity defies field norms, strengthens when pushed
science1 month ago

Graphene's layered superconductivity defies field norms, strengthens when pushed

MIT researchers report multiple superconducting states in rhombohedral graphene layers (4- and 5-layer stacks); notably, some states are enhanced by magnetic fields, raising the transition temperature from about 55 millikelvin to ~90 millikelvin and increasing the sustainable current by 50–60%, with the outcome depending on electron density and field orientation. This challenges the usual view that magnetic fields destroy superconductivity and may have implications for quantum computing, though experiments still require ultra-cold conditions and specialized setups.

via ScienceAlert|
#graphene#magnetic-field#quantum-computing
science2 months ago

Field-Driven Superconductivity Emerges Across Rhombohedral Graphene Stacks

Researchers report field-enhanced and field-induced superconductivity in rhombohedral tetralayer and pentalayer graphene, with three distinct superconducting states in the pentalayer that endure in-plane fields up to 8.5 tesla (well beyond the Pauli limit). Unlike Bernal bilayer graphene, the pentalayer also shows out-of-plane field effects, and the effects emerge at relatively low gate voltages due to flatter band dispersion. Proximitized spin–orbit coupling further yields new superconductors without adding disorder, establishing a new family of magnetic-field–boosted superconductors in high-quality rhombohedral graphene and opening paths toward realizing topological states and non-Abelian quasiparticles via interface engineering.

via Nature|
#graphene#magnetic-field#rhombohedral-graphene
Ambient-Pressure Superconductivity Breaks 30-Year Temperature Barrier
science2 months ago

Ambient-Pressure Superconductivity Breaks 30-Year Temperature Barrier

Researchers from the University of Houston and Argonne National Laboratory achieved superconductivity at 151 kelvin (-190°F) under ordinary pressure by applying a brief high-pressure pulse to the cuprate Hg-1223 and then rapidly decompressing it while cold, trapping a metastable state with a higher Tc that persists after pressure is removed. This breaks the long-standing 133 K ambient-pressure record and suggests pressure may not be required to reach higher temperatures, enabling study with standard lab instruments and guiding future efforts toward room-temperature superconductivity.

via Interesting Engineering|
#ambient-pressure#cuprate-superconductors#materials-science
Substrate Sculpting Boosts Ultrathin Superconductors Toward Practical Electronics
science2 months ago

Substrate Sculpting Boosts Ultrathin Superconductors Toward Practical Electronics

Chalmers University researchers show that nanoscale sculpting of the substrate beneath an ultrathin cuprate superconducting film creates an interfacial electronic landscape that stabilizes superconductivity at higher temperatures and under strong magnetic fields, a design principle that could accelerate practical superconducting electronics, energy systems, and quantum devices.

via ScienceDaily|
#cuprates#energy-efficiency#nanoscale-engineering
Ambient-Pressure Breakthrough Pushes Superconductivity Toward Practical Use
science5 months ago

Ambient-Pressure Breakthrough Pushes Superconductivity Toward Practical Use

Researchers at the University of Houston report a new ambient-pressure superconductivity record of 151 K using a pressure-quench approach that first applies high pressure to raise Tc, then rapidly returns to normal pressure to lock in the enhanced superconducting state, potentially accelerating the path to practical, energy-saving technologies though room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductivity remains distant.

via SciTechDaily|
#151-k#ambient-pressure#pressure-quenching