Browse Physics

For sufficiently thin films of topological insulators, the metallic surface states that make these materials interesting become insulating.

Theorists propose an experiment to observe a “phoniton,” a novel hybrid of an electron and a quantum of vibration in a crystal lattice.

Measurement of the Coulomb drag correlation in a two-dimensional electron gas provides a quantitative explanation for the movement of electron-hole packets opposite to the expected direction.

An ingenious experiment has probed the collective response of the quantum Hall stripe phase.

Alternating voltages act as a conveyer belt for transporting excitons.

Mercury telluride—a semimetal in bulk—shows signs of becoming a topological insulator under strain.

Two objects made of the exotic materials known as topological insulators could repel one another through the quantum-mechanical forces that cause most other solids to attract, theorists predict.

A new topological insulator that approaches true insulating behavior in the bulk is synthesized.

Theorists and experimentalists have long been trying to explain the existence of a fractional quantum Hall effect where it is not expected.

Photoemission measurements challenge the picture that the electronic states on the surface of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 form a perfect Dirac cone.

The first experimental observation of Landau levels in the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator confirms the levels obey unconventional quantization rules.

The exactly quantized magneto-optical response of a topological insulator is a direct result of the Berry phase protected states on its surface.

The phase coherence time of electrons in certain nanostructures may diverge at very low temperatures.

Microwave illumination of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas reveals quantum magneto-oscillations in both absorption coefficient and dc resistance.

The race for realizing Majorana fermions—elusive particles that act as their own antiparticles—heats up, but we still await ideal materials to work with.

A theoretical analysis of recent experiments suggests that a key feature of a topological quantum computer—the unusual statistics of quasiparticles in the quantum Hall effect—may finally have been observed.

By exploiting the concept of particle-hole duality, one can realize a point junction between integer and fractional quantum Hall phases, which constitutes a crucial building block towards possible applications of the quantum Hall effect.

The fractional quantum Hall effect, thought to be special to two dimensions, may also flourish in three, providing a possible explanation for anomalies observed in certain 3D materials in high magnetic fields.

Random disorder in topological insulators leads to an insulating phase reminiscent of one known for years in two-dimensional systems.

The finding of one-dimensional, topologically protected conducting states on the surface of bismuth suggests the possibility of a quantum spin Hall effect in one dimension.