Browse Physics

Giant jumps in the current-voltage characteristics of disordered films could be the first evidence that electron transport in insulators can occur in the absence of phonons.

Graphene, believed to be a semimetal so far, might actually be an insulator when suspended freely.

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

The surprising prediction that currents can flow forever in small normal metal rings was confirmed almost twenty years ago. Highly precise new experiments find good agreement with theory that was not seen till now.

Optical measurements in electron gases at low temperatures and high magnetic fields show the electron spins are, as predicted, polarized, but that this state is surprisingly delicate.

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.

Measurements of the heat transport at the edges of two-dimensional electron systems appear to provide explanations about the quantum Hall state that have not been forthcoming via charge transport experiments.

Imaging and tracking of bubbles in liquid helium formed by individual electrons allows study of superfluid vortices, and may permit analysis of unusual ionic species in fluids.

Measurements of how out-of-equilibrium electrons lose energy along a carbon nanotube reveal that they do not significantly scatter over several microns.

Crystalline structures have been observed in nanoislands of electrons floating above superfluid helium. The energy required to add or subtract an electron from these quantum-dot-like islands agrees well with theory.

The esoteric concept of “axions” was born thirty years ago to describe the strong interaction between quarks. It appears that the same physics—though in a much different context—applies to an unusual class of insulators.

Researchers report the observation of a Kondo effect when charge and spin on a double quantum dot system are entangled.

Researchers explore how the excitonic condensate phase in a bilayer electron gas depends on the relative electron densities of the two layers.

Experiments suggest that one-dimensional behavior is reflected in the transport properties of graphene nanoribbons.

A new study is looking at how disorder affects the conducting states in a topological insulator—revealing one of many ways these unusual materials are different from conventional insulators.

Graphene has been idealized as a two-dimensional electron system in which the electrons behave like massless fermions, but how “perfect” is it? Scientists now show they can prepare free-standing sheets of graphene that have some of the highest electron mobilities of any inorganic semiconductor.

By adsorbing and desorbing nitrogen dioxide, it is possible to add and remove charge carriers from graphene and induce a reversible metal-insulator transition.

Researchers find that tunneling between the two layers of a bilayer two-dimensional electron gas is proportional to their area. Although the result may seem intuitive it poses a challenge to current theory.

The formation of Landau levels in a magnetic field is the hallmark of a two-dimensional electron system, such as graphene. Experiments now suggest that Landau levels can also form in carbon nanotubes.

Measurements show that the tunneling of electrons through a quantum dot has a complex dependence on magnetic field and the shape of the dot. These results challenge existing pictures of spin-dependent tunneling in quantum dot devices.