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English Logo - Department of Physics - TU Dortmund
Physikgebäude (Neubau Otto-Hahn-Str. 4a) an der TU Dortmund © Nikolas Golsch​/​TU Dortmund
Publication in "Physical Review Letters"

Unusual transport properties discovered in quantum metal

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Portrait of Zhe Wang © Martina Hengesbach​/​TU Dortmund
Physicists at TU Dortmund University, together with colleagues from Cologne and Augsburg, have discovered new, unusual transport properties in a special metal that is close to a quantum critical point. Such findings are important for understanding fundamental physical processes and could also influence future technological applications of quantum materials. The team recently published the results of its investigations in the renowned journal Physical Review Letters.

In physics, phase transitions, in which a material changes from one state to another, are a well-studied phenomenon. An everyday example is the freezing of water to ice at temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. Another is a magnet that loses its magnetic properties at high temperatures. Can a phase transition occur at absolute zero temperature, i.e. without thermal energy, but through quantum effects? And how does matter behave in the vicinity of such a quantum phase transition? Modern quantum physics, for example, is investigating these questions.

Prof. Zhe Wang from the Condensed Matter research focus at the Department of Physics and his team have investigated the metal ruthenate (CaRuO3) using special time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy - and discovered unusual transport properties. Transport properties are defined as how electrons are transported in a material under the influence of an external field. These properties determine how well a material conducts electricity or reacts to electromagnetic fields. In the case of the metal studied, the researchers found that it exhibits unusually strong non-linear reactions to the effects of terahertz fields. This could be a characteristic feature of a quantum phase transition at which the material is located. This offers an unconventional experimental approach to detecting and understanding quantum phase transitions.

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