Novel quantum effect directly observed and explained
Friday, February 13, 2009 - 04:21
in Physics & Chemistry
An international research team has succeeded in gaining an in-depth insight into an unusual phenomenon, as reported in the current edition of the high-impact journal 'Science.' The researchers succeeded for the first time in directly measuring the spin of electrons in a material that exhibits the quantum spin Hall effect, which was theoretically predicted in 2004 and first observed in 2007. Astonishingly, the spin currents flow without any external stimulus as a result of the internal structure of the material. The flow of information is loss-free, even for slight irregularities. This paves the way towards fault-tolerant quantum computers and towards a source of spin currents...