New States of Matter

An international research team has demonstrated unambiguously that the bulk crystal Ta₂NiSe₅ is not an excitonic insulator, settling the debate around the microscopic origin of symmetry breaking in the material. more

MPSD Director Philip Moll has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant worth €3 million to investigate the interfaces between two regions in the same strongly correlated single-crystal material. more

Researchers in Germany and the U.S.A. propose a new optical method to verify topological magnon phases. Writing in PRL, the team shows that the intensity of polarized laser light scattered back from a magnetic material is an indicator of topological phases. more

An international research team led by the MPSD has found an explanation why chemical reactions are slowed down inside mirrored cavities, where molecules are forced to interact with light. Their work is a key step in understanding this experimentally observed process. more

Angel Rubio, the director of the MPSD’s Theory Department, has been elected as a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). more