PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers discover 'swing-dancing' pairs of electrons

Findings set the stage for room-temperature superconductivity and the transformation of high-speed rail, quantum computers

2015-05-13
(Press-News.org) PITTSBURGH -- A research team led by the University of Pittsburgh's Jeremy Levy has discovered electrons that can "swing dance." This unique electronic behavior can potentially lead to new families of quantum devices.

Superconductors, materials that permit electrical current to flow without energy loss, form the basis for magnetic resonance imaging devices as well as emerging technologies such as quantum computers. At the heart of all superconductors is the bunching of electrons into pairs.

Levy, Distinguished Professor of Physics and Pittsburgh Quantum Institute director, has discovered a long-postulated phase in which electrons form pairs but do not reach a superconducting state. The discovery provides fundamental new insights into a mechanism that could one day be used to design a material that is superconducting at room temperature.

Such a breakthrough would radically transform an array of technologies such as high-speed trains, energy-efficient power transmission, and computers that operate with negligible power requirements. The work, done in collaboration with researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, will be published May 14 in the journal Nature.

One way to understand this novel state is to extend an analogy first articulated by J. Robert Schrieffer, who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics for the theory of superconductivity. In a superconductor, the motion of paired electrons is highly coordinated, similar to waltzing couples on a dance floor. In the "normal" or non-superconducting state, electrons move independently, bumping into one another occasionally and dissipating energy. What the new research has identified is an in-between state where the electrons form pairs, but each pair moves independently. One may regard the electron pairs as "swing dancing" where dancing pairs hold hands but do not move in any synchronized fashion.

The first theory to describe how electrons pair without forming a superconducting state was published by David M. Eagles in 1969. Lead author and research assistant professor in the Levy lab, Guanglei Cheng, described how the theory was proven right: "The breakthrough comes from the technological advancement to fabricate superconducting single-electron transistors at an oxide interface--a technology that allows us to count electrons and pairs one by one. And this is just the beginning. We now have a novel platform to study the fascinating electron-electron correlations at nanoscale dimensions."

INFORMATION: END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

No laughing matter: Some perfectionists have a dark side

2015-05-13
The type of perfectionist who sets impossibly high standards for others has a bit of a dark side. They tend to be narcissistic, antisocial and to have an aggressive sense of humor. They care little about social norms and do not readily fit into the bigger social picture. So says Joachim Stoeber of the University of Kent in the UK, who compared the characteristics of so-called other-orientated perfectionists against those of perfectionists who set the bar extremely high for themselves. The study is published in Springer's Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. Perfectionism ...

GPM, AIRS, and RapidScat view Typhoon Dolphin headed for Guam

GPM, AIRS, and RapidScat view Typhoon Dolphin headed for Guam
2015-05-13
Typhoon Dolphin (strengthened overnight on 5/12 from Tropical Storm status) formed south of Pohnpei in the western Pacific Ocean on May 7, 2015. Dolphin's power has oscillated from a weak tropical depression to typhoon intensity over the past five days. Dolphin is now an intensifying typhoon headed westward. The GPM core observatory satellite flew over Dolphin on May 12, 2015 at 2301 UTC. At that time Dolphin's wind speeds were estimated at about 65 kts (75 mph). Rainfall collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) showed that rain was falling at a rate of over 47 mm (1.9 ...

Cause of galactic death: Strangulation

Cause of galactic death: Strangulation
2015-05-13
As murder mysteries go, it's a big one: how do galaxies die and what kills them? A new study, published today in the journal Nature, has found that the primary cause of galactic death is strangulation, which occurs after galaxies are cut off from the raw materials needed to make new stars. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh have found that levels of metals contained in dead galaxies provide key 'fingerprints', making it possible to determine the cause of death. There are two types of galaxies in the Universe: roughly half ...

Brain compass keeps flies on course, even in the dark

2015-05-13
If you walk into a dark room, you can still find your way to the light switch. That's because your brain keeps track of landmarks and the direction in which you are moving. Fruit flies also boast an internal compass that works when the lights go out, scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus have discovered. Their findings suggest that dissecting how fruit flies navigate through the world could help researchers understand how humans and other mammals achieve that task. In our brains, several kinds of neurons help us get and keep our bearings. ...

Study reveals how rivers regulate global carbon cycle

2015-05-13
Humans concerned about climate change are working to find ways of capturing excess carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and sequestering it in the Earth. But Nature has its own methods for the removal and long-term storage of carbon, including the world's river systems, which transport decaying organic material and eroded rock from land to the ocean. While river transport of carbon to the ocean is not on a scale that will bail humans out of our CO2 problem, we don't actually know how much carbon the world's rivers routinely flush into the ocean - an important piece ...

Antipsychotic drug use in pregnant women appears to pose minimal risk, new study suggests

2015-05-13
Antipsychotic medication use during pregnancy does not put women at additional risk of developing gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders or major blood clots that obstruct circulation, according to a new study led by researchers at Women's College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). The study, published today in BMJ, is the largest to date to examine possible links between newer antipsychotic medications -- such as quetiapine, olanzapine and risperidone -- and medical conditions that often develop during pregnancy or with use of older ...

Researchers build new fermion microscope

2015-05-13
Fermions are the building blocks of matter, interacting in a multitude of permutations to give rise to the elements of the periodic table. Without fermions, the physical world would not exist. Examples of fermions are electrons, protons, neutrons, quarks, and atoms consisting of an odd number of these elementary particles. Because of their fermionic nature, electrons and nuclear matter are difficult to understand theoretically, so researchers are trying to use ultracold gases of fermionic atoms as stand-ins for other fermions. But atoms are extremely sensitive to ...

No difference in post-op complications for pregnant women undergoing general surgery

2015-05-13
Pregnant women who undergo general surgical procedures appear to have no significant difference in postoperative complications compared with women who are not pregnant, according to a report published online by JAMA Surgery. Historical data show that about 1 in 500 pregnant women require nonobstetric surgery, according to the study background. Robert A. Meguid, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, and coauthors analyzed data from the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2006 through ...

Highly competitive geographic areas have a higher annual number of liver transplants

2015-05-13
CHICAGO (May 13, 2015): The annual number of liver transplantation operations increases when transplantation centers are concentrated in geographic areas that are highly competitive, according to findings from a new study published as an "article in press" in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS). The study, believed to be the first one to demonstrate a link between the volume of liver transplantation and competition for organs and geographic density, will appear in the print edition of the Journal this summer. Researchers from the Department of Surgery ...

Depression intensifies anger in veterans with PTSD

2015-05-13
WASHINGTON - The tendency for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to lash out in anger can be significantly amplified if they are also depressed, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. "Our study findings should draw attention to anger as a major treatment need when military service members screen positive for PTSD or for depression, and especially when they screen positive for both," said lead author Raymond Novaco, PhD, professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine. The study appeared ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Researchers discover 'swing-dancing' pairs of electrons
Findings set the stage for room-temperature superconductivity and the transformation of high-speed rail, quantum computers