Mastodawn

Researchers identified an exceptional #quantum coherence of optical #phonons in cubic boron arsenide, enabling these energetic atomic vibrations to persist significantly longer than in standard materials.
#CondensedMatterPhysics #MaterialsScience #QuantumMechanics #Nanoengineering #Physics #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/03/phy03232601.html

Boron arsenide semiconductor sets record in quantum vibrations

Long-lived optical phonons could aid quantum phononics

Scientific Frontline Sep 30

Atoms in #crystalline solids sometimes vibrate in unison, giving rise to emergent phenomena known as #phonons. Because these collective vibrations set the pace for how heat and energy move through materials, they play a central role in devices that capture or emit light, like solar cells and LEDs.
#Physics #MaterialScience #Nanotechnology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/09/phy09302501.html

Scientists uncover room-temperature route to improved light-harvesting and emission devices

We fabricated arrays of nanoscale slots with seven slightly different lengths to tune a single terahertz resonance

rexi Dec 16, 2023

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-phonons-mass-negative-gravity.html

[dying to know what the consensus ended up being on this radical theory (pub 23 Jul 2018). guess I'l do some hunting; tips appreciated]
trio of #ColumbiaUni physicists is making waves with a new theory about #phonons—they suggest they might have negative mass, and because of that, have negative gravity. Angelo Esposito, Rafael Krichevsky and Alberto Nicolis have written a paper to support their theory, including the math, and uploaded it to the xrXiv preprint server.

Researchers suggest phonons may have mass and perhaps negative gravity

A trio of physicists with Columbia University is making waves with a new theory about phonons—they suggest they might have negative mass, and because of that, have negative gravity. Angelo Esposito, Rafael Krichevsky and Alberto Nicolis have written a paper to support their theory, including the math, and have uploaded it to the xrXiv preprint server.

Phys.org

Scientific Frontline Dec 15, 2023

#Materials with enhanced #thermal #conductivity are critical for the development of advanced devices to support applications in #communications, clean energy and #aerospace. But in order to #engineer materials with this property, scientists need to understand how #phonons, or #quantum units of the vibration of atoms, behave in a particular substance.
#Physics #QuantumScience #MaterialScience #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2023/12/phy12152301.html

Electronic pathways may enhance collective atomic vibrations’ magnetism

Findings adds to the growing body of knowledge on phonons, opening the door not only for more effective phonon manipulation via magnetic fields

Soh Kam Yung Jun 18, 2023

Cool.

"You can’t divide the indivisible, unless you use quantum mechanics. Physicists have now turned to quantum effects to split phonons, the smallest bits of sound, researchers report in the June 9 Science."

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/quantum-mechanics-sound-split-phonon

#QuantumMechanics #Sound #Phonons

@johncarlosbaez

Physicists split bits of sound using quantum mechanics

New experiments put phonons — the tiniest bits of sound — into quantum mechanical superpositions and show they are as weird as other quantum entities.

Science News

Phys.org Jun 9, 2023

Referenced link: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-chiral-debate.html
Discuss on https://discu.eu/q/https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-chiral-debate.html

Originally posted by Phys.org / @physorg_com: http://nitter.platypush.tech/physorg_com/status/1667170313526816772#m

#Phonons can be chiral: Study claims to settle the debate @nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06016-5 https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-chiral-debate.html

Phonons can be chiral: Study claims to settle the debate

Findings published in Nature settle the dispute: phonons can be chiral. This fundamental concept, discovered using circular X-ray light, sees phonons twisting like a corkscrew through quartz.

Phys.org

Phys.org Jun 8, 2023

Referenced link: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-quantum.html
Discuss on https://discu.eu/q/https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-quantum.html

Originally posted by Phys.org / @physorg_com: http://nitter.platypush.tech/physorg_com/status/1666867723660296194#m

Researchers 'split' #phonons in step toward new type of quantum computer @sciencemagazine https://phys.org/news/2023-06-phonons-quantum.html

Researchers 'split' phonons in step toward new type of quantum computer

When we listen to our favorite song, what sounds like a continuous wave of music is actually transmitted as tiny packets of quantum particles called phonons.

Phys.org

Martijn Zwijnenburg Jan 27, 2023

Some photos of yesterday's Thomas Young Centre symposium on modelling phonons in materials with talks by Dr. Adam Michalchuk (Birmingham), Prof. Carole Morrison (Edinburgh) & Dr. Jonathan Skelton (Manchester).

#TYC #CompChem #phonons #materiald

Martijn Zwijnenburg Jan 9, 2023

Thursday the 26th of January (2-4 pm, XLG1 Lecture Theatre, UCL Chemistry building) we are organising a Thomas Young Centre symposium on modelling phonons in materials and the role they play in mechanochemistry, explosive detonation & heat transport: https://thomasyoungcentre.org/event/tyc-symposium-modelling-phonons-in-materials-2/

Speakers will be Dr. Adam Michalchuk (Birmingham), Prof. Carole Morrison (Edinburgh) & Dr. Jonathan Skelton (Manchester).

#TYC #ComputationalChemistry #phonons #materials

TYC Symposium: Modelling Phonons in Materials - THOMAS YOUNG CENTRE

The (other) big bang theory: understanding impact sensitivities of energetic materials - Carole Morrison, University of Edinburgh A dynamical view of mechanochemical reactions - Adam Michalchuk, University of Birmingham Understanding and controlling the heat transport in thermoelectric materials - Jonathan Skelton, University of Manchester

THOMAS YOUNG CENTRE

Dan Dec 30, 2022

Well, I can't decide on the best #terahertz stories of 2022, but I can point to the result that I most wish I had thought of doing, but somebody else got to it first. It's this one, published back in March:
https://rdcu.be/c2w3X
This describes terahertz #circular_dichroism measurements on polycrystalline samples of various different amino acids. The data indicate the presence of #chiral terahertz #phonons in some cases. Very difficult experiments, but very impressive results!