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Flat bands find another dimension for exotic physical phases

Experiments reveal flat bands in the relationship between the energy and the momentum of electrons in a 3D solid. Such behaviour is indicative of unusual physical phenomena, and has previously been seen only in 2D materials.
  1. Xingjiang Zhou

    1. Xingjiang Zhou is in the National Lab for Superconductivity, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

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The material properties of a crystalline solid are dictated by how electrons move between its atoms. For example, electrons in an insulator are fixed in place, whereas metals have electrons that are free to roam. The electrons’ motion is, in turn, determined by the ranges of energies that they can and cannot have in the solid, which manifest as bands in the relationship between energy and momentum. These bands are ‘flat’ when the energy of the electrons does not change with momentum1,2. Such states have been predicted and observed in some systems, but only in materials that are effectively 2D. In a paper in Nature, Wakefield et al.3 report flat bands in a 3D material, which could reveal behaviours that are even more fascinating than those seen in 2D.

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Nature 623, 259-260 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03286-x

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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