Volume 15 Issue 12, December 2016

Oxide interfaces with tunable spin–orbit coupling provide an ideal environment to achieve highly efficient conversion of spin currents into charge currents.

Two independent studies provide insight on the formation of nanocrystal superlattices and their atomic alignment using real-time in situ X-ray scattering techniques.

Forces applied to the cell surface induce stretching of the chromatin in the nucleus and a rapid increase in gene expression.

In the past decade, artificial materials with unusual wave interactions have significantly evolved and matured. In honour of the tenth anniversary of the premiere metamaterials conference, we look at the directions in which this field is evolving, and its impact on technology.

A first-order phase transition between two crystalline phases of magnetic whirls sheds light on the role of topology in magnetic transitions.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows that the superconducting critical temperature in optimally doped iron pnictide Ba(Fe_1−xCo_x)₂As₂ can be enhanced upon Na/K surface doping.

A room-temperature metastable skyrmion phase, which undergoes reversible transitions between a triangular and square lattice upon varying the temperature and magnetic field, is found in β-Mn-type Co₈Zn₈Mn₄.

An artificial phononic graphene for surface acoustic waves on a LiNbO₃ integrated platform allows for the experimental demonstration of pseudo-diffusion transport and a temporal beating effect similar to the ‘Zitterbewegung’ phenomenon.

A real-time study of the growth of two-dimensional nanocrystal superlattices with square periodicity shows the formation mechanism leading to the oriented attachment of the nanocrystals.

The use of a sacrificial layer of water-soluble Sr₃Al₂O₆ allows the release of freestanding 2D heterostructures and superlattices of epitaxially grown perovskite oxides while preserving their structural and physical properties.

The Rashba effect at the LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ interface is shown to enable large and gate-tunable spin-to-charge conversion through the inverse Rashba–Edelstein effect.The spin current is injected, through spin pumping, from a NiFe film.

Electrochromic films based on tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals dispersed in a niobium oxide glass are now realized from solution at room temperature. The chain-like topology of niobium oxide improves the electrochemical properties of these films.

Experiments and simulations show that resistive forces on surfaces moving through granular matter or cohesive media arise as a consequence of local frictional yielding.

Mechanochemical reactions between solid phases can be triggered by localized melting caused by deformation-induced heating.

Local surface forces of physiological magnitudes can directly stretch chromatin and induce transcription upregulation in a living cell.

N-cadherin can alter how the stiffening extracellular microenvironment is interpreted by mesenchymal stem cells, leading to subsequent changes in downstream cell proliferation and differentiation.