Superconductivity does something unusual to materials. New information about this state has emerged.

naturally high This term is somewhat exaggerated, because we are talking about the point of view of physicists, not everyday life. In other words, any temperature above values ​​​​close to absolute zero, at which the state of superconductivity can be maintained, will fit this term of scientists. And that a person will turn into ice after tens of seconds of staying in such an environment? That’s another matter.

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Jokes aside. As the authors of the post explained: Nature CommunicationsRecently, their attention was drawn to so-called cupric oxides, which are copper oxides. Superconductivity in these materials occurs when electrons and holes are introduced into their crystal structure. Engineers do this through a process called doping, and at some point the research team realized that if the number of electrons is too low, what they call a pseudo-hole is created.

Superconductivity, for example, means that a material can transfer energy without any loss.

This is what may determine whether superconductivity occurs in the experimental materials. A parameter called the charge density wave is also important, which breaks the symmetry of the copper oxide plane. Since this symmetry loss is what likely drives superconductivity, this could be a valuable finding for research in this area.

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To observe the phenomena occurring in the electronic structure, the scientists used what is called nuclear magnetic resonance. The changes must be dictated by distortions that at a level of 0.15% lead to a significant transformation of the material. This is why the short-range charge density wave turns into its long-range counterpart. As the scientists who conducted the new research conclude, the challenges of their discovery claim that magnetism is the main factor influencing copper oxides to enter the superconducting state.