Physicists at Rutgers University have identified a new quantum state of matter that exists outside the traditional categories of solid, liquid, gas, or plasma. This discovery occurs at the boundary where two distinct magnetic pyrochlores, Eu2Ir2O7 and Dy2Ti2O7, meet.
The researchers used a custom-built instrument called the Quantum Phenomena Discovery Platform to engineer a heterostructure at the atomic level. By applying extreme magnetic fields at very low temperatures, the team observed a unique sixfold pattern in electrical conductivity. This effect is a result of Kondo coupling, where the magnetic state of the spin ice material influences how electrons move across the surface of the Weyl semimetal.
Further testing revealed that the sixfold pattern shifts to a twofold symmetry as the magnetic field increases. This transition indicates a many-body state where the interactions among large groups of particles override individual particle behavior. The research suggests that creating interfaces between materials produces physical phenomena that are not present in the individual components themselves.
Led by teams at Rutgers and supported by measurements from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida, this work offers a way to manipulate electronic and magnetic properties. The findings represent a move toward understanding how boundaries between exotic materials can trigger states of matter previously unknown to science. Scientists expect these results to open new avenues for hardware development and material design.