Kenji Watanabe

MIT physicists have observed fractional quantum Hall effect in simple pentalayer graphene. The finding could make it easier to develop more robust quantum computers.

MIT physicists report the discovery of electrons forming crystalline structures in a material billionths of a meter thick. The material, rhombohedral pentalayer graphene, joins a family of materials with exotic properties that may have other "relatives."

MIT physicists coaxed superconductivity and more from quasicrystals. The work introduces a flexible platform for making the enigmatic materials that could jump-start interest in the field and allow new studies of exotic phenomena.

MIT physicists and colleagues created a five-lane superhighway for electrons that could allow ultra-efficient electronics and more.

When stacked in five layers in a rhombohedral pattern, graphene takes on a rare "multiferroic" state, exhibiting both unconventional magnetism and an exotic electronic behavior known as ferro-valleytricity.

With some careful twisting and stacking, MIT physicists have revealed a new and exotic property in "magic-angle" graphene: superconductivity that can be turned on and off with an electric pulse, much like a light switch.

A team of researchers has built an intelligent sensor – the size of about 1/1000 of the cross-section of a human hair – that can simultaneously detect the intensity, polarization and wavelength of lig

MIT physicists have created an ultrathin, two-dimensional material with unusual magnetic properties.

A new mechanism that gives rise to superconductivity in a material where the speed of electrons is almost zero has been discovered by scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and their partners at The Ohio State University. This breakthrough could pave the way for the development of novel sup

Researchers have discovered that light -- from a laser -- can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons 'spins,' which have a potential applications in quantum computing. Scientists discovered that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser. By controlling and aligning electron…

MIT physicists and colleagues have engineered a new property into a well-known family of semiconductors by manipulating ultrathin sheets of the materials only a few atomic layers thick.

MIT physicists have metaphorically turned graphite, or pencil lead, into gold by isolating five ultrathin flakes stacked in a specific order. The resulting material can then be tuned to exhibit three important properties never before seen in natural graphite.

A University of Washington-led team has made a key quantum computing breakthrough by detecting fractional quantum anomalous Hall states in semiconductor material flakes, which could be instrumental in creating stable, fault-tolerant qubits. Quantum computing could revolutionize our world. For spe

Applying a quick electric pulse completely flips the material's electronic properties, opening a route to ultrafast, brain-inspired, superconducting electronics. MIT physicists have revealed a new and exotic property in "magic-angle" graphene: superconductivity that can be turned on and off with

The way electrons flow in a material determines its electronic properties. For example, when a voltage is sustained across a conducting material, electrons start flowing, generating an electrical current. These electrons are often thought to flow in straight paths, moving along the electric field, much like a ball rolling down a hill. Yet these are not the only trajectories electrons can take: when a magnetic field…