Princeton Researchers Discover Quantum State of Matter that Can be “Tuned”

(Nano-Magazine) Princeton physicist Zahid Hasan and his team of researchers have discovered a quantum state of matter that can be “tuned” at will — and it’s 10 times more tuneable than existing theories can explain. This level of manipulability opens enormous possibilities for next-generation nanotechnologies and quantum computing. “We found a new control knob for the quantum topological world,” said Hasan, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics.
“This could indeed be evidence of a new quantum phase of matter — and that’s, for me, exciting,” said David Hsieh, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. “They’ve given a few clues that something interesting may be going on, but a lot of follow-up work needs to be done, not to mention some theoretical backing to see what really is causing what they’re seeing.”