A collaborative team of researchers in Japan has identified “heavy fermions”—electrons with greatly increased effective mass—that display quantum entanglement controlled by Planckian time, the fundamental unit of time in quantum mechanics. This breakthrough suggests new possibilities for using these effects in solid-state materials to advance the development of next-generation quantum computers.
Heavy fermions emerge when conduction electrons in a material interact strongly with localized magnetic electrons, causing their effective mass to grow dramatically. This behavior produces unusual properties, including unconventional superconductivity, making it a major focus in condensed matter physics. The compound examined in this study, Cerium-Rhodium-Tin (CeRhSn), is part of a family of heavy fermion systems characterized by a quasi-kagome lattice structure, which is notable for its geometrical frustration effects.
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