stable superconductivity ambient pressure

Physicists Achieve Stable Superconductivity at Ambient Pressure

Breakthrough in Ambient-Pressure Superconductivity

Researchers at the University of Houston's Texas Center for Superconductivity have reached another groundbreaking milestone in their pursuit of ambient-pressure high-temperature superconductivity, advancing the quest for superconductors that function in real-world conditions and paving the way for next-generation energy-efficient technologies.

Investigating Superconductivity in Bi₀.₅Sb₁.₅Te₃ (BST)

Research by Liangzi Deng and Paul Ching-Wu Chu

Professors Liangzi Deng and Paul Ching-Chu of the UH Department of Physics investigated the induction of superconductivity in Bi₀.₅Sb₁.₅Te₃ (BST) under pressure while preserving its chemical and structural properties, as detailed in their study, "Creation, stabilization, and investigation at ambient pressure of pressure-induced superconductivity in Bi₀.₅Sb₁.₅Te₃" published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences.

Link Between Pressure, Topology, and Superconductivity

"The idea that high-pressure treatment of BST might reconfigure its Fermi surface topology and enhance thermoelectric performance emerged in 2001," Deng stated. "That intricate relationship between pressure, topology and superconductivity drew our interest."

Challenges in High-Pressure Superconductors

Metastable States and Practical Limitations

"As materials scientist Pol Duwez once observed, most industrially significant solids exist in a metastable state," Chu explained. "The challenge lies in the fat that many of the most intriguing superconductors require high pressure to function, making them difficult to analyze and even more challenging to implement in real-world applications."

Deng and Chu's innovation offers a solution to this pressing issue.

The Pressure-Quench Protocol (PQP) - A Key Innovation

Deng and Chu pioneered the pressure-quench protocol (PQP), a method introduced in an October UH news release, to stabilize BST's superconducting states at ambient pressure—removing the necessity for high-pressure environments.

Significance of This Discovery

A Novel Approach to Material Phases

Why is this significant? It introduces a novel approach to preserving valuable material phases that typically require high-pressure conditions, enabling both fundamental research and practical applications.

Evidence of High-Pressure Phase Stability

"This experiment provides clear evidence that high-pressure-induced phases can be stabilized at ambient pressure through a delicate electronic transition, without altering symmetry," Chu stated. "This breakthrough opens new possibilities for preserving valuable material phases typically confined to high-pressure conditions and could aid in the quest for superconductors with higher transition temperatures."

Exploring New States of Matter

"Remarkably, this experiment unveiled a groundbreaking method for identigying new states of matter that neither naturally exist at ambient pressure nor emerge under high-pressure conditions," Deng noted. "It underscores PQP's potential as a powerful tool for mapping and expanding material phase diagrams."

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Soft Unclustered Energy at 13 TeV: A First Search in Proton-Proton Collisions

Introduction to Hidden Valley Models and SUEPs

Many physics studies aim to experimentally uncover exotic phenomena extending beyond the Standard Model (SM), as outlined by theoretical frameworks. Among these are hidden valley models, which propose a dark sector where particles interact via a strong, dark force. These models predict particles and interactions with unique decay characteristics.

CMS Collaboration's Groundbreaking Search for SUEPs

In a recent publication in Physical Review Letters, researchers from the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) collaboration at CERN reported the results of the first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs), a unique signal predicted by hidden valley models in high-energy particle collisions.

SUEPs and Their Role in Extending the Standard Model

"SUEPs belong to a broader class of theories aimed at extending the Standard Model to address unresolved phenomena in universe, such as dark matter and matter-antimatter asymmetry," said Luca Lavezzo of the CMS search team in an interview with Phys.

Theoretical Foundations of Hidden Valley Models

Specifically, these phenomena are among the predictions derived from hidden valley theories. Introduced nearly two decades ago by Matt Strassler and Kathryn Zurek, these theories propose a "Dark Sector" distinct from the Standard Model, characterized by its own strong, confining force, analogous to the Standard Model's strong force that binds quarks and gluons into hadrons such as protons and neutrons.

Challenges in Validating Hidden Valley Predictions

Many of the fascinating predictions made by hidden valley models have yet to undergo experimental validation. When these theories were first proposed, the technological limitations of the time rendered searches for the predicted dark sectors impractical, deferring such efforts to future studies.

Revisiting Hidden Valley Theories with Colliders

"Several years ago, as interest in investigating complex dark sectors grew within the scientific community, theorists and experimentalists revisited the unusual predictions of hidden valley theories, realizing that some could now be explored using colliders," said Lavezzo.

New Search Strategies for SUEPs and Other Phenomena

Soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs), semivisible jets, and emerging jets represent the initial set of searches aimed at validating specific predictions from hidden valley models, all published within the last few years.

Characterizing SUEPs in High-Energy Collisions

Hidden valley models suggest that high-energy particle collisions might produce distinct signatures, such as SUEPs, characterized by numerous low-momentum particles arranged in a spherical pattern within particle colliders like those used in the CMS experiment.

Challenges in Identifying SUEPs in Collider Events

"This is a highly distinct signature compared to Standard Model predictions. However, identifying a SUEP in a typical collider event is challenging due to the presence of several dozen simultaneous collisions, each generating numerous low-energy particles," Lavezzo explained.

Refining Trigger Mechanisms to Capture SUEP Events

"Additionally, our trigger mechanisms—criteria determining which proton—proton collisions are deemed noteworthy—are specifically configured to capture events involving high-energy particles, making it challenging to select those with naturally low energy."

New Strategies in Search of SUEPs

To overcome the challenges that hindered previous searches for these particles, the CMS Collaboration first ensured that the particle responsible for generating a SUEP—acting as the 'Portal' between the Standard Model and Hidden Valley models—recoiled against an SM particle, specifically a jet in their experiment. This recoil results in an event where both particles exhibit substantial yet balanced energy, enabling the event to be triggered on the SM jet.

Differentiating Between SUEPs and Standard Model Jets

"By employing this strategy, the SUEP's structure shifts from a spherical pattern to one resembling a broader version of an SM jet—s shower of particles from a quark," explained Lavezzo.

Challenges in Comparing Predictions to Experimental Observations

"The challenge now is to differentiate between SM jets and SUEPs. However, obtaining reliable predictions through our traditional methods proves difficult in these complex environments and events, which is essential for comparing our measurements to theoretical models and determining if there is any evidence of SUEPs or if the observations align with Standard Model expectations."

Innovative Methods for Estimating SM Contributions

The CMS collaboration chose to estimate the contribution of SM events directly from the data they gathered during their search. This was done by utilizing the extended-ABCD method, a method that helps assess the SM contribution in the signal region.

Successful Exclusion of SUEP Theorie's Phase Space

"We are the first team to conduct a search for SUEPs at colliders, and we successfully excluded a significant portion of the available phase space for SUEP theories. Additionally, we've established a set of methods that we hope will be further developed in future studies," stated Lavezzo. "The response from theorists, including Matt Strassler who originally proposed SUEPs, was incredibly positive. They were excited about our experimental findings, as it opens the door for testing more hypotheses."

Future Directions and Open Questions in SUEP Research

The recent search undertaken by this research group has provided new constraints that will inform future strategies for detecting SUEPs in particle colliders. Hidden Valley models suggest that SUEPs should be fully visible, meaning that all dark sector particles decay to Standard Model particles. However, this assumption may not necessarily apply.

The Possibility of Stable, Undetectable, SUEPs

"SUEPs may decay into the Standard Model after a certain lifespan, or some could remain stable and undetectable, leading to distinct signatures that previous searches might have missed," explained Lavezzo. "Further focused searches could be conducted in areas where our approach was not optimized; notably, low-mass portals remain largely unconstrained.

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