The exploration of quantum degenerate gases of fermionic atoms is driven by the ambition to gain deeper insight into long-standing problems of quantum many-body physics. So far, however, the analogy to an electron gas in a solid is limited since there the electrons experience a periodic lattice potential. The lattice structure is in fact a key ingredient for most models describing quantum many-...

Molecular dynamics simulations using a recently developed Ga-N Tersoff type bond order interatomic potential have been used to investigate the growth mechanisms of 0001 wurtzite GaN films from thermalized atomic gallium and nitrogen fluxes. The crystallinity and stoichiometry of the deposited wurtzite lattice structures were determined as a function of growth temperature and N:Ga flux ratio. Th...

Advances in atomic resolution electron imaging now promise a detailed understanding of nanostructures and their interfaces, as well as defects. A major challenge in nanostructure characterization is the study of 3D interfaces that deviate significantly from a flat, 2D, interface. Here, we report a significant progress in the study of 3D interfaces by examining local displacements of Au atoms ne...

A new magnetic state called a quantum spin liquid has been observed by a large international team of investigators from ten institutions, including a group using SSRL. When magnetic ions are located within a crystal lattice there are usually strong local magnetic and electric forces between them. At low temperatures such forces lead to a preferred alignment of the atomic moments – in ferromagne...