News

Neutrons take a glimpse inside the molecular structure of plant-based foods

Recently published findings from experiments carried out at the ILL and at SINQ confirm monochromatic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) as the definitive go-to method to characterise multiband superconductivity in a material.

New findings based on neutron scattering experiments performed at the ILL and ISIS reveal supersymmetric behaviour in a quantum material, demonstrating that it can emerge naturally in condensed matter. This has promising practical implications for making stable qubits for quantum computing. The study, led by researchers at PSI, is published in Nature Communications.

Some magnetic materials feature peculiar states the fundamental understanding of which may pave the way for future applications. Neutron experiments have just revealed that they can be unexpectedly stable with respect to microscopic disorder.

In everyday life, we typically encounter water in one of three familiar states – solid, liquid or gas. But there are in fact many more phases, some of which – predicted to exist at high temperature and pressure – are so strange they’re referred to as exotic. State-of-the-art neutron spectrometers and sample environment infrastructures at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) have enabled the first experimental observation of one of these exotic phases – plastic ice VII.

By linking theoretical predictions with neutron experiments, researchers have found evidence for quantum spin ice in the material Ce2Sn2O7. Their findings could inspire the technology of tomorrow, such as quantum computers. The results have been published in the journal ‘Nature Physics’.

How neutron studies of exotic materials can pave the way towards quantum computers

Today we welcomed Prof. Martina Hirayama, Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation for the signing of the agreement to renew Switzerland’s Scientific Membership of the ILL from 2024.

A study now published in Nature Communications brings remarkable insights into the enigmatic behaviour of supercritical fluids, a hybrid state of matter occupying a unique space between liquids and gases, and arising in domains ranging from the pharmaceutical industry to planetary science. The obtained results are at the limit of current experimental possibilities and could only be obtained in a high-flux neutron source such as the ILL.

The Swiss company NOVARTIS announced at the Choose France Summit the desire to establish a partnership with the ILL, already a partner of other pharmaceutical companies for radioisotope production for cancer treatment and research. This is part of a plan to create a production unit intended to supply the French market with the first radioligand therapy (RLT) drug for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer, an investment of close to 30 million euros in France.

The goal of this study was to complete the mapping of the dynamics of the well-known protein Hsp90 by studying the 5-500 ns timescale using a combination of state-of-the-art complementary techniques, and to take the first steps towards understanding how this timescale relates to the slower dynamics known to drive the protein’s functioning.

Magnetic skyrmions are unique magnetic structures. A breakthrough has been achieved through neutron scattering techniques, revealing the presence of hybrid skyrmion phases. Skyrmion-based magnonic crystals offer promising possibilities in signal processing and communication