Peter Armitage, who has been working on topological insulating behavior in bismuth-based compounds at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, says that in the field of condensed-matter physics, experiment usually leads theory, but this is a remarkable example of the opposite. He is now hoping to start experiments on SmB6in the next week or two to confirm and study the surface states. “These are beautiful effects that were hiding under our noses,” he says. “This is a very big advance.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on December 11, 2012.

1 Comments

1. 1. Daniel35 03:28 PM 12/15/12

   Does surface conduction have anything to do with the surrounding atmosphere?

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