Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Nernst Sign Reversal in the Hexatic Vortex Phase of Weakly Disordered a-MoGe Thin Films
1Department of Physics and Jack and Pearl Resnick Institute and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
Abstract:
The hexatic phase is an intermediate stage in the melting process of a 2D crystal due to topological defects. Recently, this exotic phase was experimentally identified in the vortex lattice of 2D weakly disordered superconducting MoGe by scanning tunneling microscopic measurements. Here, we study this vortex state by the Nernst effect, which is an effective and sensitive tool to detect vortex motion, especially in the superconducting fluctuation regime. We find a surprising Nernst sign reversal at the melting transition of the hexatic phase. We propose that they are a consequence of vortex dislocations in the hexatic state which diffuse preferably from the cold to hot.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Atomic Nuclei: Magnetic Resonance

