Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Fractures are ubiquitous and can lead to the catastrophic material failure of materials. Although fracturing in a two-dimensional plane is well understood, all fractures are extended in and propagate through three-dimensional space. Moreover, their behaviour is complex. Here we show that the forward propagation of a fracture front occurs through an initial rupture, nucleated at some localized position, followed by a very rapid transverse expansion at velocities as high as the Rayleigh-wave speed. We study fracturing in a circular geometry that achieves an uninterrupted extended fracture front and use a fluid to control the loading conditions that determine the amplitude of the forward jump. We find that this amplitude correlates with the transverse velocity. Dynamic rupture simulations capture the observations for only a high transverse velocity. These results highlight the importance of transverse dynamics in the forward propagation of an extended fracture.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The interplay of charge, spin, lattice and orbital degrees of freedom leads to a variety of emergent phenomena in strongly correlated systems. In transition-metal-dichalcogenide-based moiré heterostructures, recent observations of correlated phases can be described by triangular-lattice single-orbital Hubbard models based on moiré bands derived from the Brillouin-zone corners—the so-called K valleys. Richer phase diagrams described by multi-orbital Hubbard models are possible with hexagonal lattices that host moiré bands at the zone centre—called Γ valleys—or an additional layer degree of freedom. Here we report the tunable interaction between strongly correlated hole states hosted by Γ- and K-derived bands in a heterostructure of monolayer MoSe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> and bilayer 2H WSe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>. We characterize the behaviour of exciton–polarons to distinguish the layer and valley degrees of freedom. The Γ band gives rise to a charge-transfer insulator described by a two-orbital Hubbard model. An out-of-plane electric field re-orders the Γ- and K-derived bands and drives the redistribution of carriers to the layer-polarized K orbital, generating Wigner crystals and Mott insulating states. Finally, we obtain degeneracy of the Γ and K orbitals at the Fermi level and observe interacting correlated states with phase transitions dependent on the doping density. Our results establish a platform to investigate multi-orbital Hubbard model Hamiltonians.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Spontaneously broken symmetries are at the heart of many phenomena of quantum matter and physics more generally. However, determining the exact symmetries that are broken can be challenging due to imperfections such as strain, in particular when multiple electronic orders are competing. This is exemplified by charge order in some kagome systems, where evidence of nematicity and flux order from orbital currents remains inconclusive due to contradictory measurements. Here we clarify this controversy by fabricating highly symmetric samples of a member of this family, CsV<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>Sb<jats:sub>5</jats:sub>, and measuring their transport properties. We find that a measurable anisotropy is absent at any temperature in the unperturbed material. However, a pronounced in-plane transport anisotropy appears when either weak magnetic fields or strains are present. A symmetry analysis indicates that a perpendicular magnetic field can indeed lead to in-plane anisotropy by inducing a flux order coexisting with more conventional bond order. Our results provide a unifying picture for the controversial charge order in kagome metals and highlight the need for materials control at the microscopic scale in the identification of broken symmetries.</jats:p>

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Brittle solids typically fail by growth and propagation of a crack from a surface flaw. This process is modelled using linear elastic fracture mechanics, which parameterizes the toughness of a material by the critical stress intensity factor, or the prefactor of the singular stress field. This widely used theory applies for cracks that are planar, but cracks typically are not planar, and instead are geometrically complex, violating core tenets of linear elastic fracture mechanics. Here we characterize the crack tip kinematics of complex crack fronts in three dimensions using optical microscopy of several transparent, brittle materials, including hydrogels of four different chemistries and an elastomer. We find that the critical strain energy required to drive the crack is directly proportional to the geodesic length of the crack, which makes the sample effectively tougher. The connection between crack front geometry and toughness has repercussions for the theoretical modelling of three-dimensional cracks, from engineering testing of materials to ab-initio development of novel materials, and highlights an important gap in the current theory for three-dimensional cracks.</jats:p>