Physical Review Materials

Chemical short-range order (CSRO) could be contributing significantly to properties of complex FCC alloys, but signals from thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) make its measurement challenging. Here, the authors establish a generalizable connection between characteristic TDS features and phonon dispersion relations in FCC materials. Simulations in pure FCC metals are consistent with features in medium-entropy and stainless steel experimental observations confirmed with temperature dependent measurements. As a result, they can identify scenarios in which TDS interferes with CSRO characterization via electron scattering techniques, and provide several strategies to enable robust identification of CSRO.

Van der Waals magnets provide a platform for exploring how reduced dimensionality, competing interactions, and local electronic degrees of freedom shape magnetic order. Here, the authors uncover hidden complexity in Ce${}_2$Te${}_5$, a layered $f$-electron ferromagnet whose apparently simple magnetic ground state masks a richer microscopic landscape. Although the system develops a single long-range ferromagnetic structure, the two inequivalent Ce sites play markedly different roles in the ordered state, and subtle magnetic changes persist well below the ordering temperature. The combination of site-selective magnetism and strong single-ion anisotropy highlights how competing interactions can produce complex low-temperature behavior without generating additional long-range magnetic phases.

Altermagnetic CrSb combines compensated magnetic order with a complex semimetallic electronic structure. We investigate its electrical and thermal magnetotransport in magnetic fields up to 65 Tesla, complemented by neutron diffraction and magnetization. The data reveal large nonsaturating magnetoresistance and a Hall response strongly nonlinear in magnetic field, arising from multiple electron- and hole-like carriers with mobilities approaching 3000 cm${}^2$/Vs. Mobility-spectrum analysis shows that higher fields resolve additional carrier populations hidden at lower fields. Thermal transport exhibits a similarly nonlinear field dependence and deviations from the Wiedemann–Franz law, indicating additional phononic or magnonic heat-conduction channels.

Chiral topological semimetals are phases of matter that host robust band crossings and topologically protected surface states. So far, their interesting properties have been believed to be restricted to the realm of perfect crystals. In this work, the authors show how they can survive strong structural disorder, challenging the view that disorder inevitably destroys this topological state. Using analytical theory, symmetry-group methods, numerical calculations, and a novel amorphous Wilson-loop technique, they demonstrate that Weyl and higher-charge chiral fermions can persist even in amorphous metals. Long-range order in local structural chirality stabilizes these phases. This understanding suggests pathways for engineering such geometry-enforced topological behavior in strongly disordered systems, opening up new possibilities for investigating these phases of matter and exploring their potential applications.

Using high-pressure X-ray diffraction and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, the authors uncover a subtle structural crossover near 3 GPa in an Au-based metallic glass, accompanied by dramatic avalanche-like atomic rearrangements. Above this pressure, a second, slower relaxation process emerges, revealing distinct dynamical environments within the glass. The simultaneous structural and dynamical signatures point to the nucleation and coexistence of two amorphous states, providing new insight into the microscopic nature of polyamorphism in metallic glasses.

Two-dimensional systems in which electrons travel long distances without colliding (scattering) with defects are important for building quantum devices and circuits with interesting emergent physics. Such a system would be especially valuable if it were also superconducting and could be cleanly patterned into devices smaller than the average distance between electron scattering events. Combining all the above in a single material is difficult, and strontium titanate is one of the few material platforms where this could plausibly be achieved. In this work, the authors explored a promising approach to pattern and tune electron density on strontium titanate surfaces using hydrogen plasma and side gate voltages. They observed clean electron transport, with scattering lengths near 1-2 microns. But surprisingly, superconductivity was completely suppressed, even in the electron density range where it is typically robust in similar systems with stronger scattering. These results raise an important open question: why do clean electron transport and superconductivity in this material appear to be working against each other?

Rare-earth intermetallics provide fertile ground for discovering complex magnetic states arising from the interplay of competing interactions and magnetic anisotropy. Here, the authors demonstrate remarkably diverse magnetism in Tb${}_2$IrAl${}_4$Ge${}_2$ and Er${}_2$IrAl${}_4$Ge${}_2$, the first Ir-based members of the Ln${}_2$MAl${}_4$Ge${}_2$ family. Despite sharing the same tetragonal structure, the two compounds display strikingly different H–T phase diagrams. The Tb compound orders antiferromagnetically at 25 K and undergoes field-induced metamagnetic transitions accompanied by pronounced magnetotransport signatures. Its Er counterpart exhibits three zero-field transitions and at least seven closely competing magnetic regions below 20 kOe. These findings establish Ir-based aluminogermanides as a promising platform for exploring field-induced phenomena and their coupling to electronic transport.

Binary kagome compounds emerge as an unexpectedly rich frontier for topological superconductivity. Through a high-throughput first-principles search spanning three structural families, the authors identify 84 phonon-mediated superconducting candidates with estimated $T_c$ above 3K; seven surpass the approximately 9K benchmark for ambient-pressure kagome superconductors. The leading candidate, Ti${}_3$Si, reaches an estimated $T\mathrm{c}$ of 15.2K and hosts nodal-line-derived drumhead surface states, while NbBi ($T\mathrm{c}$ = 4.0K) combines a kagome flat band with ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$-derived Dirac-cone surface states near the Fermi level. This map establishes chemically simple, tunable platforms where superconductivity and diverse topological states converge, offering especially compelling targets for synthesis and experimental discovery.

The authors have successfully induced and characterized a channel-like deformation mechanism in pure tungsten, providing a new experimental pathway to evaluate irradiation damage in future nuclear fusion reactors. While this phenomenon, where atomic layers slide rigidly like a solid cylinder being forced through a tight tube, is known to occur as a destructive byproduct of intense radiation inside fusion environments, it has previously been highly difficult to isolate and study in a controlled manner. In this work, they overcame this challenge by precisely pressing a microscopic tip into a specifically oriented tungsten single-crystal. Using advanced electron microscopy techniques, they studied the resulting atomic displacements and determined the channel-like deformation for the first time in this crystal structure. This opens a new avenue to study defect formation and propagation, critical for understanding fundamental plastic yielding and analyzing structurally identical irradiation-induced defects.