Skip to main content
Research Highlight | Materials Science

Hybrid sound waves in nanowires

In a study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers found two sound modes emerge as hybrids of the first and second sounds and combine oscillations of both density and entropy of the liquid.

Scientific Achievement

We have predicted that in a high magnetic field the electron liquid in nanowires supports two hybrid sound waves, combining oscillations of density and temperature.

Significance and Impact

Our discovery offers a possibility of effective cooling of computer circuits through nanowires.

Research Details

  • Electrons in the wire are described as a quantum liquid, in which excitations form a gas moving at its own velocity.
  • The system supports two sound modes propagating at different speeds.
  • This contrasts with ordinary fluids where only one sound, the density wave, is supported.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.026803

Download this highlight

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.