News

Researchers of the Laboratory for Cold Atoms at the Condensed Matter Physics Department F5 have confirmed Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) of Cesium atoms on March 31, 2017. They used the laser light to cool Cesium atoms to temperatures near absolute zero (below 20 nK) and compressed them into BEC using light and magnetic fields. The picture shows cooling and compression of cold atoms into BEC, forming a coherent cloud of 50 microns diameter containing 15.000 atoms. In this fascinating quantum matter, quantum physics is observable at the macroscopic level, making it an ideal system to simulate quantum phenomena, study quantum computing, or using quantum physics for metrology. With this achievement the Department joined a prominent laboratories performing experiments in quantum technologies.

The Nature Communication journal published the article Hidden topological constellations and polyvalent charges in chiral nematic droplets by Gregor Posnjak, Simon Čopar and Igor Muševič, associates of the F5 Department for Condensed Matter Physics at the J. Stefan Institute and the Faculty for Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana. The authors were the first in the world to reconstruct the order of molecules in micrometer-sized droplets of chiral nematic liquid crystal, for which they used a state-of-the-art method of 3D fluorescent confocal microscopy, and discovered divers topological states, including chins of topological defects and point defects with a multiple of the basic topological charge. The ordering of the molecules around these topological defects is similar to the atoms with high valence and enables the construction of complex topological molecule-like structures.

Jani Bizjak, Matjaž Gams, Hristijan Gjoreski, Anton Gradišek, Luka Stepančič: Best Discussion Award, Melbourne, Avstralija, 2nd International Workshop on Biomedical Informatics with Optimization and Machine Learning in Conjunction with 26th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Smartwatch for Active Ageing as Part of an Open EU Framework

Uroš Jagodič, M. R. Ejtahadi, S. M. Hashemi, M. R. Mozaffari, Igor Muševič, Miha Ravnikar: EPS Poster Prize, Ljubljana, LIQUIDS 2017, Fractal Nematic Colloids

Primož Koželj: Best Young Researcher Presentation, Athens, Greece, C-MAC Days 2017, Eutectic CoCrFeNiZrx High-Entropy Alloys: Magnetism Complicated by the Microstructure of a “Real” Multiphase HEA

Aleksander Matavž: Best Presentation and Poster Award, Ljubljana, 9th IPSSC, Inkjet Printing Thin-Film Electronic Devices from Solution-Based Inks

Aleksander Matavž: First prize for best presentation in his cathegory, Portorož, 25th ICM&T, Inkjet Printing of Metal-Oxide-Based Electronic Devices

Slobodan Žumer: elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, USA, American Physical Society (APS), in recognition of his theoretical contributions to the physics of soft condensed matter in liquid-crystal systems

Slobodan Žumer:  Zois Award for lifetime achievements, Republic of Slovenia, November 23, 2017

The associates of the »Jožef Stefan« Institute, Melita Sluban (F5), Polona Umek (F5) and Jernej Iskra (K3), in collaboration with the researchers from the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of chemistry and chemical technology) and the University of Bucharest, for the first time successfully catalysed the aldol condensation, which is the most common reaction for creation of new carbon-carbon bonds, using protonated titanate nanotubes. Such a reaction is a ‘green’ alternative to the current industry practice of using stoichiometric amounts of homogeneous catalyst, which cannot be recycled after the reaction ends. In contrast, when using protonated titanate nanotubes, a mere catalytic amount of material ensures a successful reaction, the catalyst can be used several times and it was even successful in a large-scale experiment. The work was published in the article Protonated titanate nanotubes as solid acid catalyst for aldol condensation in the Journal of Catalysis, one of the lead journals in the field of catalysis.

On January 24, 2017,  Nature Communications published a paper called Fractal Nematic Colloids written by Uroš Jagodič, Igor Muševič and Miha Ravnik, associates of the Department for Condensed Matter Physics (F5) at the “Jožef Stefan” Institute and of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana in collaboration with the associates of the Sharif University of Technology in Iran. They used two-photon laser lithography to create colloidal particles in the shape of fractal Koch stars, which they studied in liquid crystal. The fractal particles influence the ordering of the liquid crystal and create topological defects, whose number increases exponentially in accordance with the fractal order of particles. This is the first time that fractal states were created in soft matter.