Guwahati: Researchers from Nagaland University and IIT Bombay have proposed a new two-dimensional lattice structure that could help control unusual quantum states using magnetic fields, opening a potential route to future quantum sensors, programmable devices and advanced materials.
The study introduces a structure called the diamond-dodecagon lattice. Computer simulations show that its geometry can confine electrons to small regions, producing three flat energy bands.
Such bands are significant because electrons have limited mobility within them, allowing stronger interactions that may give rise to unusual quantum phenomena.
The research, led by Biplab Pal of Nagaland University and Joydeep Majhi of IIT Bombay, also shows that applying a magnetic field can alter these states and trigger a topological phase transition.
In this phase, a material can act as an insulator in its interior while allowing electricity to flow along its edges.
These edge states can be relatively resistant to certain material imperfections, making the proposed lattice a promising platform for studying quantum behaviour and developing new approaches to electronic transport and information processing.
Pal, assistant professor in Nagaland University’s Department of Physics, said the study uses lattice geometry to influence quantum behaviour.
The arrangement of atoms can confine electrons and create multiple flat bands, while an external magnetic field can tune these states and drive the system into a topological phase.
Majhi, a former postdoctoral researcher in IIT Bombay’s Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, explained that specially designed structures can cause an electron’s possible pathways to cancel one another, trapping it in a small region instead of allowing it to move freely.
Flat-band systems are of particular interest because restricted electron motion can strengthen interactions between electrons, potentially paving the way for new magnetic states and superconducting phases.
However, these possibilities will require further investigation.
Nagaland University Vice-Chancellor Jagadish Kumar Patnaik welcomed the findings, describing the collaboration as a contribution to research in quantum materials and emerging quantum technologies.
He said such work could strengthen India’s capabilities in the field and encouraged further interdisciplinary research.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ae9dd8), the study was funded through a Minor Start-up Research Grant from Nagaland University.
The work remains theoretical and simulation-based. The next step is to reproduce the proposed structure experimentally and establish whether its predicted quantum states can be observed under practical conditions.
The researchers suggest that photonic lattices and ultracold atomic systems could offer ways to test the findings.
The team also plans to explore related structures and investigate whether they could support new quantum phases under more practical operating conditions.