Editing Tellurium (section)

===Tritelluride quantum materials===

Recently, physicists and materials scientists have been discovering unusual quantum properties associated with layered compounds composed of tellurium that's combined with certain [[rare-earth element]]s, as well as [[yttrium]] (Y).<ref name=Yumigeta1>{{cite journal |last1=Yumigeta |first1=Kentaro |last2=Qin |first2=Ying |last3=Li |first3=Han |last4=Blei |first4=Mark |last5=Attarde |first5=Yashika |last6=Kopas |first6=Cameron |last7=Tongay |first7=Sefaattin |date=2021 |title=Advances in Rare-Earth Tritelluride Quantum Materials: Structure, Properties, and Synthesis |url=https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1816430 |journal=Advanced Science |volume=8 |issue= 12|pages=2004762 |doi=10.1002/advs.202004762 |pmid=34165898 |pmc=8224454 |osti=1816430 |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref>

These novel materials have the general formula of ''R'' Te<sub>3</sub>, where "''R'' " represents a rare-earth lanthanide (or Y), with the full family consisting of ''R'' = Y, [[lanthanum]] (La), [[cerium]] (Ce), [[praseodymium]] (Pr), [[neodymium]] (Nd), [[samarium]] (Sm), [[gadolinium]] (Gd), [[terbium]] (Tb), [[dysprosium ]] (Dy), [[holmium]] (Ho), [[erbium]] (Er), and [[thulium]] (Tm). Compounds containing [[promethium]] (Pm), [[europium]] (Eu), [[ytterbium]] (Yb), and [[lutetium]] (Lu) have not yet been observed. These materials have a two-dimensional character within an [[orthorhombic crystal system#Two-dimensional|orthorhombic]] crystal structure, with slabs of ''R'' Te separated by sheets of pure tellurium.<ref name=Yumigeta1/>

It is thought that this 2-D layered structure is what leads to a number of interesting quantum features, such as [[charge-density wave]]s, [[electron mobility|high carrier mobility]], [[superconductivity]] under specific conditions, and other peculiar properties whose natures are only now emerging.<ref name=Yumigeta1/>

For example, in 2022, a small group of physicists at [[Boston College]] in Massachusetts led an international team that used optical methods to demonstrate a novel axial mode of a [[Higgs boson|Higgs-]]like particle in ''R'' Te<sub>3</sub> compounds that incorporate either of two rare-earth elements (''R'' = La, Gd).<ref name=Wang1>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Yiping |last2=Petrides |first2=Ioannis |last3=McNamara |first3=Grant |last4=Hosen |first4=Md Mofazzel |last5=Lei |first5=Shiming |last6=Wu |first6=Yueh-Chun |last7=Hart |first7=James L. |last8=Lv |first8=Hongyan |last9=Yan |first9=Jun |last10=Xiao |first10=Di |last11=Cha |first11=Judy J.|author11-link=Judy Cha |last12=Narang |first12=Prineha |last13=Schoop |first13=Leslie M. |last14=Burch |first14=Kenneth S. |date=8 June 2022 |title=Axial Higgs mode detected by quantum pathway interference in ''R'' Te<sub>3</sub> |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04746-6 |journal=Nature |volume= 606|issue= 7916|pages= 896–901|doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04746-6 |pmid=35676485 |arxiv=2112.02454 |bibcode=2022Natur.606..896W |s2cid=244908655 |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref> This long-hypothesized, axial, Higgs-like particle also shows magnetic properties and may serve as a candidate for [[dark matter]].<ref name=Lea1>{{cite news |last=Lea |first=Robert |date=8 June 2022 |title=Physicists discover never-before seen particle sitting on a tabletop |url=https://www.livescience.com/magnetic-higgs-relative-discovered |work= |location=[[Live Science]] |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref>