Unusual electron behavior
Researchers conducted experiments at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida, using the world’s most powerful hybrid magnet, 900,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field.
They cooled a sample of ZrSiS to -452°F, near absolute zero, and exposed it to the magnetic field while shining infrared light to study its quantum properties. Observing the material’s optical response, they discovered unexpected phenomena in its electronic behavior.
When a magnetic field is applied, electron energy levels become quantized into fixed Landau levels. Typically, these levels increase predictably with the magnetic field strength based on electron mass. However, in ZrSiS, the energy transitions followed an unusual pattern known as the “B^(2/3) power law,” a hallmark of semi-Dirac fermions.