The paper «Probing Vortex Dynamics in 2D Superconductors with Scanning Quantum Microscope», co-authored by ITP III members Lucas V. Pupim and Mathias Scheurer, has been selected for the PRL Collection of the Year 2025 , described by the journal as «a set of some of our best papers from across the wide range of topics PRL covers in fundamental and applied physical science.»
The work is the result of a collaboration with the 3. Physikalisches Institut at the University of Stuttgart. Using single-spin scanning quantum microscopy, vortex dynamics in two-dimensional superconductors are probed. A disordered vortex glass phase that melts near the critical temperature is identified, along with magnetic noise well below Tc whose strength unexpectedly increases at lower temperatures. This behavior, detected via spin decoherence, points to an intrinsic mechanism driven by competition between supercurrent density and thermal fluctuations.