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    Phase Diagram of a Strained Ferroelectric Nanowire
    (Basel : MDPI, 2022) Pavlenko, Maksim A.; Di Rino, Franco; Boron, Leo; Kondovych, Svitlana; Sené, Anaïs; Tikhonov, Yuri A.; Razumnaya, Anna G.; Vinokur, Valerii M.; Sepliarsky, Marcelo; Lukyanchuk, Igor A.
    Ferroelectric materials manifest unique dielectric, ferroelastic, and piezoelectric properties. A targeted design of ferroelectrics at the nanoscale is not only of fundamental appeal but holds the highest potential for applications. Compared to two-dimensional nanostructures such as thin films and superlattices, one-dimensional ferroelectric nanowires are investigated to a much lesser extent. Here, we reveal a variety of the topological polarization states, particularly the vortex and helical chiral phases, in loaded ferroelectric nanowires, which enable us to complete the strain–temperature phase diagram of the one-dimensional ferroelectrics. These phases are of prime importance for optoelectronics and quantum communication technologies
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    Magnetic Monopoles and Superinsulation in Josephson Junction Arrays
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Trugenberger, Carlo; Diamantini, M.Cristina; Poccia, Nicola; Nogueira, Flavio S.; Vinokur, Valerii M.
    Electric-magnetic duality or S-duality, extending the symmetry of Maxwell’s equations by including the symmetry between Noether electric charges and topological magnetic monopoles, is one of the most fundamental concepts of modern physics. In two-dimensional systems harboring Cooper pairs, S-duality manifests in the emergence of superinsulation, a state dual to superconductivity, which exhibits an infinite resistance at finite temperatures. The mechanism behind this infinite resistance is the linear charge confinement by a magnetic monopole plasma. This plasma constricts electric field lines connecting the charge–anti-charge pairs into electric strings, in analogy to quarks within hadrons. However, the origin of the monopole plasma remains an open question. Here, we consider a two-dimensional Josephson junction array (JJA) and reveal that the magnetic monopole plasma arises as quantum instantons, thus establishing the underlying mechanism of superinsulation as two-dimensional quantum tunneling events. We calculate the string tension and the dimension of an electric pion determining the minimal size of a system capable of hosting superinsulation. Our findings pave the way for study of fundamental S-duality in desktop experiments on JJA and superconducting films.