Experiments searching for parity-and time-reversal-invariance-violating effects that rely on measuring magnetization of a condensed-matter sample induced by application of an electric field are considered. A limit on statistical sensitivity arises due to random fluctuations of the spins in the sample. The scaling of this limit with the number of spins and their relaxation time is derived. Application to an experiment searching for nuclear Schiff moment in a ferroelectric is discussed.

Quantum transport has been simulated in hexagonal semiconductor lattices of antidots with a period of 80 nm and short-range disorder. Wannier diagrams, i.e., DoS(n, B) maps of the density of states, where n is the electron density and B is the magnetic field strength, have been calculated for several potential modulation amplitudes comparable to or much larger than the Fermi energy. Deep dips in the maps of the density of states have the form of rays with positive, zero, and negative slopes. In addition to the fan of the rays separating the first and second, as well as the second and third Landau levels, the maps include rays that are parallel to them and are shifted in n and B by integers of the characteristic electron density n0 and the characteristic magnetic field strength B0, respectively. It has been shown that the sign and magnitude of the slope of the rays in the density of states correspond to the centers of the plateaus of quantized Hall resistances Rxy. The lattice is brightly manifested in the Rxy(n, B) maps as the replicas of the first and second plateaus in Rxy and as oscillations of Rxy between negative and positive values at a fixed magnetic field or a fixed electron density, which indicates the interchange between the hole and electron charge carriers.

We have observed the effects of phonon mode softening at the ferroelectric transition in Eu 0.5 Ba 0.5 TiO 3 by 151 Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy. Both Eu 2+ and Eu 3+ spectral components are observed in the relative area ratio of 90% : 10% and both show a decrease in subspectral area at the transition, centred at 175 K, due to phonon mode softening. Surprisingly, the temperature dependence of the f-factor shows a much stronger response in the Eu 3+ component than in the Eu 2+ one. Preliminary analysis of neutron powder diffraction data rules out the possibility that some of the europium might be located on titanium sites.

Recent experiments on kagome metals AV3Sb5 (A=K,Rb,Cs) identify twofold van Hove singularities (TvHS) with opposite concavity near the Fermi energy, generating two approximately hexagonal Fermi surfaces – one electron-like and the other hole-like. Here we propose that a TvHS generates a novel time-reversal symmetry breaking excitonic order – arising due to bound pairs of electrons and holes located at opposite concavity van Hove singularities. We introduce a minimal model for the TvHS and investigate interaction induced many-body instabilities via the perturbative renormalisation group technique and a free energy analysis. Specialising to parameters appropriate for the kagome metals AV3Sb5, we construct a phase diagram comprising chiral excitons, charge density wave and a region of coexistence. We propose this as an explanation of a diverse range of experimental observations in AV3Sb5. Notably, the chiral excitonic state gives rise to a quantum anomalous Hall conductance, providing an appealing interpretation of the observed anomalous Hall effect in kagome metals. Possible alternative realisations of the TvHS mechanism in bilayer materials are also discussed. We suggest that TvHS open up interesting possibilities for correlated phases, enriching the set of competing ground states to include excitonic order.