Bismuth has puzzled scientists for nearly 20 years. Notably, the question of whether it is topological – that is, whether electrons behave differently on its surface than they do inside it – gets different answers depending on whether you ask a theorist or an experimentalist. Researchers in Japan now say they have found a way to resolve this conflict. A mechanism called surface relaxation, they report, may have masked or “blocked” bismuth’s true topological nature.
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