Electrons play the most important role in determining the properties of matter.Electrons move in a substance under various influences from external magnetism, internal atomic nuclei, and other electrons.When a substance changes, electrons become difficult to move, and it may appear as if they are trying to move heavy electrons.Since this "heavy electron" is considered to play an important role in next-generation electronic devices and superconducting phenomena, it is a very important theme to elucidate its properties.

　The research group discovered that when a substance called bismuth is irradiated with far infrared rays, the electrons inside it behave in a special way.When we analyzed this, we found that the weight of the electron increased to 2.4 times the normal weight and moved slightly.By using this movement of electrons, it can be expected that it will be possible to control the ON / OFF of the current used in current computers.In addition, the switching speed is faster than the ones that have been put into practical use, so it will be the key to developing next-generation devices that operate at high speed.

　When investigating the behavior of electrons in a substance, it is often done at extremely low temperatures.It is also noteworthy that this study was conducted at room temperature in comparison.The fact that it does not need to be cooled by special equipment is an indispensable condition for widespread use in the general public.For practical use, we would like to first establish a technology to detect the slight movement of electrons as an electric current.

Source:[Yokohama National University] Succeeded in accelerating electrons and doubling the mass