Author(s): Charles Day
A previously neglected spin–orbit-coupling effect could be strong enough to engender unconventional superconductivity in certain materials.
[Physics 18, s2] Published Thu Jan 02, 2025
Author(s): Rainer Klages
A new theory related to the second law of thermodynamics describes the motion of active biological systems ranging from migrating cells to traveling birds.
[Physics 17, 182] Published Mon Dec 23, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A proposed method could detect vortex states of high-energy particles through a scattering phenomenon called a superkick.
[Physics 17, s157] Published Mon Dec 23, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A method for imaging spin waves in magnetic materials uses flash-like intensity variations in a laser beam to capture the wave motion at specific moments in time.
[Physics 17, 186] Published Fri Dec 20, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
An independent analysis of data on the hotly debated superconductivity of certain hydrogen-rich compounds, or hydrides, concludes that the phenomenon is likely genuine.
[Physics 17, 184] Published Thu Dec 19, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
New experiments with cuprate materials explore a connection between so-called charge-density waves and a light-induced state that resembles superconductivity.
[Physics 17, s154] Published Thu Dec 19, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A theory outlines an immunization protocol that fosters powerful antibodies while avoiding immune-cell death.
[Physics 17, s159] Published Thu Dec 19, 2024
Author(s): Julie Gould and Matteo Rini
Researchers from the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator Center talk about their latest results on a laser-based particle-acceleration technique that could lead to cheaper and more compact x-ray sources and particle accelerators.
[Physics 17, 185] Published Wed Dec 18, 2024
Author(s): Marlene Turner
A laser-driven electron accelerator delivers beams of 10-GeV electrons—an approach that could lead to cheaper, more compact alternatives to large-scale x-ray sources and particle accelerators.
[Physics 17, 183] Published Wed Dec 18, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
By measuring the melting temperature of iron under high transient pressure, researchers set a limit on the temperature at the boundary between the inner and outer cores.
[Physics 17, s139] Published Wed Dec 18, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
A black hole accreting mass above the so-called Eddington limit may explain how supermassive black holes reach billions of times the mass of our Sun.
[Physics 17, 180] Published Tue Dec 17, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Minerals exposed during an ancient Mediterranean Sea desiccation should reveal damage caused by muons, providing evidence of enhanced cosmic-ray fluxes.
[Physics 17, s136] Published Tue Dec 17, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Atomic simulations deepen the mystery of how engineered materials known as refractory high-entropy alloys can suffer so little damage by radiation.
[Physics 17, s156] Published Tue Dec 17, 2024
Physics Magazine Editors pick their favorite stories from 2024.
[Physics 17, 181] Published Mon Dec 16, 2024
Author(s): Fabian Grusdt
By controlling the motion and interaction of individual atoms in a cold-atom ensemble, researchers have produced a correlated topological state of matter, called a fractional quantum Hall state.
[Physics 17, 178] Published Mon Dec 16, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Measuring gravitational analogues of quantum phenomena could lead to high-precision measurement of gravitational forces, according to a theoretical proposal.
[Physics 17, 179] Published Fri Dec 13, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson shares some thoughts on why and how scientists should communicate to the public.
[Physics 17, 175] Published Thu Dec 12, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Researchers have devised a way to use atoms in optical lattices to model high-temperature superconductors, whose behavior is not yet fully understood.
[Physics 17, s144] Published Thu Dec 12, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
A simplified model of how yarns interact shows that a piece of knitted fabric can have many stable resting states depending on its history of deformation.
[Physics 17, s153] Published Thu Dec 12, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Studies of influenza A’s unusual propulsion strategy suggest that drugs could target a critical protein.
[Physics 17, 177] Published Wed Dec 11, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Calculations have uncovered two previously unknown forces that act on nonspherical particles in a sound field.
[Physics 17, s155] Published Wed Dec 11, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Experiments with colloidal particles have uncovered conditions where an intermediate layer that separates a crystallizing liquid from its solid forms.
[Physics 17, s149] Published Tue Dec 10, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini and Michael Schirber
Researchers at Google Quantum AI have demonstrated “below-threshold” error correction, a necessary condition for building noise-resistant quantum computers that are sufficiently large to perform useful computations.
[Physics 17, 176] Published Mon Dec 09, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Through its interactions with a crystal, light becomes an opaque object—an effect that could be harnessed in applications.
[Physics 17, 174] Published Mon Dec 09, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A proposed remote-sensing scheme could potentially probe targets hundreds of kilometers away and uses one of the strangest quantum properties of light.
[Physics 17, 173] Published Fri Dec 06, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Scientists have devised a way to use current gravitational-wave detectors to observe permanent deformations of spacetime caused by certain supernovae.
[Physics 17, s152] Published Thu Dec 05, 2024
Author(s): Susan Curtis
The demonstration of the first fully functioning mechanical qubit offers a new platform for quantum information processing and could lead to ultraprecise gravity sensors.
[Physics 17, 172] Published Wed Dec 04, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Nuclear scattering data suggest the possible observation of a predicted but never-observed nuclear vibration.
[Physics 17, s146] Published Wed Dec 04, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Prize-winning videos cover the range from microscopic droplets to global climate.
[Physics 17, 171] Published Tue Dec 03, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Cell–cell alignment and a background of stationary cells together shape the emergence of cellular clusters in a primary tumor.
[Physics 17, s141] Published Tue Dec 03, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
A new method for controlling the interactions between ultracold atoms and light could advance efforts to simulate complex quantum systems using atom clouds.
[Physics 17, 170] Published Mon Dec 02, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A new analysis challenges the claim that a gamma-ray signal observed from a direction near the Milky Way’s center is produced by a dwarf galaxy.
[Physics 17, s147] Published Mon Dec 02, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Researchers used machine learning to optimize the process by which a tiny cage is opened to release a molecule.
[Physics 17, 169] Published Wed Nov 27, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Forces imposed by laser light can manipulate the shape of a membrane’s vibrational modes.
[Physics 17, s148] Published Wed Nov 27, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Observations confirm a theoretical model explaining how—in Earth’s magnetosphere—large-scale magnetic waves heat up the magnetosphere’s plasma by transferring their energy to smaller-scale acoustic waves.
[Physics 17, 168] Published Tue Nov 26, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Erbium and similar elements provide a wide range of electronic “handles” for manipulating atoms in many-body quantum experiments.
[Physics 17, s151] Published Tue Nov 26, 2024
Author(s): Carmelo Evoli
A new analysis of more than a decade’s worth of observations extends the spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons to unprecedented high energies.
[Physics 17, 165] Published Mon Nov 25, 2024
Author(s): Sachin Rawat
A new recipe for making hydrogels delivers a material that is both flexible and semiconducting—desired properties for interfaces in implantable medical devices.
[Physics 17, 167] Published Fri Nov 22, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A new analysis of B-meson decays strongly hints that they harbor physics beyond the standard model.
[Physics 17, s142] Published Thu Nov 21, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
By manipulating and detecting nuclear spins in a tiny floating diamond, scientists have reported a record-long spin coherence time for a levitated system.
[Physics 17, s143] Published Thu Nov 21, 2024
Author(s): Carlos Mejuto-Zaera
A new framework that embeds electrons in a surrounding bath captures nonlocal correlation effects that are relevant to metals, semiconductors, and correlated insulators.
[Physics 17, 164] Published Wed Nov 20, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Contrary to conventional wisdom, a lattice of engineered nanoparticles called meta-atoms can have a chiral optical response even when each meta-atom is not chiral.
[Physics 17, s135] Published Wed Nov 20, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Low-frequency radio observations could allow researchers to distinguish among several dark matter models, thanks to dark matter’s influence on the early Universe.
[Physics 17, s132] Published Tue Nov 19, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
The experimental confirmation of supersolid vortices opens the prospect of making and studying laboratory analogues of rotating neutron stars.
[Physics 17, 166] Published Mon Nov 18, 2024
Author(s): Benjamin Rotenberg
The identification of a new type of symmetry in statistical mechanics could help scientists derive and interpret fundamental relationships in this branch of physics.
[Physics 17, 163] Published Mon Nov 18, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
The observation of a previously unseen photon delay in the production of quantum light has implications for the development of quantum technologies.
[Physics 17, s130] Published Thu Nov 14, 2024
Author(s): Agnese Curatolo
A new frequency-based analysis of recordings from neurons in the brain may give insight into brain pathologies such as Parkinson’s disease.
[Physics 17, s145] Published Wed Nov 13, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have characterized the naturally occurring background radiation hitting a typical quantum circuit—a result that might help with the engineering of devices that are less vulnerable to radiation-induced decoherence.
[Physics 17, s140] Published Tue Nov 12, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A theoretical model shows that exchange of information plays a key role in the molecular machines found in biological cells.
[Physics 17, 162] Published Fri Nov 08, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Two dark matter searches report that their detectors have likely recorded neutrinos coming from the Sun—spotting the “neutrino fog” that could imperil future dark matter searches.
[Physics 17, 161] Published Thu Nov 07, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Crystals that have both a particular structure and a particular combination of electronic orbitals can be simultaneously ferromagnetic and ferroelectric.
[Physics 17, s131] Published Thu Nov 07, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
By repeatedly applying coats of a hardening polymer to a surface, researchers have created rubbery stalactite-like formations that could be useful in soft robotics.
[Physics 17, s138] Published Wed Nov 06, 2024
Author(s): Susan Curtis
A theoretical analysis suggests that a novel “twisting “microscope could offer new insights into the exotic electronic behavior of layered 2D materials.
[Physics 17, 160] Published Tue Nov 05, 2024
Author(s): Nikhil Karthik
A low-energy signature of physics beyond the standard model fails to appear in proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.
[Physics 17, s137] Published Tue Nov 05, 2024
Author(s): W. Michael Snow
By exploiting polarized-gas collisions, researchers have conducted a sensitive search for exotic spin-dependent interactions, placing new constraints on a dark matter candidate called the axion.
[Physics 17, 157] Published Mon Nov 04, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A scheme that moves electromagnetically trapped ions around a 2D array of sites could aid development of scaled-up ion-based quantum computing.
[Physics 17, 159] Published Fri Nov 01, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A “Little Earth Experiment” inside a giant magnet sheds light on so-far-unexplained flow patterns in Earth’s interior.
[Physics 17, 142] Published Thu Oct 31, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Breaking the problem into pieces makes it easier to design a fusion reactor’s coils for optimum energy confinement.
[Physics 17, s124] Published Thu Oct 31, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Sometimes a rotating molecule can transition to a new state only if an electron carries away some of the molecule’s angular momentum.
[Physics 17, s134] Published Thu Oct 31, 2024
Author(s): Michael J. W. Hall
Simulations deliver hints on how the multiverse produced according to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics might be compatible with our stable, classical Universe.
[Physics 17, 155] Published Wed Oct 30, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A new model of liquid sprays reveals the mechanisms behind droplet formation—providing important information for eventually controlling the droplet sizes in, for example, home cleaning sprays.
[Physics 17, 158] Published Tue Oct 29, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A light beam with orbital angular momentum can produce the rotational analog of the Doppler effect on an ion.
[Physics 17, s133] Published Tue Oct 29, 2024
Author(s): Eric Lutz
By manipulating a nitrogen vacancy’s single spin, researchers have shown that the more coherent the system is, the more work can be extracted from it.
[Physics 17, 154] Published Mon Oct 28, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
By observing two fighting fish, researchers have decoded the repertoire of trajectories and body postures used in the interaction—and identified the winner.
[Physics 17, 156] Published Fri Oct 25, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Theoretical work provides a long-awaited explanation for why measurements of qubits in superconducting quantum computers are less accurate than expected.
[Physics 17, s126] Published Thu Oct 24, 2024
Author(s): Christian Roos
A way to address the individual ions of a rotating ion crystal could allow scientists to perform quantum simulations in which each qubit can be carefully controlled.
[Physics 17, 152] Published Wed Oct 23, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
An automatic, algorithmic technique can find optimal laser configurations for inertial-confinement fusion—one of two main fusion approaches.
[Physics 17, s127] Published Wed Oct 23, 2024
Author(s): Susan Curtis
Applying data mining tools to a rich observational dataset has enabled researchers to track the turbulent plasma clouds that accompany the aurora.
[Physics 17, s128] Published Tue Oct 22, 2024
Author(s): Sophia Heinz
Scientists have synthesized an isotope of the superheavy element livermorium using a novel fusion reaction. The result paves the way for the discovery of new chemical elements.
[Physics 17, 150] Published Mon Oct 21, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A new method for studying the behavior of multiparticle systems relies on a simple “head count” of particles in imaginary boxes.
[Physics 17, 153] Published Fri Oct 18, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Axions—theorized particles that could account for dark matter—could accumulate around rapidly rotating neutron stars to the point that they become detectable.
[Physics 17, s114] Published Thu Oct 17, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
The prediction that twisted semiconductor bilayers can host so-called non-Abelian states without a magnetic field holds promise for fault-tolerant quantum computing.
[Physics 17, s129] Published Thu Oct 17, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Emus inherited from their dinosaur ancestors a crouched posture that dictates the gait they adopt when moving quickly, according to a new computer simulation of bird motion.
[Physics 17, 151] Published Wed Oct 16, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Theorists have developed a model to explain how a protein structure keeps its position while being buffeted by currents.
[Physics 17, s125] Published Wed Oct 16, 2024
Author(s): Fangwei Ye
Overlapping two 3D lattices with a relative twist opens the door to synthesizing crystals with diverse symmetries that showcase nontrivial band structures and novel properties.
[Physics 17, 147] Published Tue Oct 15, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A quantum degeneracy named after a Chinese yo-yo boosts the magnetization lifetime of a short chain of magnetic iron atoms by a factor of 1000.
[Physics 17, s118] Published Tue Oct 15, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A rare configuration of seven galaxies aligned behind a galaxy cluster allows researchers to probe with high precision the dark matter distribution within the cluster.
[Physics 17, 148] Published Fri Oct 11, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
The algorithm called AlphaFold has now been used to predict structures for all known proteins.
[Physics 17, 149] Published Fri Oct 11, 2024
Author(s): Susan Curtis
The mitigation of a previously neglected energy-loss mechanism in organic light-emitting diodes has enabled researchers to enhance both efficiency and lifetime of these devices.
[Physics 17, s115] Published Thu Oct 10, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Despite its intensity, the gravitational collapse of certain massive stars does not produce an abundance of heavy elements.
[Physics 17, s122] Published Wed Oct 09, 2024
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics honors pioneering work on artificial neural networks, which provided the foundation for many of the artificial intelligence technologies in use today.
[Physics 17, 146] Published Tue Oct 08, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
When two laser beams converge on a volume of gas, their interference creates a diffraction grating made of plasma that can divert and shape a third beam.
[Physics 17, s123] Published Tue Oct 08, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Ciarchi and Ivan Di Terlizzi
Bacteria, cells, swarms, and other organisms pluck information from noisy environments with extraordinarily high precision.
[Physics 17, 143] Published Mon Oct 07, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
An infrared detector is sensitive to a wide range of intensities and could potentially pick up biomarkers from exoplanet atmospheres.
[Physics 17, 144] Published Mon Oct 07, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A short-lived combination of an electron and an antielectron has been cooled with lasers to near absolute zero—a step toward tackling fundamental questions about matter and antimatter.
[Physics 17, 145] Published Fri Oct 04, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
By observing the motion of preschool children, researchers have developed a thermodynamic description of human movement that pinpoints collective phases emerging when social interactions are strong.
[Physics 17, s111] Published Thu Oct 03, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
New experimental results from the Large Hadron Collider argue against the existence of multiple Higgs bosons, as predicted in certain “beyond-standard-model” theories.
[Physics 17, s119] Published Wed Oct 02, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Imposing time-dependent strain on a magnetic disk induces vortex dynamics and offers a path toward energy-efficient spintronic devices.
[Physics 17, s117] Published Tue Oct 01, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
As part of an effort to establish a lunar time standard, researchers have used relativity to calculate time differences between Earth and the Moon.
[Physics 17, 140] Published Mon Sep 30, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
A lab-scale model provides a testing ground for studying the breakup of ice sheets or of other thin solids floating on the surface of a fluid.
[Physics 17, 141] Published Fri Sep 27, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Magnetic feedback causes two atomic gases to guide each other’s spins into long-lasting collective alignment.
[Physics 17, s116] Published Thu Sep 26, 2024
Author(s): Paweł Moskal
The quantum entanglement of photons used in positron emission tomography (PET) scans has been shown to be surprisingly robust, opening prospects for developing quantum-enhanced PET schemes.
[Physics 17, 138] Published Wed Sep 25, 2024
Author(s): Martin Rodriguez-Vega
Experiments show that a property of the vibrations in a quasicrystal is linked to the number known as the golden ratio.
[Physics 17, s121] Published Wed Sep 25, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The time an inner electron takes to exit an atom after photoionization has been determined using attosecond pulses from an x-ray laser.
[Physics 17, 139] Published Tue Sep 24, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
An experiment reveals that frictional forces can have a surprisingly complex velocity dependence at the nanoscale.
[Physics 17, s120] Published Tue Sep 24, 2024
Author(s): Suman Kulkarni and Dani S. Bassett
Researchers leverage synapse-level maps of the fruit fly brain to examine how neuronal connection probabilities vary with distance, offering insights into how these neuronal networks may optimize function within spatial constraints.
[Physics 17, 136] Published Mon Sep 23, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
Experiments reveal the factors that determine the friction between the single-atom-thick layers in van der Waals materials, which may have uses in lubrication technology.
[Physics 17, 137] Published Fri Sep 20, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Marie-Catherine Vozenin explains why an interdisciplinary approach is key to taking a promising experimental radiotherapy cancer treatment from the lab to the clinic.
[Physics 17, 102] Published Thu Sep 19, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate’s superfluid state is surprisingly robust if the atoms are trapped in a quasiperiodic lattice.
[Physics 17, s112] Published Thu Sep 19, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A proposed experiment involving an x-ray beam and two optical beams could determine the values of fundamental constants in quantum electrodynamics.
[Physics 17, s109] Published Wed Sep 18, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
An asteroid-mass primordial black hole flying near a planet could perturb the planet’s orbit by a detectable amount.
[Physics 17, s98] Published Tue Sep 17, 2024
Author(s): Liz Boatman
A recent study sheds light on why undergrads pursue physics and why majors persist or leave.
[Physics 17, 135] Published Mon Sep 16, 2024
Author(s): Caio F. B. Macedo
Gravitational-wave signals from black hole mergers could reveal the presence of “gravitational atoms”—black holes surrounded by clouds of axions or other light bosons.
[Physics 17, 133] Published Mon Sep 16, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Using an old film as input, researchers demonstrate an algorithm that rapidly determines the positions of thousands of particles whose light-scattering produces an image or other desired output.
[Physics 17, 134] Published Fri Sep 13, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
A new survey shows that affinity groups provide crucial support to women and LGBTQ+ physics PhD students—groups that continue to experience harassment and hostility.
[Physics 17, 121] Published Thu Sep 12, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A simple light microscopy setup can map the micrometer-scale domains of a potentially useful class of magnetic materials.
[Physics 17, s106] Published Thu Sep 12, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
A 25-qubit quantum processor architecture reduces the stray signals that can cause errors and is suitable for scaling up.
[Physics 17, s113] Published Thu Sep 12, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Orbital currents can efficiently flow through a variety of materials—a promising result for future orbitronics devices.
[Physics 17, s108] Published Wed Sep 11, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Ultraviolet photons induce potassium niobate to behave like a potent solid-state refrigerant, according to new calculations.
[Physics 17, s103] Published Tue Sep 10, 2024
Author(s): Julien Roche
A new technique allows researchers to study how a bacterium’s entire set of proteins changes its shape under high pressures—shedding light on adaptation mechanisms of deep-sea organisms.
[Physics 17, 132] Published Mon Sep 09, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Researchers use ultrashort laser pulses to trigger a spin-aligned electron flow on the few-femtosecond timescale—opening up a possible path toward faster spintronic devices.
[Physics 17, 131] Published Fri Sep 06, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have isolated a high-order term in the behavior of a Josephson junction, which could lead to longer-lived superconducting qubits.
[Physics 17, s107] Published Thu Sep 05, 2024
Author(s): Andrea Parlangeli
A new model of epidemics describes infections as part of a feedback loop—an approach that might one day help optimize interventions such as social distancing and lockdowns.
[Physics 17, 129] Published Wed Sep 04, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
An analysis of gravitational data from the LIGO detector sets new limits on a wave-like form of dark matter called scalar-field dark matter.
[Physics 17, s101] Published Wed Sep 04, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
A new method for preparing certain states on a quantum computer is predicted to take the same time regardless of the system size.
[Physics 17, s110] Published Wed Sep 04, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
The observation of quantum modifications to a well-known chemical law could lead to performance improvements for quantum information storage.
[Physics 17, 128] Published Tue Sep 03, 2024
Author(s): Sam Dillavou
A clever use of machine learning guides researchers to a missing term that’s needed to accurately describe the dynamics of a complex fluid system.
[Physics 17, 130] Published Tue Sep 03, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Local curvature could drive directionality of periodic pigmentation patterns on animals.
[Physics 17, s104] Published Tue Sep 03, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Theoretical work explains why terahertz radiation is emitted when a laser pulse demagnetizes a magnetic thin film.
[Physics 17, s97] Published Fri Aug 23, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A mathematical model suggests that social groups can behave in unexpected ways when subjected to competing mass media.
[Physics 17, s96] Published Thu Aug 22, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
A device that sorts photon states could lead to a basic component of an all-optical quantum computer.
[Physics 17, s105] Published Wed Aug 21, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Experiments on soft granular materials have allowed researchers to derive a rheological description for these materials by extending an established framework valid for hard granular materials.
[Physics 17, s100] Published Tue Aug 20, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A new device converts a stream of microwave photons into an electric current with high efficiency, which will benefit quantum information technologies.
[Physics 17, 127] Published Fri Aug 16, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A magnet-and-coil system reveals how acoustic waves reflect and refract when the host medium suddenly changes elasticity.
[Physics 17, 126] Published Thu Aug 15, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A soft x-ray magnetic imaging technique makes possible the study of a wide range of magnetic materials.
[Physics 17, s89] Published Thu Aug 15, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
An analysis of the brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed reveals no difference in the propagation speed of different frequencies of light—placing some of the tightest constraints on certain violations of general relativity.
[Physics 17, s99] Published Thu Aug 15, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Electrically patterning the walls of a nanochannel could provide a route to creating “valves” that abruptly alter the speed at which a charged fluid flows through a nanofluidic device.
[Physics 17, s95] Published Wed Aug 14, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A new mathematical measure of knottiness could help improve the transport efficiencies of subway and road systems, as well as other physical networks.
[Physics 17, s94] Published Tue Aug 13, 2024
Author(s): Tobias Galla
A model based on statistical physics suggests that the combination of species migration and interspecies interactions may allow a complex ecological system to maintain its diversity.
[Physics 17, 123] Published Mon Aug 12, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A new scheme sends large numbers of entangled photons reliably through commercial fiber-optic cables, demonstrating a capability required for secure quantum networks.
[Physics 17, 125] Published Fri Aug 09, 2024
Author(s): Susan Curtis
High-resolution imaging arrays could be realized by using the same superconducting technology for both the signal-processing electronics and the single-photon detectors.
[Physics 17, 124] Published Thu Aug 08, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Self-organized spherical shells made up of a few hundred cells spontaneously rotate when embedded in a gel. New research explains why.
[Physics 17, s102] Published Thu Aug 08, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A resonance between energy levels in argon atoms and nitrogen molecules could be used to remotely sense contaminants in air.
[Physics 17, s88] Published Wed Aug 07, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Researchers have used a specially crafted electric potential to manipulate the electronic band structure of graphene, laying the groundwork for on-demand electronic band design.
[Physics 17, s92] Published Tue Aug 06, 2024
Author(s): Annabelle Bohrdt
A new manipulation technique could enable the realization of more versatile quantum simulators.
[Physics 17, 120] Published Mon Aug 05, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
New data on the rotation around both long and short axes of plastic strands may help researchers track and remove microplastics that pollute the ocean.
[Physics 17, 122] Published Fri Aug 02, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A correlation between two astronomical observables reveals the influence of visible matter on a universe dominated by dark matter.
[Physics 17, s86] Published Thu Aug 01, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A way to determine the flavors of ultrahigh-energy cosmic neutrinos observed by future detectors could help scientists understand the origin of these elusive particles.
[Physics 17, s87] Published Wed Jul 31, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Nelly Ng studies “quantum catalysts”—extra qubits or other elements that can help perform a quantum information process, in the same way that an extra tower helps solve a classic logic game.
[Physics 17, 109] Published Tue Jul 30, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Experiments at the Joint European Torus make the case for using gamma rays to determine the fusion reaction rate in a magnetically confined plasma.
[Physics 17, s59] Published Tue Jul 30, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
An answer to a decades-old question in the theory of quantum entanglement raises more questions about this quirky phenomenon.
[Physics 17, s83] Published Tue Jul 30, 2024
Author(s): Han-Ning Dai and Yu-Ao Chen
By reducing the effect of systematic errors, researchers have created an atomic clock that sets a new record for precision.
[Physics 17, 118] Published Mon Jul 29, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
The formation of a black hole from light alone is permitted by general relativity, but a new study says quantum physics rules it out.
[Physics 17, 119] Published Fri Jul 26, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers show that atoms that escape from an atom array can be replaced on the fly—an important step toward operating a large-scale neutral-atom quantum computer.
[Physics 17, s93] Published Thu Jul 25, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
How an alga synchronizes its two flapping cilia to propel itself is revealed in a tabletop experiment with chains of mobile robots.
[Physics 17, s81] Published Wed Jul 24, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
An ordered pattern of atomic spins with possible uses in computing can become more ordered if shaken at the right frequency.
[Physics 17, s90] Published Tue Jul 23, 2024
Author(s): Sarah Marzen
Both the predictive power and the memory storage capability of an artificial neural network called a reservoir computer increase when time delays are added into how the network processes signals, according to a new model.
[Physics 17, 111] Published Mon Jul 22, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A new technique reveals high-speed trajectories of oscillating vortices and shows that they are 10,000 times lighter than expected.
[Physics 17, 117] Published Fri Jul 19, 2024
Author(s): Martin Rodriguez-Vega
Researchers predict that a twisted graphene bilayer excited with light could host a slow-moving acoustic plasmon.
[Physics 17, s91] Published Fri Jul 19, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Researchers have developed a cancer-detection method that uses painless sound waves, rather than a torturing needle, to obtain genetic information about a patient’s cancer.
[Physics 17, 116] Published Thu Jul 18, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A new theory that accounts for disorder in a protein’s structure sheds light on the development inside a cell of tiny droplets that are vital to a cell’s function.
[Physics 17, s82] Published Thu Jul 18, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The pressures at which some elements start superconducting are so high that making detailed measurements of the transition has been impossible—until now.
[Physics 17, s84] Published Wed Jul 17, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Using a detailed simulation, researchers reveal how climate change will affect the regional dynamics of the conveyor-belt-like circulation of water through the Atlantic Ocean.
[Physics 17, 115] Published Tue Jul 16, 2024
Author(s): Agnese Curatolo
Pebbles that are slightly curved—rather than completely flat—exert the highest impact forces when dropped onto a watery surface.
[Physics 17, s85] Published Tue Jul 16, 2024
Author(s): Naoki Masuda
A machine-learning framework predicts when a complex system, such as an ecosystem or a power grid, will undergo a critical transition.
[Physics 17, 110] Published Mon Jul 15, 2024
Author(s): Julie Gould
Sonification and other multisensorial approaches offer powerful tools to analyze data, help visually impaired researchers, communicate science, and create science-inspired art.
[Physics 17, 113] Published Fri Jul 12, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Experiments on a bed of plastic beads reveal a temperature-dependent stiffening over time, which appears to be related to molecular-scale deformations.
[Physics 17, 112] Published Fri Jul 12, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Observations of seven fast-moving stars at the center of a dense star cluster in the Milky Way reveal the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole, perhaps the most puzzling class of these dark objects.
[Physics 17, 114] Published Thu Jul 11, 2024
Author(s): Nikhil Karthik
Electron neutrinos produced by proton–proton collisions at the LHC have been experimentally observed.
[Physics 17, s80] Published Thu Jul 11, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A statistical tool tests the long-held assumption that small-scale turbulence is isotropic.
[Physics 17, s77] Published Wed Jul 10, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Dark matter that interacts with itself could extract significant momentum from a binary supermassive black hole system, causing the black holes to merge.
[Physics 17, s79] Published Tue Jul 09, 2024
Author(s): Tracy Northup
A levitating microparticle is observed to recoil when a nucleus embedded in the particle decays—opening the door to future searches of invisible decay products.
[Physics 17, 107] Published Mon Jul 08, 2024
Scientists have detected the decay of radioactive nuclei by tracking the recoil of dust-sized spheres on which the nuclei were embedded.
[Physics 17, 108] Published Mon Jul 08, 2024
Author(s): Séverine Atis
An experiment uncovers the role played by gravity in Ostwald ripening, a spontaneous thermodynamic process responsible for many effects such as the recrystallization of ice cream.
[Physics 17, 104] Published Wed Jul 03, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Researchers have made the most precise measurement to date of the excited nuclear state of thorium-229, a candidate isotope for an ultraprecise nuclear clock.
[Physics 17, s75] Published Tue Jul 02, 2024
Author(s): Ulrich Warring
In the Mpemba effect, a warm liquid freezes faster than a cold one. Three studies investigate quantum versions of this effect, challenging our understanding of quantum thermodynamics.
[Physics 17, 105] Published Mon Jul 01, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A theoretical model for the illumination of photosynthesizing algae in giant clams suggests principles for high efficiency collection of sunlight.
[Physics 17, 106] Published Fri Jun 28, 2024
Author(s): Nikhil Karthik
Researchers at CERN have significantly increased the precision of the measured value of the top-quark mass, a key input for making standard-model calculations.
[Physics 17, s57] Published Thu Jun 27, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Quantum sensing can benefit from entanglement protocols that can be interpreted as allowing qubits to go backward in time to choose an optimal initial state.
[Physics 17, s76] Published Thu Jun 27, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A vibrating nanobeam could be used to share information between distant solid-state spin qubits, potentially allowing use of these qubits in complex computations.
[Physics 17, s71] Published Wed Jun 26, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Bright light triggers the chloroplast of a bioluminescent algae to fold into a pattern that minimizes the chloroplast’s exposed area.
[Physics 17, 103] Published Tue Jun 25, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A long-running experiment aboard the International Space Station has found an unexpected population of cosmic rays made of heavy hydrogen ions.
[Physics 17, s74] Published Tue Jun 25, 2024
Author(s): Gary Zabow
A new technique combining magnetic resonance imaging and x-ray fluorescence can characterize, with single-neuron resolution, the presence of toxic forms of iron that might be associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
[Physics 17, 101] Published Mon Jun 24, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A liquid-like spreading of metal atoms on a topological material can generate a superconductor—one that might benefit quantum computing.
[Physics 17, 100] Published Fri Jun 21, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A simple model based on network theory can reproduce the complex structures seen in urban transportation networks.
[Physics 17, s70] Published Fri Jun 21, 2024
Author(s): Robert Garisto
Theorists explain why cosmic inflation might appear to be driven by a single inflaton field, even if it had actually been driven by two or more such fields.
[Physics 17, s78] Published Fri Jun 21, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have measured a hard-to-observe electronic transition in strontium that was predicted six decades ago.
[Physics 17, s72] Published Thu Jun 20, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Samantha Lawler would like to see more done to reduce the detrimental impact of satellites on dark skies, telescope data, and publicly funded research.
[Physics 17, 97] Published Tue Jun 18, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Spin currents carried by magnetic waves called magnons can be sent across a device without using insulating magnets—a result that could lead to spintronic devices compatible with silicon electronics.
[Physics 17, s67] Published Tue Jun 18, 2024
Author(s): Ivan Bonamassa
A connection between time-varying networks and transport theory opens prospects for developing predictive equations of motion for networks.
[Physics 17, 96] Published Mon Jun 17, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
The extraordinary range of motions achieved by elephants’ trunks can be mimicked by a physical model that uses just three “muscles,” which could inspire robotic designs.
[Physics 17, 98] Published Fri Jun 14, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
Observing gravitational-wave memory may help physicists test general relativity predictions about large-scale symmetries in the fabric of spacetime.
[Physics 17, 95] Published Thu Jun 13, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A first-of-its-kind measurement reveals the energy spectrum of the neutrons produced during the fission of plutonium, a common nuclear fuel component.
[Physics 17, s68] Published Thu Jun 13, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Researchers created an ultracold gas of molecules with strong magnetic dipoles, which may lead to new types of Bose-Einstein condensates.
[Physics 17, s73] Published Wed Jun 12, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A theory first applied to phase transitions in the early Universe and then to defects in superfluid helium can now account for a wider variety of systems.
[Physics 17, s61] Published Tue Jun 11, 2024
Author(s): Valentina Zhelyazkova
A detailed study of a reaction between a molecular ion and a neutral atom has implications for both atmospheric and interstellar chemistry.
[Physics 17, 93] Published Mon Jun 10, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Collections of interacting self-propelled objects held rigidly together show patterns of organized behavior that can be predicted.
[Physics 17, 94] Published Fri Jun 07, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Some ultralight black holes that formed soon after the big bang might have been exotic objects with a net “color charge” that left potentially observable signatures.
[Physics 17, s69] Published Thu Jun 06, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Using a single set of measurements of an electronic circuit, researchers have characterized the properties of the topologically protected edge states of a quantum Hall system.
[Physics 17, s63] Published Wed Jun 05, 2024
Author(s): Andrea Parlangeli
Using an atomic array originally designed for quantum memory, researchers have demonstrated a magnetometer with unprecedented spatial resolution.
[Physics 17, 92] Published Tue Jun 04, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Statistical properties of fluctuations of certain parameters describing a complex system can reveal when that system is approaching a tipping point.
[Physics 17, s64] Published Tue Jun 04, 2024
Author(s): Kirill Korolev
A new model, vetted by experiments on lung cancer cells, may help to explain how cancer and other diseases accumulate drug-resistance mutations that can compromise the effectiveness of treatments.
[Physics 17, 90] Published Mon Jun 03, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
Experiments and theory explain how charge builds up in a moving water drop and why the effect requires a water-repelling surface.
[Physics 17, 91] Published Fri May 31, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A small device senses sounds using a spiderweb-like design—a strategy that could lead to chip-size microphones that are less affected by thermal noise.
[Physics 17, 89] Published Thu May 30, 2024
Author(s): Martin Rodriguez-Vega
Experiments and numerical simulations indicate that randomly replacing a few nonmagnetic components with magnetic ones in a photonic alloy induces backscattering-free light propagation along its edge.
[Physics 17, s60] Published Thu May 30, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Experiments comparing neutron-rich cadmium with previous data on a neutron-poor version prove that a key parameter in nuclear calculations depends on the neutron-to-proton ratio.
[Physics 17, s65] Published Wed May 29, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stevens
A thin film of a topological magnet displays a large thermoelectric effect that doesn’t require an applied magnetic field—a behavior that could lead to new energy-harvesting devices.
[Physics 17, s66] Published Tue May 28, 2024
Author(s): Sai Mu
Group theory and first-principles calculations combine to predict which antiferromagnets have potentially useful net surface magnetization.
[Physics 17, 88] Published Tue May 28, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
Researchers discovered a trick for dragging an object in a fluid with minimal effort, suggesting an optimal strategy for nanorobots.
[Physics 17, 87] Published Fri May 24, 2024
Author(s): Sarah Wells
Using atomic layer deposition, scientists have created a new light-absorbing thin film that could help telescopes see a starrier night.
[Physics 17, 86] Published Thu May 23, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Spacetime wrinkles known as cosmic strings, which might have formed in the early Universe, could be a dominant source of gravitational waves at ultrahigh frequencies, according to new calculations.
[Physics 17, s62] Published Thu May 23, 2024
Author(s): Michael Hahn
New solar observations indicate that plasma waves are responsible for the Sun’s outer atmosphere having different abundances of chemical elements than the Sun’s other layers.
[Physics 17, 83] Published Wed May 22, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Coupling the charger and battery to a common reservoir induces a direct flow of energy into the battery.
[Physics 17, s58] Published Wed May 22, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A secure method for cloud-based quantum computing harnesses the power of quantum physics to keep data confidential.
[Physics 17, 85] Published Tue May 21, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
An experiment at CERN seeks signs of dark matter by looking for missing energy and momentum in the debris of particle collisions.
[Physics 17, s54] Published Tue May 21, 2024
Author(s): Max Hays, Kyle Serniak, and William D. Oliver
Measurements of the temperature distribution of quasiparticles in superconducting circuits reveal behavior that could inform strategies for mitigating quasiparticle-induced errors in superconducting qubits.
[Physics 17, 82] Published Mon May 20, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Measurements related to the production of lanthanum in stars where elements are thought to form via the “i process” indicate that less of the element is produced than models predict.
[Physics 17, 78] Published Fri May 17, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A new liquid-jet technology enabled researchers to test the theory for liquid freezing more stringently than was possible in previous experiments, but uncertainties remain.
[Physics 17, 84] Published Fri May 17, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A deep-sea sponge’s intricate skeleton converts the horizontal flow of ocean currents into a vertical flow through the sponge’s body—a mechanism that helps with the sponge’s filter feeding.
[Physics 17, 81] Published Thu May 16, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A method for analyzing uncertainties in so-called analog quantum simulations could help scientists make precise predictions using these models.
[Physics 17, s51] Published Wed May 15, 2024
Author(s): Jung Hoon Han
In its superconducting state, an exotic metal harbors charge carriers that appear to have 4 and 6 times the charge of a single electron, suggesting the formation of Cooper-pair “molecules.”
[Physics 17, 80] Published Mon May 13, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The ability to store molecules in reconfigurable optical traps could allow researchers to harness the rich physics of molecules in quantum applications.
[Physics 17, s50] Published Mon May 13, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Experiments show the effects on combustion of adding hydrogen to natural gas—a fuel mixture that could reduce carbon emissions from power plants.
[Physics 17, 79] Published Fri May 10, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
X-ray experiments reveal that a semimetal exhibits “orbital texture”—an exotic electronic structure resulting in spin-dependent electron transport.
[Physics 17, s53] Published Fri May 10, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Adding neutrinos to an existing nucleosynthesis recipe can account for the puzzling existence of neutron-deficient heavy nuclei.
[Physics 17, s56] Published Thu May 09, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Researchers predict that several exotic states of matter can exist in semiconductor structures hosting electrons in one layer and holes in another.
[Physics 17, s49] Published Wed May 08, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
At many US universities, no formal procedure exists to help physics students pick a PhD project and a supervisor. Researchers argue it’s time for that to change.
[Physics 17, 76] Published Tue May 07, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A particle-beam-generating method—called wakefield acceleration—uses proton bunches, which can fragment into high-density filaments as a result of their interactions with plasma, new experiments show.
[Physics 17, s48] Published Tue May 07, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
A new model provides an improved description of the flow of the ocean’s kinetic energy by including friction with the coasts.
[Physics 17, 77] Published Fri May 03, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Researchers record the longest Rydberg-atom lifetime by placing strontium atoms in “circular” states, where the outer electrons move in planet-like orbits.
[Physics 17, s52] Published Fri May 03, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
By coupling two fluxonium qubits through an inductive circuit rather than through a capacitor, researchers have realized a high-fidelity two-qubit gate.
[Physics 17, s55] Published Thu May 02, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A proposed experiment could bring scientists closer to answering the long-standing question of whether gravity is a classical or a quantum phenomenon.
[Physics 17, 65] Published Wed May 01, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A method for freely adjusting the parameters of a loop of optical fiber enables the exploration of exotic topological phases of matter.
[Physics 17, s46] Published Wed May 01, 2024
Author(s): Peter Thirolf
Researchers use a laser to excite and precisely measure a long-sought exotic nuclear state, paving the way for precise timekeeping and ultrasensitive quantum sensing.
[Physics 17, 71] Published Mon Apr 29, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The commercialization of magnesium-ion batteries could be closer thanks to the development of a cathode material inspired by multispecies metal alloys.
[Physics 17, 75] Published Fri Apr 26, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Most models for the overall shape and geometry of the Universe—including some exotic ones—are compatible with the latest cosmic observations.
[Physics 17, 74] Published Fri Apr 26, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Interest in developing batteries based on sodium has recently spiked because of concerns over the sustainability of lithium, which is found in most laptop and electric vehicle batteries.
[Physics 17, 73] Published Thu Apr 25, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
For Shirley Meng, the biggest barrier to achieving sustainable batteries is sociological not technological, requiring a change in mindset about how we consume and dispose of batteries.
[Physics 17, 72] Published Wed Apr 24, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Real-time in situ x-ray observations of new nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries reveal that reduced performance comes from lithium ions getting trapped in the cathode.
[Physics 17, 70] Published Tue Apr 23, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Paul Kempler runs a master’s program at the University of Oregon that provides hands-on electrochemistry training for those wanting to enter the field without them having to take a five-year-long PhD.
[Physics 17, 62] Published Mon Apr 22, 2024
Author(s): Hee Seong Yun and Dong Ki Yoon
Using thin layers of chiral nematic liquid crystals, researchers have observed the formation dynamics of skyrmions.
[Physics 17, 69] Published Mon Apr 22, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
The spatial arrangement of plants in a rainforest corresponds to a special “critical” state that could be vital for ecosystem robustness.
[Physics 17, 68] Published Fri Apr 19, 2024
Author(s): Elizabeth Fernandez
A process that reheats some white dwarfs might mean they are much older than previously thought, indicating a potential need to recalculate the age of stellar populations such as the Milky Way.
[Physics 17, 67] Published Thu Apr 18, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Dense ensembles of laser-cooled molecules allow the observation of molecular collisions—a result that could lead to applications of cold molecular gases in quantum simulation and fundamental physics tests.
[Physics 17, s47] Published Thu Apr 18, 2024
Author(s): Wei Qin and Franco Nori
A quantum squeezing method can enhance interactions between quantum systems, even in the absence of precise knowledge of the system parameters.
[Physics 17, 64] Published Wed Apr 17, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The verification of a 63-year-old hypothesis indicates that nonequilibrium statistical mechanics could act as a theoretical framework for describing turbulence.
[Physics 17, s45] Published Wed Apr 17, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A quantum light source is touring European labs in preparation for the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
[Physics 17, 66] Published Tue Apr 16, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Measuring a photon’s angular momentum after it passes through optical devices teaches an algorithm to reconstruct the properties of the photon’s initial quantum state.
[Physics 17, s41] Published Tue Apr 16, 2024
Author(s): Oleg Starykh
A numerical investigation has revealed a surprising correspondence between a lattice spin model and a quantum field theory.
[Physics 17, 63] Published Mon Apr 15, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
Observations of the Southern Ocean show that wind can produce the surface states needed to generate rare “rogue” waves.
[Physics 17, 61] Published Fri Apr 12, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Scientists have found seven astrophysical tau neutrinos—particles that are notoriously difficult to detect—in an analysis of data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.
[Physics 17, 58] Published Thu Apr 11, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Researchers have quantified a pathway for the formation of molecular oxygen from the interaction of carbon dioxide with electrons, key information for searches of life on other worlds.
[Physics 17, 60] Published Thu Apr 11, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Sending photons to a remote site in groups should allow quantum links to be more rapidly established across future quantum networks than if photons are sent one at a time.
[Physics 17, s44] Published Wed Apr 10, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Analysis of the most precise three-dimensional map of the Universe delivers hints of a tension with the standard model of cosmology.
[Physics 17, 59] Published Tue Apr 09, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A signal from the decay products of a meson—a quark and an antiquark—comes from two subatomic particles and not one, as previously thought.
[Physics 17, s37] Published Tue Apr 09, 2024
Author(s): Maya Fishbach
A new model describes the population of black hole binaries without assumptions on the shape of their distribution—a capability that could boost the discovery potential of gravitational-wave observations.
[Physics 17, 57] Published Mon Apr 08, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A glass studio becomes a physics lab for biophysicists examining the physiological tissue properties of marine microorganisms.
[Physics 17, 55] Published Fri Apr 05, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A radiometry technique directly measures thermal conductivity in molten metals and confirms the relationship with electrical resistivity.
[Physics 17, s25] Published Fri Apr 05, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Using an ultrafast technique, researchers shed light on how the hydrogen-bonded structure of water is reflected in its x-ray spectrum.
[Physics 17, 56] Published Thu Apr 04, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Adding a nonlinear crystal to an optical spring can change the spring’s stiffness, a finding that could allow the use of such devices as gravitational-wave detectors.
[Physics 17, s40] Published Thu Apr 04, 2024
Author(s): Giuseppe Fumero
A way to create single photons whose spatiotemporal shapes do not expand during propagation could limit information loss in future photonic quantum technologies.
[Physics 17, 53] Published Wed Apr 03, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A theoretical study of self-assembly finds that hexagon-shaped building blocks can form large structures faster than triangular or square blocks.
[Physics 17, s36] Published Wed Apr 03, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Graphene is the setting for the first demonstration of relativistic electrons’ paradoxical ability to whiz through a barrier, provided the barrier is high enough.
[Physics 17, s43] Published Tue Apr 02, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
David Kaplan has developed a lattice model for particles that are left- or right-handed, offering a firmer foundation for the theory of weak interactions.
[Physics 17, 54] Published Tue Apr 02, 2024
Author(s): David Dahmen
A new theoretical framework for plastic neural networks predicts dynamical regimes where synapses rather than neurons primarily drive the network’s behavior, leading to an alternative candidate mechanism for working memory in the brain.
[Physics 17, 50] Published Mon Apr 01, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Novel metamaterial-based architectures offer a promising platform for building mass-producible, reprogrammable schemes that perform computing tasks with light.
[Physics 17, 52] Published Fri Mar 29, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A new device consisting of a semiconductor ring produces pairs of entangled photons that could be used in a photonic quantum processor.
[Physics 17, 51] Published Fri Mar 29, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A new theoretical analysis connects the results of high-energy particle experiments at the Large Hadron Collider with three-proton correlations inside nuclei.
[Physics 17, s42] Published Fri Mar 29, 2024
Author(s): Martin Rodriguez-Vega
A proposed ring-shaped device could measure the concentration of glucose in a person’s blood to an accuracy sufficient to make it clinically useful.
[Physics 17, s34] Published Thu Mar 28, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
A nanoresonator trapped in ultrahigh vacuum features an exceptionally high quality factor, showing promise for applications in force sensors and macroscopic tests of quantum mechanics.
[Physics 17, s38] Published Wed Mar 27, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Using observations made with an array of thousands of particle detectors, researchers have uncovered an important clue about cosmic rays that originate from outside of our Galaxy.
[Physics 17, s39] Published Tue Mar 26, 2024
Author(s): Arman Shafieloo
The South Pole Telescope has analyzed a trove of its CMB data, finding results that confirm the general picture of the cosmos drawn from previous space-based experiments.
[Physics 17, 49] Published Mon Mar 25, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
A new gravimeter is compact and stable and can detect the daily solar and lunar gravitational oscillations that are responsible for the tides.
[Physics 17, 48] Published Fri Mar 22, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
A widening gap between the cerium-140 abundance predicted by theories and that measured in observations of certain stars indicates a potential need for updated models of element formation.
[Physics 17, 47] Published Thu Mar 21, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Researchers have realized a recently proposed qubit in which the errors mostly involve erasure of the qubit state, an advance that could help simplify the architecture of fault-tolerant quantum computers.
[Physics 17, s35] Published Wed Mar 20, 2024
Author(s): Payal Dhar
Researchers have an explanation for how ermine moths create ultrasonic sounds that can confuse bats, a finding that could aid in the design of acousto-mechanical devices.
[Physics 17, 44] Published Tue Mar 19, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Scientists have devised a promising method for generating and manipulating exotic spin patterns called magnetic vortex rings, which could have applications in energy-efficient data storage and processing.
[Physics 17, s29] Published Tue Mar 19, 2024
Author(s): Lauren J. Riddiford
The unexpected observation of an aligned spin polarization in certain twisted semiconductor bilayers calls for improved models of these systems.
[Physics 17, 45] Published Mon Mar 18, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
The release of a second, higher-resolution image of the supermassive black hole M87* marks the start of what researchers hope will be an era of many more black hole photos.
[Physics 17, 43] Published Fri Mar 15, 2024
Author(s): Katie McCormick
A new method to measure the arrival times of electrons could aid in the design of future electron microscopes.
[Physics 17, 46] Published Fri Mar 15, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A protein-based motor uses a trimming mechanism to move forward across a field of grass-like peptide segments.
[Physics 17, 42] Published Thu Mar 14, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
The clumpy structure of a ring of gas ejected by the progenitor star of the supernova 1987A could have formed when vortices in the gas interacted.
[Physics 17, s31] Published Wed Mar 13, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
By combining the world’s oldest photovoltaic material with today’s most used one, researchers have taken a step toward next-generation solar devices.
[Physics 17, s30] Published Tue Mar 12, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
A newly uncovered mechanism for the assembly of viral protein shells could help scientists develop antiviral treatments and drug-delivery systems.
[Physics 17, s33] Published Tue Mar 12, 2024
Author(s): Ulrich D. Jentschura
Researchers have measured the transition energy of several highly excited states, which could help resolve a discrepancy about the size of the proton.
[Physics 17, 39] Published Mon Mar 11, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
The motions within the molecule provide a new way to compare the structures and functions of similar proteins.
[Physics 17, 40] Published Fri Mar 08, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
The winners of the third annual “Gallery of Soft Matter” competition included posters portraying robotic leaves and cannibalizing droplets and a video with what might be Steamboat Willie’s first appearance at the APS March Meeting.
[Physics 17, 41] Published Fri Mar 08, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Researchers have measured a zero-resistance state for the nickelate LaNiO, which measurements suggest may superconduct at temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.
[Physics 17, s32] Published Thu Mar 07, 2024
Author(s): Su-Yang Xu
Researchers have observed a new class of nonlinear Hall effect that can be understood through a geometric description of the electronic wave function.
[Physics 17, 38] Published Wed Mar 06, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have developed a quantum gas microscope that can pinpoint the horizontal and vertical positions of atoms arranged in a lattice.
[Physics 17, s26] Published Tue Mar 05, 2024
Author(s): Luke Govia
The demonstration of a device that can triple the number of photons in a microwave signal is a key step toward making a single-microwave-photon detector.
[Physics 17, 35] Published Mon Mar 04, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
Experiments demonstrate some of the unusual features of molecular reactions that occur in the deep cold of interstellar space.
[Physics 17, 37] Published Fri Mar 01, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Kamal Kesour conducts measurements to identify the sources of noise coming from ships passing through the St. Lawrence Estuary in Quebec, Canada, looking for ways to help crews reduce underwater noise.
[Physics 17, 34] Published Thu Feb 29, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
While undergraduate physics students that identify as neurodivergent report little outright discrimination or violence, they do say that structural ableism has negatively impacted their time as students.
[Physics 17, 36] Published Thu Feb 29, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
Researchers have determined the amount of transverse orbital angular momentum that a type of optical vortex carries per photon, an important step for future applications.
[Physics 17, s28] Published Wed Feb 28, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Researchers reveal how water striders survive collisions with raindrops that are much larger than the insects—a result that could help in understanding how microplastics are transported in water.
[Physics 17, 33] Published Tue Feb 27, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A proposed recipe for quantum error correction removes the need for time-consuming measurements of qubits, replacing them with copying and feedback steps instead.
[Physics 17, s24] Published Tue Feb 27, 2024
Author(s): Peter Littlewood
New theoretical work establishes an analogy between systems that are dynamically frustrated, such as glasses, and thermodynamic systems whose members have conflicting goals, such as predator–prey ecosystems.
[Physics 17, 32] Published Mon Feb 26, 2024
Author(s): Sophia Chen
Collisions of heavy ions briefly produced a magnetic field times stronger than Earth’s, and it left observable effects.
[Physics 17, 31] Published Fri Feb 23, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have characterized the thermodynamic properties of a model that uses cold atoms to simulate condensed-matter phenomena.
[Physics 17, s27] Published Fri Feb 23, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A light-based technique can make bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics, and it is nearing clinical trials.
[Physics 17, 30] Published Thu Feb 22, 2024
Author(s): Erin Knutson
Researchers have managed to cool an atom-like system made of an electron and a positron using a technique commonly used in cold-atom experiments.
[Physics 17, s23] Published Thu Feb 22, 2024
Author(s): Mingmin Yang
The engineering of structural deformations in light-sensitive semiconductors can boost the efficiency of solar cells.
[Physics 17, 27] Published Tue Feb 20, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Bottom quarks are increasingly more likely to exist in three-quark states rather than two-quark ones as the density of their environment increases.
[Physics 17, s20] Published Tue Feb 20, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Researchers have demonstrated that magnetic spin waves called magnons can be controlled by voltage and thus could operate more efficiently as information carriers in future devices.
[Physics 17, 29] Published Fri Feb 16, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Less than a year after its opening, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams produced five never-before-seen isotopes for observation, a success that researchers say highlights the discovery potential of the facility.
[Physics 17, 28] Published Thu Feb 15, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
Adding what seems like too many protons to a nucleus can increase one measure of its stability.
[Physics 17, s22] Published Thu Feb 15, 2024
Author(s): Dmitrii E. Makarov
Researchers have measured short-timescale fluctuations in metastable systems, uncovering information about failed attempts to cross the barriers that define the metastable state.
[Physics 17, 25] Published Wed Feb 14, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Laser-generated nucleosynthesis remains out of reach of present-day technology—but more powerful lasers could eventually make it possible.
[Physics 17, s17] Published Wed Feb 14, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
By monitoring a tiny worm’s embryonic cells, researchers have deduced that the availability of material for the membrane of a cell’s nucleus constrains the volume of the nucleus.
[Physics 17, 17] Published Tue Feb 13, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
A theoretical study of metal oxides identifies potential candidate materials for generating hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight.
[Physics 17, s21] Published Tue Feb 13, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
A technique that can determine the chirality of a molecule using that molecule’s own electrons could allow researchers to probe the dynamical behavior of chiral molecules on very short timescales.
[Physics 17, 26] Published Mon Feb 12, 2024
Author(s): Anushya Chandran and Philip Crowley
Theoretical work sheds light on why some many-body quantum systems get locally stuck and fail to reach thermal equilibrium—a phenomenon known as many-body localization.
[Physics 17, 24] Published Mon Feb 12, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
The new JWST observatory is revealing far more bright galaxies in the early Universe than anyone predicted, and astrophysicists have more than one explanation for the puzzle.
[Physics 17, 23] Published Fri Feb 09, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
The sound waves in a fabricated material exhibit topological features in one, two, and three dimensions—demonstrating an acoustic version of a higher-order nodal-line semimetal.
[Physics 17, s16] Published Thu Feb 08, 2024
Author(s): Sarah A. M. Loos
A theoretical study finds that the most energy-efficient way to control an active-matter system is to drive it at finite speed—unlike passive-matter systems.
[Physics 17, 20] Published Wed Feb 07, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
A recently developed lattice model produces an unexpected prediction combination for the rearrangements of particles inside a supercooled liquid turning into a glass.
[Physics 17, s19] Published Wed Feb 07, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
A proposed device can repeatedly grab pairs of electrons from a superconductor and separate them while preserving their entangled state.
[Physics 17, s18] Published Tue Feb 06, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
The recent breakthroughs in laser-based fusion have given a boost to a number of start-up companies—one of which has plans to replace the lasers with a high-speed projectile.
[Physics 17, 22] Published Mon Feb 05, 2024
Author(s): Shinsuke Fujioka
Scientists have now vetted details of the 2022 laser-powered fusion reaction that produced more energy than it consumed.
[Physics 17, 14] Published Mon Feb 05, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
A network-theory model, tested on the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, offers tools for quantifying the amount of information delivered to a listener by a musical piece.
[Physics 17, 21] Published Fri Feb 02, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
As a string winds around a cylinder, a switch occurs from tight winding to looser winding, a behavior that could be relevant for natural phenomena.
[Physics 17, 19] Published Fri Feb 02, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
The solar wind’s orientation relative to Mars’ magnetic-field lines changes as the planet rotates, creating conditions ripe for magnetic reconnection.
[Physics 17, 18] Published Thu Feb 01, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Water droplets can exhibit complex collective motions when they condense on a thin oil film.
[Physics 17, s15] Published Thu Feb 01, 2024
Author(s): Filippo Cardano and Francesco Di Colandrea
Interference in plane-wave combinations of water waves is predicted to give rise to structures that are usually found in optical, elastic, and quantum systems.
[Physics 17, 16] Published Wed Jan 31, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A droplet of a volatile liquid can move on a uniformly heated surface thanks to a nonuniform evaporation effect that drives an unstable fluid flow within the droplet.
[Physics 17, s14] Published Wed Jan 31, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
The scattering of helium atoms off a crystal surface reveals how defects in the crystal’s lattice influence its ability to transport heat.
[Physics 17, s12] Published Tue Jan 30, 2024
Author(s): Diego Pazó
A new approach to solving arrays of two-dimensional differential equations may allow researchers to go beyond the one-dimensional oscillator paradigm.
[Physics 17, 12] Published Mon Jan 29, 2024
Author(s): Philip Ball
Which direction would an S-shaped lawn sprinkler rotate if it were submerged and the flow were reversed? Experiments now provide a definitive answer.
[Physics 17, 15] Published Fri Jan 26, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Researchers have experimentally captured the melting of defects in a crystal, a process previously only understood through simulations.
[Physics 17, s11] Published Thu Jan 25, 2024
Author(s): Jayant B. Udgaonkar
Researchers have used nuclear magnetic resonance to observe a previously unseen intermediate state in which the protein lingers for an unexpectedly long time.
[Physics 17, 11] Published Wed Jan 24, 2024
Author(s): Matteo Rini
Researchers have demonstrated an unprecedentedly low-frequency superconducting “fluxonium” qubit, which could facilitate experiments that probe macroscopic quantum phenomena.
[Physics 17, s13] Published Wed Jan 24, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Researchers have used quantum computers to solve difficult physics problems. But claims of a quantum “advantage” must wait as ever-improving algorithms boost the performance of classical computers.
[Physics 17, 13] Published Tue Jan 23, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Light–matter interactions in certain one-dimensional photonic materials can bring light nearly to a standstill, an effect that researchers show requires consideration of long-range interactions between the material’s components.
[Physics 17, s7] Published Tue Jan 23, 2024
Author(s): Noah Bray-Ali
Particle pairing seen in nanoscale semiconductor devices could point the way to materials that superconduct at high temperatures.
[Physics 17, 10] Published Mon Jan 22, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
Experiments with small falling particles show that their orientations oscillate—which may help explain the settling of volcanic ash and the formation of snow.
[Physics 17, 9] Published Fri Jan 19, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
A new technique could allow researchers to distinguish the swimming motion of a species of microorganisms without the need to track individuals within a population.
[Physics 17, s8] Published Fri Jan 19, 2024
Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson
Spectroscopic data suggest that thin films of a certain semiconducting material can exhibit altermagnetism, a new and fundamental form of magnetism.
[Physics 17, s10] Published Thu Jan 18, 2024
Author(s): Charles Day
At low temperatures, crystals of lithium nickel phosphate transmit short-wavelength infrared light much more strongly in one direction than in the other.
[Physics 17, s6] Published Wed Jan 17, 2024
Author(s): Katherine Wright
Quantum effects can nearly double the precision of a state-of-the-art optical atomic clock, a finding that could allow the devices to search for possible fluctuations in fundamental constants of the Universe.
[Physics 17, 8] Published Tue Jan 16, 2024
Author(s): Martin Rodriguez-Vega
Researchers have achieved dual-axis magnetic-field detection using an atomic magnetometer architecture with only optical instruments.
[Physics 17, s3] Published Tue Jan 16, 2024
Author(s): Michael Schirber
The experimental value of the muon’s magnetic moment disagrees with theoretical predictions, but some of those predictions also disagree with each other—a problem theorists are working to resolve.
[Physics 17, 6] Published Fri Jan 12, 2024
Author(s): Mark Buchanan
High-precision measurements of the oscillations generated by a superconducting device suggest that an improved electric-current-calibration standard should be possible.
[Physics 17, 7] Published Fri Jan 12, 2024
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Researchers have demonstrated a mirror-based neutron interferometer that should be more sensitive to beyond-standard-model particle interactions than previous instruments.
[Physics 17, s9] Published Fri Jan 12, 2024
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A hair’s resistance to dirt depends on how much it deforms in a flowing fluid.
[Physics 17, 5] Published Thu Jan 11, 2024
Author(s): Nikhil Karthik
The Large Hadron Collider’s ATLAS and CMS collaborations have analyzed data of a rare Higgs-boson decay, finding a hint of a disagreement with standard-model predictions.
[Physics 17, s4] Published Thu Jan 11, 2024
Author(s): David Ehrenstein
The rate at which a raft made of ants is stretched determines its properties because the ants take time to fix holes.
[Physics 17, s5] Published Tue Jan 09, 2024
Author(s): Igor Mazin
Recent theoretical work has identified the possibility of a new and fundamental form of magnetism.
[Physics 17, 4] Published Mon Jan 08, 2024
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