Physics Magazine
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Reporting advances in physics research.
Researchers have imaged and stretched a gold nanowire while also tracking its electrical conductance. The two-for-one experiment enabled them to pinpoint the width at which ballistic transport becomes operative. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 21, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Researchers have imaged and stretched a gold nanowire while also tracking its electrical conductance. The two-for-one experiment enabled them to pinpoint the width at which ballistic transport becomes operative. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
Researchers have placed a precise amount of charge on a microparticle trapped in optical tweezers. Their technique could lead to better understanding of the effects of charged particles on lightning and clouds. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 20, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Researchers have placed a precise amount of charge on a microparticle trapped in optical tweezers. Their technique could lead to better understanding of the effects of charged particles on lightning and clouds. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
Researchers have built and studied a tiny engine in the form of a levitated glass microparticle. The engine’s counterintuitive thermodynamics may help explain the nonequilibrium behavior of various biological systems. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 19, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Researchers have built and studied a tiny engine in the form of a levitated glass microparticle. The engine’s counterintuitive thermodynamics may help explain the nonequilibrium behavior of various biological systems. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
Researchers have analyzed a hypothetical scenario in which three Cooper pairs tunnel simultaneously in a four-terminal Josephson junction. Such a process is important because it could facilitate new functionalities in quantum technologies. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 19, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Researchers have analyzed a hypothetical scenario in which three Cooper pairs tunnel simultaneously in a four-terminal Josephson junction. Such a process is important because it could facilitate new functionalities in quantum technologies. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
The extent of a particle’s wave function depends on the particle’s mass and environment. Researchers have developed an optical method that sheds light on this dependence for single hydrogen and deuterium molecules trapped in a superfluid helium nanodroplet. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
November 18, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The extent of a particle’s wave function depends on the particle’s mass and environment. Researchers have developed an optical method that sheds light on this dependence for single hydrogen and deuterium molecules trapped in a superfluid helium nanodroplet. physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
Researchers have determined the entropy of a double quantum dot by measuring how much energy is needed to pack in an additional electron. Their method could be used to determine quantities that are even harder to measure, such as exotic quasiparticle couplings.
November 17, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Researchers have determined the entropy of a double quantum dot by measuring how much energy is needed to pack in an additional electron. Their method could be used to determine quantities that are even harder to measure, such as exotic quasiparticle couplings.
Quantum magic is a property of certain quantum states that enables operations outside the fault-tolerant, classically accessible set. Last year two theorists answered the long-standing question of how to reliably measure this important property.
November 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Quantum magic is a property of certain quantum states that enables operations outside the fault-tolerant, classically accessible set. Last year two theorists answered the long-standing question of how to reliably measure this important property.
Researchers made a clock from two single-electron traps known as quantum dots and used it to measure the entropy produced by the act of recording a clock’s ticks. They found that this process generates far more entropy and heat than the clock’s quantum operations.
The Costs of Quantum Timekeeping
Experiments reveal the surprisingly large amount of entropy—and thus heat—generated by a clock that could be part of a quantum processor.
physics.aps.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Researchers made a clock from two single-electron traps known as quantum dots and used it to measure the entropy produced by the act of recording a clock’s ticks. They found that this process generates far more entropy and heat than the clock’s quantum operations.
A quantum system's decoherence can be delayed by contriving to have its dynamics linger in persistent, preexisting patterns called quantum scars. Researchers have now demonstrated a general theoretical method for finding these scars.
Quantum Scars Unmasked
A new approach finds useful patterns called quantum scars in the complex dynamics of quantum many-body systems.
physics.aps.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:41 PM
A quantum system's decoherence can be delayed by contriving to have its dynamics linger in persistent, preexisting patterns called quantum scars. Researchers have now demonstrated a general theoretical method for finding these scars.
Researchers have measured the opacity of one of the Sun’s most important elements for radiation transport—oxygen—at densities and temperatures high enough to potentially resolve a persistent discrepancy between theory and observation.
Measuring the Sun’s Opacity
Experiments with oxygen plasma at extreme densities and temperatures give new transparency to our picture of the Sun’s interior.
physics.aps.org
November 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Researchers have measured the opacity of one of the Sun’s most important elements for radiation transport—oxygen—at densities and temperatures high enough to potentially resolve a persistent discrepancy between theory and observation.
Researchers have found that stacks of the 2D semiconductor palladium diselenide keep their original form as the interlayer spaces are packed with additional Pd atoms—until the stack switches abruptly to a new and thicker 3D structure.
Phase Transition Proceeds Slowly, Then All at Once
Adding extra atoms between sheets of PdSe doesn’t affect the material’s layered structure—until it does.
physics.aps.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Researchers have found that stacks of the 2D semiconductor palladium diselenide keep their original form as the interlayer spaces are packed with additional Pd atoms—until the stack switches abruptly to a new and thicker 3D structure.
Copper-67 is a promising radionuclide for treating cancer. Researchers have shown they can make it by piggy-backing on particle physics experiments.
Making Fresh Radionuclides with Leftover Gamma Rays
Photons in high-energy probe beams that pass through their intended target can be “reused” for making promising nuclides in nuclear medicine, new experiments show.
physics.aps.org
November 12, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Copper-67 is a promising radionuclide for treating cancer. Researchers have shown they can make it by piggy-backing on particle physics experiments.
Researchers have combined the quantum sensing of nitrogen vacancy centers with the atomic resolution of scanning probe microscopy. To demonstrate this new capability, the team followed the individual steps of an important chemical process: the dissociation of water molecules on a surface.
A Quantum Microscope Reveals Water Breaking Apart
A scheme combining a scanning probe microscope with a quantum sensor can locally trigger water dissociation and observe the elementary steps of such a reaction.
physics.aps.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Researchers have combined the quantum sensing of nitrogen vacancy centers with the atomic resolution of scanning probe microscopy. To demonstrate this new capability, the team followed the individual steps of an important chemical process: the dissociation of water molecules on a surface.
Researchers have identified a new low-temperature emission effect in nanocrystals. Related to zero-point motion, the effect could prove useful in cooling nanocrystals to lower temperatures than previously possible.
Zeroing In on Zero-Point Motion Inside a Crystal
A nanocrystal cooled to near absolute zero produces an unexpected light emission, which is shown to arise from quantum fluctuations in the crystal’s atomic lattice.
physics.aps.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Researchers have identified a new low-temperature emission effect in nanocrystals. Related to zero-point motion, the effect could prove useful in cooling nanocrystals to lower temperatures than previously possible.
Helimagnets’ spin phase—a parameter describing the spin direction at one end of the helical pattern—could be used to store information. That prospect could be closer now that researchers have reported a new way to measure spin phase.
Spin-Phase Detector
Experiments demonstrate a device-friendly technique that can measure the spin phase in magnets with helical magnetic ordering.
physics.aps.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Helimagnets’ spin phase—a parameter describing the spin direction at one end of the helical pattern—could be used to store information. That prospect could be closer now that researchers have reported a new way to measure spin phase.
The cancelling spins of antiferromagnets bestow resistance to stray magnetic fields but they also make the materials hard to probe or control. Now researchers have shown that light provides a powerful new way to image antiferromagnetic domains and even to manipulate them.
Shining Light on Antiferromagnets
Researchers use a magneto-optical technique to image and manipulate magnetic domains in a chiral antiferromagnet, opening new routes for spin-based electronics.
physics.aps.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The cancelling spins of antiferromagnets bestow resistance to stray magnetic fields but they also make the materials hard to probe or control. Now researchers have shown that light provides a powerful new way to image antiferromagnetic domains and even to manipulate them.
Current quantum processors have profound physical limitations, mostly related to noise. New research shows that the possibility of noisy quantum computers outdoing classical computers may be restricted to a “Goldilocks zone” between too few and too many qubits.
Constraints on Quantum-Advantage Experiments Due to Noise
Current quantum computers are noisy, which places limitations on the type of quantum machine needed to outpace classical computers.
physics.aps.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Current quantum processors have profound physical limitations, mostly related to noise. New research shows that the possibility of noisy quantum computers outdoing classical computers may be restricted to a “Goldilocks zone” between too few and too many qubits.
Coaxing tiny, self-propelled particles into cohesive structures provides one route to making micromachines. Taking a step in that direction, researchers have measured and analyzed the mechanical properties of materials assembled from active particles.
Active Matter Gets Solid
Researchers have determined the mechanical properties of a tiny beam made of active particles, laying the groundwork for future micromachines.
physics.aps.org
November 3, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Coaxing tiny, self-propelled particles into cohesive structures provides one route to making micromachines. Taking a step in that direction, researchers have measured and analyzed the mechanical properties of materials assembled from active particles.
Spider webs often feature zigzagging layers of tough silk whose purpose has puzzled biologists. Now physicists have a solution. The structures spread prey-induced vibrations out through the web, helping spiders to locate their trapped victims.
Spooky Sensor at a Distance
How do spiders pounce so quickly on hapless prey entangled in their webs? New research suggests that elaborate web “decorations” help transmit the wiggling signal from a trapped bug.
physics.aps.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Spider webs often feature zigzagging layers of tough silk whose purpose has puzzled biologists. Now physicists have a solution. The structures spread prey-induced vibrations out through the web, helping spiders to locate their trapped victims.
Two groups of researchers have independently devised a new recipe for quickly driving a generic quantum system into a desired ground state. Compared with previous recipes, it doesn't require as much detailed knowledge of the system.
A Shortcut to a Ground State
Theorists have proposed a universal recipe for trying to quickly prepare a system in a desired ground state without exciting it.
physics.aps.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Two groups of researchers have independently devised a new recipe for quickly driving a generic quantum system into a desired ground state. Compared with previous recipes, it doesn't require as much detailed knowledge of the system.
Push together a small number of mutually repelling particles and they’ll adopt configurations that depend on the specifics of the interaction and the container. Researchers have now shown that a wide range of particle types can be coaxed into the same set of configurations.
How Confined Objects Arrange Themselves
A collection of mutually repelling objects can be forced into the same arrangement, whether they are magnets, soap bubbles, or hard spheres.
physics.aps.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Push together a small number of mutually repelling particles and they’ll adopt configurations that depend on the specifics of the interaction and the container. Researchers have now shown that a wide range of particle types can be coaxed into the same set of configurations.
In 2012 engineers discovered that nanoparticles, such as extracellular vesicles, can be trapped by acoustic fields provided they are mixed into a liquid suspension of microparticles. Now physicists have explained the puzzling phenomenon.
Trapping Tiny Objects with Sound
Fluid flow and acoustic waves act together to trap nanoparticles.
physics.aps.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
In 2012 engineers discovered that nanoparticles, such as extracellular vesicles, can be trapped by acoustic fields provided they are mixed into a liquid suspension of microparticles. Now physicists have explained the puzzling phenomenon.
Researchers have demonstrated that nanofluidic memristors, based on membranes containing conical nanopores, can be organized into functional circuits. What’s more, they showed that their devices can represent brain-like properties.
Iontronic Circuits: Building Intelligence in Brine
Experiments with membranes offer a path toward scalable neuromorphic computing.
physics.aps.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Researchers have demonstrated that nanofluidic memristors, based on membranes containing conical nanopores, can be organized into functional circuits. What’s more, they showed that their devices can represent brain-like properties.
Researchers have unveiled a quantum algorithm that could lead to quantum advantage. Using a time-reversal procedure, the algorithm calculated how quantum information spreads through a many-particle system. A classical supercomputer would take 13,000 times longer.
Time-Reversal Computation Offers Pathway to Practical Quantum Advantage
A quantum algorithm that can simulate a temporal interference effect delivers a performance advantage that has the potential to benefit real-world applications.
physics.aps.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Researchers have unveiled a quantum algorithm that could lead to quantum advantage. Using a time-reversal procedure, the algorithm calculated how quantum information spreads through a many-particle system. A classical supercomputer would take 13,000 times longer.
For quantum key distribution to be practical and affordable on a large scale, it needs to run on optical-fiber networks that already carry classical information. Researchers have now done that over a distance of 120 km using continuous-variable quantum key distribution.
Secure Quantum Communication Breaks Distance Record
Data protected by quantum physics have been sent alongside classical data through 120 km of optical fiber.
physics.aps.org
October 29, 2025 at 6:11 PM
For quantum key distribution to be practical and affordable on a large scale, it needs to run on optical-fiber networks that already carry classical information. Researchers have now done that over a distance of 120 km using continuous-variable quantum key distribution.