Physics Magazine

Using experiments and theory, researchers found a new mechanism for how microtubules — strands of essential protein polymers — bundle together via condensate-mediated capillary forces alone. Read the focus article: https://go.aps.org/4kdnhyc

When a molecular “lock” evolves, does its “key” still work? Researchers show how “promiscuous” interactions — having many keys that can open the same lock — allow an evolving molecular network to reorganize but retain its function. Read the viewpoint: https://go.aps.org/4if8DUr

By measuring repeated collisions between a pair of levitated particles, researchers found that triboelectric charging follows a universal pattern over longer times — insights that could improve models of charging in real-world phenomena. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4kery4l

In an iron-based superconductor, researchers identified a plateau in conductance at zero voltage associated with edge currents in the material — a hint of topological superconductivity that could offer a new way to probe candidate materials. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4juKP1f

Researchers used ultrasound to perturb UTe2’s superconductivity and measure its mechanical properties. Under high pressure, a second superconducting phase had strong supercurrent fluctuations — a hallmark of unconventional superconductivity. Learn more: https://go.aps.org/4hWOnYZ

The first experimental demonstration of a one-positron quantum cyclotron — one that can store an individual positron while manipulating its quantized cyclotron and spin states — offers a step towards more precise tests of CPT symmetry. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4zKw9zR

Researchers have developed a method that allows quantum gas microscopes to simultaneously observe both an atom’s position and its momentum — creating snapshots that could reveal features invisible to position-only microscopes. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4jyQVh4

Electrons in flat bands can theoretically manifest exotic, many-electron states. Now, with an artificial lattice of iron atoms on a substrate of silver, researchers provide a new way to realize these bands and make their physics more accessible. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4dQCW2y

⚛️ Using two cooling techniques, researchers trapped about 4,000 cesium atoms — 6 times more than the conventional method — beside an optical nanofiber and kept them there for 5 times longer. Read the paper in PRX Quantum: https://go.aps.org/4hYMcCL

Using an ultrafast optical method, researchers found that nanometer-scale polarized regions form before the macroscopic ferroelectric phase — offering new clues into the origin of bulk polarization in quantum ferroelectric materials. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4s0T9b7

By analyzing what happens when delayed IR pulse probes are prepared in a squeezed-vacuum state, researchers find that the statistics of quantum light can be imprinted on electrons — offering a sensitive way to probe them. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4zvEYNJ

Researchers find that every major derivation of the Born rule relies on a probabilistic assumption — casting doubt on the existence of a nonprobabilistic origin for quantum probabilities. Read the viewpoint: https://go.aps.org/4yMaJ5g

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes the vision behind the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which turned a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice into the world’s largest neutrino detector. Read about how it launched the field of neutrino astronomy: https://go.aps.org/3TTL6Ae

Using bright squeezed vacuum to knock electrons out of xenon atoms, researchers found the light’s photon-number fluctuations were imprinted onto the electrons — offering a tool to probe and control electron motion. See what the researchers found: https://go.aps.org/4zilnkb

Pairing superconducting qubits with microwave cavities could reduce the hardware requirements for quantum simulations of fundamental physics. See how this hybrid approach works: https://go.aps.org/3UbRkvC

“There’s just as much wow on the inside.” @mit.edu researchers Julian Klein and Frances Ross used electron beams to reposition atoms inside a chromium sulfur bromide crystal with picometer-scale precision. Learn more about their work: https://go.aps.org/3W8Wd9a

A simplified model of the heart’s mitral valve shows that flow fluctuations — which are often treated as unwanted noise — can help a soft valve close with about 10% of the pressure needed under a steady flow. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4jGouxH

Our snapshot series features stunning images from across #physics — like this one of gold nanostructures. These structures change shape depending on how they are imaged. Learn more: https://go.aps.org/4j2SbJ3

A new technique for spinning — the process of generating solid fibers from a liquid jet — makes it easier to model and control than current methods. Learn more about how the method could reduce trial and error in industrial manufacturing: https://go.aps.org/4hCKuqv

Why does nanoconfined water have strong dielectric anisotropy and enhanced in-plane proton conductivity? A proposed microscopic mechanism could be the answer. Learn more about it: https://go.aps.org/4yrOPE9

By placing rubidium atoms in a 1D optical lattice and tuning the lattice’s potential energy, researchers simulated false vacuum decay. See what they observed: https://go.aps.org/4z3Agqj

The 2025 discovery of a phonon thermal Hall effect in common semiconductors upended long-held assumptions in condensed matter #physics. Now, scientists are trying to understand its origins. See how these efforts might revive other scientific cold cases: https://go.aps.org/4juux8r

Intense lasers can damage delicate molecular samples and complicate measurements. A new approach uses pairs of entangled photons instead to gently probe how a molecule’s environment impacts its ultrafast dynamics. Read the synopsis: https://go.aps.org/4ABfhwF

A new study in @physrevx.aps.org reveals vortex-like skyrmions hiding in 2D quasicrystalline wave patterns. Read the synopsis for more: https://go.aps.org/4xRj4DA

New research suggests that a common method for predicting the behavior of systems with multiscale dynamics — like climate and ecosystems — might be misleading. Read the viewpoint to learn how: https://go.aps.org/4AAO9On

New research suggests the gallium anomaly, a decades-old mismatch between neutrino experiments and theory, could be solved not by new physics, but by a more rigorous approach to calculate the electron-neutrino capture rate. Read the Synopsis: https://go.aps.org/3T2BFhN

Scientists reveal the first known observation of time-reversal symmetry breaking in the type-I superconductor ytterbium diantimonide. Learn more about the discovery and what it could mean for topological superconductivity: https://go.aps.org/46Kw5DR

How do you confirm your excitons formed a real Bose-Einstein condensate, and not just a crowd that looks like one? A synopsis covers a proposed test that could finally tell the difference: https://go.aps.org/4xDOHAg

Using a crystal made out of organic magnetic molecules to explore the S = 1 Haldane chain’s unusual properties, physicists have mapped its phase diagram for the first time, confirming decades-old theoretical predictions. Read the synopsis: https://go.aps.org/4AtoTtc

🌀 A tabletop experiment that uses a classical water vortex provides the first direct observation of Kelvin-wave turbulence, confirming a decades-old theory of how turbulence decays in quantum fluids. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4yGa4So

New experiments show that foams made from carbon nanotubes have perfect “memory” — they return to their original shape after being compressed, regardless of compression speed. The material could be used to design smarter helmets. Read the story: https://go.aps.org/4dlAmRO

Researchers working on the P3 experiment have produced their first positron beam using a magnet made from high-temperature superconductors. Here's what it could mean for future particle colliders: https://go.aps.org/4xCkqSC

A lab-based quantum sensor could measure frame dragging — a phenomenon where Earth's spin twists spacetime — in seconds. It uses ultracold superfluid helium and could match satellite-level precision without leaving the ground. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4yDFRU3

A step toward a quantum internet: Researchers built a memory device that holds a single photon's quantum state for 180 microseconds — long enough to synchronize network nodes 30 kilometers apart, using pulses of radio waves to shield it from noise. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4yD7PPP

In conventional ferromagnets, demagnetization slows down near a phase transition, but a weak ferromagnet does the opposite: Heat, light, or magnetic fields speed up its demagnetization. The results are promising for faster spintronic devices. Read more: https://go.aps.org/46rIVa2

Researchers quantified the trade-off between speed and reliability in quantum batteries, finding that increasing charging rate leads to unavoidable fluctuations in the total energy stored. They also identified an architecture that optimizes for both. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4j4DUvh

Cells can't see their own hidden chemistry, but new work shows they can still optimize balance information gained against energy spent in biochemical sensing using only what they can observe. Read the viewpoint: https://go.aps.org/46WYnLm

New research shows humans and #ArtificialIntelligence approach chess strategy differently: humans simplify the board more quickly, while #AI engines remain comfortable in tangled, high-tension positions much longer. Read the focus: https://go.aps.org/4xegh6Z

Chaotic quantum systems may carry a permanent birthmark of their starting state. Theorists show the odds of returning to its origin increased by a factor of two compared to any other state — forever. Read the viewpoint: https://go.aps.org/3VmxFZY

A crystal with special geometric properties can emit light in any polarization just by tuning a laser with two light fields. The method uses quantum geometry and works on femtosecond timescales. Read the synopsis: https://go.aps.org/4xIHb85

By crushing and heating ultrapure water between diamond anvils, scientists confirm a predicted hexagonal close-packed phase of superionic ice. The results could have implications for modelling ice giants like Uranus and Neptune. 🪐 Read the synopsis: https://go.aps.org/3VkKN1K

A coordinated flock doesn't always stay coordinated. When two groups follow conflicting rules — one aligning, the other antialigning — the flock can spontaneously rotate. But beyond a certain size, that coherent motion breaks down into chaos. Read more: https://go.aps.org/4hf71Lc

Why do stars other than the sun rarely show coronal mass ejections? An experiment recreated stellar plasma ejections and found that strong magnetic fields can suppress them, offering evidence for a long-standing theory. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4zXnQlc

🧪 A new asymmetric interface turns platinum into a quantum filter for spin currents, producing the orientations needed for field-free magnetic bit switching. Read the Synopsis: https://go.aps.org/4x8Vf9Z

As air passes through a wind farm, it leaves a wake of sluggish wind behind it. But new simulations show radiative cooling in clouds can drive turbulence that helps cut that wake’s length nearly in half. Read the synopsis: https://go.aps.org/4x8N39v

A proposed neutrino laser hits a wall: two new studies show quantum mechanics prevent the superradiance needed to make it work. Read the viewpoint: https://go.aps.org/4h5RZY3

Why does the superhydride LaSc₂H₂₄ outperform every other high-pressure, high-remperature superconductor? It turns out that its scandium atoms modify the electronic structure, bridging a split in the superconducting gap that limits its rival LaH₁₀. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/4xx3ePf

AI chatbots are learning to "speak" #physics: one model's score on exam-style physics tests jumped from 64% to 90% in a year. Another predicted the properties of the top quark in under an hour from pre-1990 data — years before it was observed. 🔗 https://go.aps.org/3Urd9Y0

#ICYMI: Researchers implemented a quantum neural network on two different platforms: trapped ions and superconducting qubits. The work helps establish whether trainable models can make use of superposition and other quantum effects: https://go.aps.org/3TuQiKn

#ICYMI: The collective behavior of neuron networks seems governed by just a few variables, suggesting mean-field theory applies. Researchers found simple versions fail, but an extended version successfully captures real neural activity patterns: https://go.aps.org/4vIiqYS