Domain walls separating regions of opposite polarity in ferroelectric materials are mechanically softer than the domains they separate, a result that extends the distinct physics of domain walls to their mechanical properties.

Calculations indicate that recently discovered superconductivity in Sr-doped NdNiO${}_2$ has a multiorbital electronic structure, making it unlike the superconductivity found in cuprates and instead based on a novel mechanism.

New theoretical work explores how the superconducting state in monolayer NbSe${}_2$ remains robust in large magnetic fields and sets the stage for further studies of similar Ising superconductivity in other materials.

Analysis of fluctuations in molecular fragmentation patterns reveals the structure and decomposition pathways of large, complex biomolecules.

A technique for creating high-spin molecules with electric and magnetic dipole moments offers a platform for exploring ultracold dipolar matter and its many potential applications in quantum science.

Infrared transmission measurements reveal the collective excitations of correlated electrons in a pristine sample of graphene and the evolution from one underlying electronic ground state to another.

New methods for producing topological order in a material could do so under more relaxed conditions than is typically required, which could help in the development of fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Under high pressure, the insulating compound CsFe${}_{4-x}$Se${}_4$ turns into an unconventional superconductor, suggesting this system is a good one for exploring deviations from traditional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity.

Nonreciprocal interactions among different particle species in active matter can lead to large-scale complex oscillatory patterns, according to a new model of such systems.

A new method for identifying spin arrangements leads to the discovery of a novel spin system—a spin quintet—in a pair of silicon quantum dots, a promising testbed for studying high-spin systems.

Fully understanding the phase mismatch in radiating atoms participating in high-harmonic generation is essential for generating attosecond pulses at x-ray energies and beyond.

A new theoretical description of identical particle entanglement frames it as a useful quantum resource in frequently encountered real-world experimental settings and not just a mathematical quirk.

Circularly polarized light could be used to induce and detect topological states in graphene, a long-sought goal for studying the interplay between these two powerful platforms for investigations of quantum effects.

Unconventional pairing of electrons in iron-based superconductors could provide a new class of topological superconductivity, a family of materials highly sought after for realizing robust quantum computation.

A new analysis examines how increasing the amount of charge in high-energy wakefield electron accelerators influences the acceleration itself, an essential understanding for next-generation facilities.

In a viscous fluid, a line of spheres and a line of small disks settle to the bottom in very different ways, according to new theory and experiments that shed light on natural sedimentation processes.

A new probe of quantum chaos is orders of magnitude more sensitive than standard measures and can extract information about the nontrivial dynamics close to nonchaotic regimes.

A quantum code that is covariant with respect to a continuous symmetry can approximately correct the loss of a “letter” in that code, circumventing earlier no-go theorems in certain regimes.

The application of Raman spectroscopy to a Fermi gas reveals that particle aggregates—called polarons—disappear gradually, defying expectation.

The rate at which a many-body quantum system is measured can induce a transition between a state that remembers initial conditions and one that forgets, possibly leading to new types of quantum error-correcting codes.

A mathematical analysis reveals the existence of a novel type of non-Fermi liquid, an exotic metallic state governed by strong interactions between conduction electrons and a multipolar (ion) impurity.

An analysis of cell-ligand interactions from a statistical mechanics perspective shows cells act as effective force-field generators, actively organizing their environment.

New extensions of a common technique for approximating strongly correlated quantum systems provides unprecedented accuracy in describing aspects of electron behavior in a large lattice of interacting electrons.

By relating correlations between a quantum system and its environment to an uncorrelated description of the whole system, a new analytical technique provides a powerful tool for tracking correlations in open quantum system dynamics.

A new platform enables controlled interactions between light and qubits while preserving their fragile quantum properties, thus providing a new path toward a quantum modem that could connect to a future quantum internet.

A new representation of the quantum wave function statistically infers the state based on knowledge of a subset of possible classical configurations, a key step for accurately simulating many-body quantum systems.

A proposed mechanism for controlling the phase of matter harnesses the vacuum quantum fluctuations of light to induce superradiant-type transitions without an external drive source.

Experiments show that dark solitons in a quantum fluid of polariton quasiparticles can bind together to form a soliton “molecule,” contrary to experiments on other quantum fluids.

Calculations of heat transfer properties in 37 binary cubic compounds pave the way for better thermal management design in microelectronics and energy-conversion devices.

A new method for compression of quantum computing algorithms, based on ZX-calculus, greatly reduces the resources required to realize fault-tolerant quantum circuits.

The unusual properties of systems intermediate between normal metals and ionic conductors relate to topological features of the electronic ground state, leading to new insights into anomalous charge transport in electrolytes.

Simulations show that molecular diffusion on 2D biological surfaces can lead to reaction rates that depend nontrivially on concentrations, an insight with profound impacts on the stability of certain biomolecular systems.

A new model helps clarify the limits of pandemic predictions, which are notoriously difficult for the near future and impossible for longer timescales.

A new approach to atomic simulations combines two families of enhanced sampling to create a simpler protocol that leads to computations that are more robust and reliable.

A new analysis explores to what extent Noether’s theorem—relating conservation laws to symmetries—holds in open quantum systems and how it relates to physically impossible processes.

A new theoretical framework for describing the dynamics of proteins diffusing and interacting in cells provides a way to understand the emergence of self-organized patterns that control cell and tissue functions.

Experiments show that an optical approach to neural network implementation can solve complex problems in predicting large chaotic systems, a promising step in the quest to scale up artificial neural networks.

Classical computers can efficiently simulate the behavior of quantum computers if the quantum computer is imperfect enough.

Microscopic simulations demonstrate how to optically prepare and coherently control temporal oscillations due to quantum superpositions in a gas of excitons (bound electron-hole pairs).

Using a tree tensor network, a data structure developed to study many-body quantum systems on a lattice, a new analysis provides a tractable description of low-energy behavior of 2D quantum electrodynamics including matter.

High photocurrent generated by terahertz radiation impinging on topological semimetals derives from profound quantum-mechanical properties of these materials.

Social media interactions with friends and political campaigns can lead to the emergence of polarized echo chambers of thought.

Predicting interactions between molecules and photons is now possible with a new model that combines quantum electrodynamics and a widely used formalism from quantum chemistry.

A new model for analyzing structured datasets can provide insights into how data structure impacts machine learning in deep neural networks.

Experiments with mechano-fluorescent molecules reveal that the number of broken bonds needed to grow a crack in rubbery elastomers depends strongly on molecular friction, which could aid the design of fracture-resistant materials.

Noise from temperature fluctuations may limit the performance of small optical cavities in quantum computing applications.

New calculations settle a debate about the importance of single-orbital versus multiorbital models in describing the electronic structure of recently discovered nickel oxide superconductors.

An experimental demonstration of a source-device-independent optical quantum random number generator—with utility in a broad range of applications—produces in real-time composably secure random numbers at a rate of 8.05 Gb/s, the fastest yet reported.

A new paradigm for separating what is inherently quantum from what is classical relies solely on observable quantities and makes it possible to identify the mechanisms leading to nonclassicality in a wide range of situations.

New simulations of plasma turbulence reveal conditions under which ions or electrons in the plasma are preferentially heated, which can inform studies of the solar wind and astrophysical accretion disks.

A new method for controlling certain quantum bits offers fast operation of a novel composite qubit that boosts coherence times and immunity to noise, all of which could lead to improved quantum computing performance.

A new way of matching the ticks of an optical oscillator to the quantum states of an atom relies on nondestructive measurements that could greatly improve the precision of atomic clocks.

Quantum simulations show that bosonization—bosonlike behavior emerging from an ensemble of fermions—can occur in 3D systems, a hypothesis that until now has been unresolved.

A novel type of thermometer provides a simple, fast, and accurate means to monitor the temperature of propagating microwave modes, providing a benchmarking tool for quantum computing and enabling experiments in quantum thermodynamics.

A new model tailored to describe the spread of COVID-19 provides an analytic expression for the effective reproduction number $R$ in terms of various containment attempts, a key parameter in slowing the spread of the virus.

Intense x-ray pulses provide the first investigation of the fleeting electronic structure of a neon atom right after it has absorbed an x-ray photon, setting the stage for future studies of transient states of matter.

A new model shows how electron fractionalization can mediate a change in a material’s Fermi surface without breaking translational symmetry, thus shedding light on recent puzzling experimental observations.

A proposal describes a new way to search for experimental signatures of anyons, a third class of quantum particles beyond fermions and bosons with properties highly sought after for quantum computing.

Close coupling between spins and phonons in a magnetic insulator underlie a thermal version of the Hall effect, insight that sheds light on this novel behavior and could lead to magnetic control of thermal currents.

A new theoretical study shows that recently realized topological lasers offer competitive coherence compared to standard lasers as well as improved resilience to structural defects.

Experiments determine the magnetic moment of a short-lived nucleus with parts-per-million accuracy, an improvement by several orders of magnitude thanks to a $\beta$-NMR setup at CERN.

Unusual changes in electrical resistance in an iron-based superconductor arise from magnetic fluctuations that dissipate the momenta of charge carriers, according to new experimental data and theoretical analysis.

A study of charge transport in magnetic topological insulators reveals two distinct ground states in the quantum anomalous Hall effect, thus showing rich physics unique to this exotic phase.

Spatially shaping a femtosecond laser to produce radially polarized pulses produces an electric field that pushes electrons in vacuum to relativistic speeds in the direction of laser propagation.