Nominally identical quantum devices can display different current behaviors at the same voltage settings. A machine learning–based analysis reveals hidden features of material imperfections that lead to such behavior.

Using a soap bubble, researchers have created a laser that could act as a sensitive sensor for environmental parameters including atmospheric pressure.

An error-correction method for large-scale neutral atom quantum simulators using optical lattices can distinguish correlated particle-hole pairs from uncorrelated holes in the Mott insulator.

Optical spectroscopy of a transition metal dichalcogenide moiré semiconductor in the quantum anomalous Hall state reveals a surprising valley-coherent state, suggesting the need for a new theoretical mechanism for this effect.

A reassessment of the ground state of a quantum spin liquid candidate suggests the state is sensitive to imperceptible change in chemical composition, an insight that could help in tuning the system to exotic, quantum-disordered phases.

A more efficient use of the atoms in a strontium optical lattice atomic clock reduces the measured instability by up to a factor of 2 compared to the standard approach.

Researchers have demonstrated an unprecedentedly low-frequency superconducting “fluxonium” qubit, which could facilitate experiments that probe macroscopic quantum phenomena.

Experiments and simulations show that growth in living organisms easily leads to entanglement between their filamentous, branching structures.

A new framework for approximate evaluation, or contraction, of a tensor network greatly expands the range of problems in quantum physics and computer science that may be accurately approximated by tensor network methods.

An exact algorithm to calculate process tensors—compact representations of environmental influences—provides a scaling advantage over previous algorithms and enables tackling problems in open quantum systems that are currently out of reach.

A new photon-number amplification scheme, which combines the advantages of a single-photon detector and a power meter, could lead to new photon-detection possibilities in quantum-sensing and quantum-computing applications.

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.

Quantum $t$-designs—ensembles of states that mimic uniform averaging—for infinite-dimensional spaces do not exist, but an alternative “rigged $t$-design” is possible.

Identification of a large class of Hamiltonians that are easy to solve on quantum computers but difficult on classical ones provides a possible path to practical quantum advantage in the simulation of quantum systems.

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.

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.

Researchers have measured short-timescale fluctuations in metastable systems, uncovering information about failed attempts to cross the barriers that define the metastable state.

A new method for studying nondiffusive electron flow, based on microwave spectroscopy, reveals clear signs of ballistic flow in the ultrapure material PdCoO${}_2$ as well as novel anisotropic electron motion.

The recently discovered class of unconventional antiferromagnets called altermagnets has a ferroic order parameter, the magnetic octupole, and the related order breaks time-reversal symmetry

Synchronized bursts of light observed in a system where each atom emits light only to the right and absorbs light only coming from the left show that atoms can synchronize their emission without having to interact symmetrically.

Achieving realistic subthreshold variability in a biophysical neuronal model requires low-level synchrony in its synaptic input drive, a finding that challenges current theories to explain spiking activity in cortical neurons.

Surprising charge transport signatures in thin films of SrRuO${}_3$ suggest that current rectification effects could be a useful probe for surface states and edge states in topological materials.

High-precision measurements of the absolute frequency of a forbidden optical transition in ytterbium sets the stage for a new clock standard and investigations into fundamental physics.

A novel description of black-hole microstates as quantum superpositions of objects with geometric semiclassical descriptions explains the origin of black-hole entropy.

A new approach to constructing quantum spin Hamiltonians in a neutral-atom quantum simulator reveals never-before-seen phenomena in magnon bound states.

A proposed multimode optical cavity capable of realizing a quantum spin glass offers a practicable platform for developing a comprehensive understanding of such systems.

A model of epithelial cell monolayers helps reveal how the interplay between globally external shear and locally internal activity determines the emergent mechanical properties of a biological tissue as a whole.

Collisions of heavy ions briefly produced a magnetic field 10${}^{18}$ times stronger than Earth’s, and it left observable effects.

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.

Most studies of quantum Hall droplets—2D electron fluids in strong magnetic fields—focus on isotropic cases. A first-principles analysis predicts behaviors of anisotropic droplets and proposes experimental signatures.

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.

Shortcuts to adiabaticity provide fast protocols for quantum state preparation. A new way to construct the auxiliary controls for guiding the system’s dynamics boosts their application to many-body systems.

Correlation spectroscopy, where multiple qubits exposed to the same noise are probed simultaneously, extends the possible probe time beyond single-particle coherence.

Experiments demonstrate some of the unusual features of molecular reactions that occur in the deep cold of interstellar space.

Compressive yielding of a colloidal gel induces a unique state, independent of strain history, suggesting the microstructures of gels possess an inherent ability to self-organize.

Terahertz responses of a cuprate after laser excitation reveal that the response along the CuO${}_2$ planes is not consistent with superconductivity, thereby providing clarification on recent reports of transient, light-induced superconductivity.

An analytical framework describing ecosystems in which species interactions drive large population fluctuations provides a way to address fundamental questions about this dynamical state.

A new model refines an optical microscopy technique, allowing for micrometer-scale discrimination of key protein types and their organization in mammalian biological tissues.

A novel design for micromechanical devices, based on patterning thin-film membranes, provides exceptionally low mechanical friction.

Researchers have measured a zero-resistance state for the nickelate La${}_3$Ni${}_2$O${}_7$, which measurements suggest may superconduct at temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.

A method for treating lattice dynamics in a magnetic crystal on an equal footing with spin dynamics opens the door to systematic investigations of vibrational modes in a wide variety of magnetic systems.

The motions within the molecule provide a new way to compare the structures and functions of similar proteins.

An increase in crystalline symmetry upon cooling is rare. But experiments show a new example of the phenomenon in the magnetic kagome metal FeGe.

In a crystalline solid under mechanical stress, pinned defect lines can repeatedly bow and detach, generating concentric loops. New work shows that this behavior can also occur in nematic liquid crystals.

Introducing defects into the layered honeycomb magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ induces low-energy excitation that have properties akin to Majorana fermions, a key insight to understanding the influence of disorder on Kitaev materials.

The emergence of an excitonic insulator state—in which bound pairs of electrons and holes condense at low temperature—with only minimal distortions of the atomic lattice rules out such distortions as the origin of this exotic quantum state.

A new material hosts clean excitonic states—excitations of electron-hole pairs—thus providing a powerful platform for studying the novel physics of these excitations.

The creation and movement of excitons, or bound electron-hole pairs, in a quantum dot array establishes a potential platform for future studies of a wide range of excitonic phenomena.

Dynamical evolutions of squeezed states provide an effective means to engineer quantum correlations in tunnel-coupled condensates.

An innovative approach for analyzing complex systems sets the stage for a detailed understanding of the directions and strengths of pairwise and higher-order interactions in many fields ranging from neuroscience to finance to ecology.

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.

An analysis of relationships between topology, quantum geometry, and optical absorption reveals an upper bound on the energy gap of topological insulators.

X-ray magnetic-scattering experiments reveal never-before-seen spontaneous chirality flipping in the electronic order of the topological semimetal EuAl${}_4$.

The fracture properties of elastomers depend on sample thickness because of the surprisingly three-dimensional nature of the fracture process.

A new method for fast entangling operations on quantum states does so 100 times faster than previous approaches and requires only a single control element, offering a fast control platform for quantum information processing.

A novel microresonator design greatly enhances the coupling between light and mechanical vibrations, allowing for much more compact and efficient optical control of acoustic phonons in optomechanical devices.

In some topological states of matter, a surface-bulk connection called spectral flow underpins many of the material’s unusual properties. A new analysis, however, shows that most 3D topological phases do not actually possess spectral flow.

A formalism for computing nonlinear conductivities in quantum materials extends existing theoretical work to include spatially varying currents and voltage profiles.

Rigorous analysis of the finite-size error in quantum chemistry methods for periodic systems toward the thermodynamic limit reveals surprising theoretical properties.