Accurately measuring extremely small forces is important in many fields of physics, materials science, and engineering. Researchers demonstrate tiny “trampoline’’ mechanical sensors that are exquisitely sensitive to attonewton forces at room temperature.

Modern society is permeated by systems with many numbers of nodes and connections (e.g., rail networks, airports). A theoretical study of the multiplex network consisting of European Union air routes and the London rail transportation system demonstrates the fragility of such a network.

Interactions between atomic ions and valence electrons are fundamental to the properties of all materials. A new investigation visualizes and quantifies electron-lattice interactions in aluminum heated by an infrared laser pulse.

High-temperature superconductivity in cuprates is an ongoing mystery. Scientists show that two electronic phases of the cuprate La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ are in fact separate.

Fault-tolerant topological quantum computation has long been a goal of physicists. A theoretical proposal shows how Majorana zero modes can be used in a universal quantum computer in a manner that avoids precise timing requirements.

An investigation into how lipids diffuse in the presence of varying protein:lipid number ratios reveals that protein crowding results in drastically different lipid and protein diffusion due to the strengthened impact of correlated motion.

Understanding the physics in multiple-state open systems is critical in many fields of physics. A study of an ensemble of connected lossy cavities shows how eigenstates can coalesce to produce new higher-order singularities.

Naturally occurring crystals are classified by spacetime symmetries, and now researchers theoretically expand this classification, with the aim of topologically classifying band insulators.

A mathematical technique for comparing large symbol sets suggests that less frequently used words are mainly responsible for the evolution of the English language over the past two centuries.

Topological insulators combine aspects of metals, semiconductors, and insulators and also show unusual electric properties. A theoretical study reveals that they also exhibit unconventional magnetism as a result of electron transitions normally forbidden by energy conservation.

Understanding metastatic cell escape from tumors and embryonic development requires a detailed understanding of how cells move collectively inside dense tissues. Scientists show that small changes to single-cell behavior can cause tissue to transition between a fluidlike and a solidlike state.

Shining a laser onto a microscopic object coated with a superfluid film induces flows that can generate a controlled force.

Researchers discover a unique topological phase present in a periodically driven, two-dimensional system: All of its bulk Floquet states are localized by disorder while its edges support propagating chiral modes.

Microwave cavities are widely used to control closed few-level systems in the context of quantum information processing. Now, they also appear as a powerful probe for quantum tunneling in hybrid nanocircuits.

Linking the properties of a material’s bulk and surface is often challenging and limited to low-dimensional systems. Now, researchers theoretically demonstrate a bulk-boundary correspondence for a class of three-dimensional insulators, namely symmetry-protected topological phases of matter.

Free-space laser links have been used to synchronize optical clocks with an unprecedented uncertainty of femtoseconds.

Topological edge states are observed inside a large band gap on the surface of ZrTe${}_5$ crystals, paving the way for topological quantum computing devices.

In quantum mechanics, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle prevents the determination of precise, simultaneous measurements of two quantities. A new approach extracts position and momentum information from the same group of entangled photons by dramatically undersampling the system.

The internet is filled with memes that have “gone viral.” A study of meme popularity uses an analytically tractable model that sheds light on the fundamental drivers of meme popularity in social networks.

X-ray photons can be used as unique probes to understand the properties of elementary excitations. A theoretical study demonstrates that a complex x-ray scattering technique captures richer spectral information than simpler two-particle correlation functions in cuprate superconductors.

Collision and transport phenomena are difficult to describe in many dense, strongly interacting laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Now, researchers experimentally study collisional dynamics in dilute plasmas of ${}^{88}$Sr ions barely one degree above absolute zero.

Motors that perform work can be powered by either a chemical fuel or time-dependent changes in their surrounding environment. A theoretical analysis shows that these two classes of motors are thermodynamically equivalent.

Recurrent neuronal networks constitute the biological substrate of high-level brain functions such as memory and reasoning. Researchers use energy-efficient, neurally inspired hardware to show how network heterogeneity affects the dynamics of such systems.

A recently discovered class of two-dimensional semiconductors exhibits a novel degree of freedom known as valley pseudospin. New results show that a weak magnetic field can significantly extend the depolarization time of this pseudospin.

Dilute atomic gases with tunable interactions are tools that can be used to understand many-body physics. Scientists study the interplay between two-body evaporation and three-body recombination in ultracold cesium and lithium gases.

A predicted type of atom-light crystal could host phonon-like excitations, allowing for new ways to simulate the physics of solids.

An impurity and a bath of free bosons can be coupled, which results in the impurity trapping the bosons. Researchers use exact and numerical calculations to parametrize this phenomenon.

Intrinsic noise is unavoidable in quantum devices and represents a hindrance to implementing quantum computation. Despite the presence of noise, a quantum-annealing algorithm that involves quantum tunneling may provide computational advantages over simulated annealing.

Superconductivity is the phenomenon in which, below a certain temperature, a metal loses all resistance to current flow. Using a simple model, theorists show that it is possible to drive a fermionic band insulator into a superconductor.

The Mott metal-to-insulator transition is an important phenomenon in condensed matter physics. Researchers take a direct look at this transition, using ytterbium atoms in an optical lattice to realize an extended-symmetry insulator, to better understand fermionic many-body systems.

Understanding the speed with which a quantum system can evolve between distinguishable states has applications in quantum technology. A new theoretical study demonstrates a general family of quantum speed limits that can be applied to any physical process.

Explaining high-temperature superconductivity relies on understanding the degrees of freedom present in electronic states. A theoretical investigation shows how rotational symmetry can be violated in FeSe.

New simulations of an alternate fusion reactor design reveal that it can be stable against turbulent fluctuations.

Next-generation energy technologies may rely on nanoporous supercapacitors for storing energy. Simulations and theoretical analysis are used to determine how to achieve the highest possible capacitance in supercapacitors.

Intense X-ray free electron laser pulses can completely obliterate molecules, but the process also sheds light on the energetic ions that are created. Researchers experimentally and theoretically investigate how 5-iodouacil responds to x-ray free electron laser radiation.

Evolutionary adaptation is commonly thought of as arising from reproduction. A new thermodynamic perspective on self-organization far from thermal equilibrium links the biological world and other systems governed by the same general physical principles.

Systems of interacting photons are an intriguing arena for studying nonequilibrium many-body physics. Researchers theoretically investigate computational tools to validate experimental data and pave the way for studies using quantum simulators.

The intrinsic electric field that exists in certain classes of materials plays a key role in many fields of electronics. Researchers reveal and correct a shortcoming in the way that the electric polarization has been modeled in a technologically important class of these materials.

Richard Feynman suggested that it takes a quantum computer to simulate large quantum systems, but a new study shows that a classical computer can work when the system has loss and noise.

Entanglement purification, a vital enabler for practical quantum networks, has been shown to be feasible with secluded nuclear memories in diamond.

Current liquid-crystal research will pave the way for next-generation electro-optical displays. Researchers experimentally and theoretically characterize the fluctuation modes of a new phase of liquid crystals.

Solid-state materials are invariably plagued by disorder in real-world experiments. In a numerical study, researchers investigate the semimetal phases of Dirac and Weyl semimetals characterized by disorder.

Hybrid quantum-classical computation may be a hallmark of future technologies. Researchers investigate the tradeoff between employing quantum and classical resources for computational tasks.

A scanning probe detects the quantum states of photons in a microwave circuit, providing the information needed for quantum simulations.