Using a combination of light-bending techniques, researchers have demonstrated a light beam that accelerates in a curved space.

A tunable multimode optical cavity modifies interactions between atomic condensates trapped in its interior from long range to short range, paving the way towards exploring novel collective quantum phenomena.

The preparation of particular quantum states will be essential to future quantum computers, and one approach is to manipulate electrons and their interactions. A new analysis provides rigorous preparation procedures for metallic states in one and two dimensions.

A new theoretical framework provides a unified picture for describing fluid polyamorphism (the existence of different condensed amorphous states in a single-component fluid) independently of the underlying molecular organization, and it provides new insights into a broad range of similar states.

Multiferroic materials could provide a low-energy approach to magnetic data storage. However, one of the most promising physical mechanisms giving rise to multiferroism—spiral magnetic order—usually appears way below room temperature. New simulations and calculations show a way to stabilize this magnetic order at relatively high temperatures in the multiferroic compound YBaFeCuO${}_5$.

Two tools show great promise in approximating low-temperature, condensed-matter systems: Tensor-network states and artificial neural networks. A new analysis builds a bridge between these techniques, opening the way to a host of powerful approaches to understanding complex quantum systems.

The optoelectronic properties of van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) made of two-dimensional materials depend on charge and energy transfer across their atomically thin layers. However, these competing processes remain poorly understood. A new experimental study of a model vdWH reveals details of these dynamics that will be essential for future designs of devices based on vdWHs.

New experiments find strong evidence for a universal mechanism underlying charge density waves in high-temperature cuprate superconductors, shedding light on a two-decade-old mystery about the electronic state from which high-temperature superconductivity arises.

A new theoretical analysis extends the framework of Dirac materials (materials such as graphene with massless fermions) to encompass substances containing short-range interacting bosons. Applying this analysis to the ferromagnetic chromium trihalides reveals qualitative differences between the graphene-like bosonic and fermionic materials.

The iron-based superconductor EuFe${}_2$As${}_2$ behaves unexpectedly when exposed to an external magnetic field, which hampers efforts to explore the physics of these compounds. A new analysis offers a theoretical model that explains all the observations.

A new unified theory of spin liquids offers insight into the relationship between magnetism and high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates.

Micro- and nanoscale lasers that display superthermal intensity fluctuations could lead to novel applications in quantum information processing and imaging techniques. Experiments demonstrate a new method for generating superthermal light using a bimodal semiconductor nanolaser.

New experiments and calculations fully characterize the Fermi surface of a parent compound of a class of iron-based superconductors known as 1111-type iron arsenides, revealing details about the electron population and opening avenues for broader explorations of the physics of Dirac fermions.

A new technique for quantifying nonclassicality helps to identify the boundary between classical and quantum behavior in state discrimination protocols, which may lead to practical advantages for quantum information processing.

New experiments on molecules trapped in an ultrasmall optical cavity reveal details of how molecular bonds interact with light and how this can eventually lead to their ultimate breaking, potentially providing access to new regimes of optical chemistry.

Rogue waves, which are large, unexpected, and often catastrophic, occur in environments as diverse as ocean waves and optics, but their origin remains a mystery. New experiments and simulations with optical waveguides reveal a novel linear mechanism for their formation in the form of weak successive backscattering.

Quantum communication requires the ability for network nodes to send and receive photons as well as process quantum information. New experiments demonstrate just such a quantum gate, realized by two neutral atoms coupled by an optical photon.

A new generalization of Crooks fluctuation theorem, which describes randomness in thermodynamic work, incorporates both thermal and quantum phenomena—a key step in understanding the dynamics of single molecules and atoms.

Experimentalists have used ultraintense laser light to explore a fundamental problem in quantum electrodynamics: the response of an accelerated electron to the radiation it emits.

Excited-state energies of the hydrogen molecule have been calculated using a two-qubit quantum computer.

Turbulence is a highly debated topic and often thought to be unsolvable, especially for compressible fluids. A new analysis shows that work by Lars Onsager in the 1940s is applicable to this problem, shedding light on the physics of dissipative anomalies in a compressible fluid. (Image credit: NASA and ESA; Acknowledgment: J. Hester (ASU) and M. Weisskopf (NASA/MSFC))

A new theoretical analysis combines a decades-old exact approach to turbulence with Einstein’s theory of relativity to develop a framework for turbulence in relativistic fluids, such as those found near supermassive black holes or even in the gravitational field itself. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al.; Submillimeter: MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.; Optical: ESO/WFI)

The concept of universality allows physicists to construct descriptions of systems that are independent of the precise underlying details. New theoretical work extends this to systems composed of bosonic particles, finding that in at least one case there are universal features that are model independent.

A new theoretical analysis shows how to greatly improve upon the computational requirements of modeling extreme rare events in complex systems by implementing a quantum algorithm for rare-event sampling.

A new theoretical analysis offers a way to explain a particular type of transition, where massless Dirac fermions become massive as a result of interactions (known as the symmetric mass generation), which underlies changes in electrical properties of certain semimetals and semiconductors.

The Fermi surface is the defining characteristic of a metal. A new analysis lays out a proposal for extracting information about the wave function of the electrons on this surface.

New experiments reveal how droplets grow and stabilize when liquids phase separate in a polymer matrix, opening a path to novel engineered microstructures and a better understanding of phase separation in biological systems.

A new theoretical analysis provides a classification for the pairing states of spin-3/2 quasiparticles in bismuth-based half-Heusler materials, which show signatures of unconventional and possibly topological superconductivity.

A new imaging technique achieves a significant leap in the capabilities of nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging, pushing traditional MRI into the realm of complex biomolecule studies.

A new theoretical analysis shows how the dynamical Casimir effect—where an oscillating mirror turns virtual photons into real ones—can be directly observed in cavity optomechanical systems.

Quantum simulation can provide insight into physical systems that are too complex for traditional computing techniques. A new proposal describes how a quantum simulator could be realized using laser-trapped circular Rydberg atoms, whose long lifetimes and stability are beneficial for simulations lasting up to seconds.

A new theoretical framework extends the fluctuation theorems of statistical mechanics to the realm of quantum field theory, paving the way for applying these theorems to a wide range of new phenomena.

Origami structures can potentially lead to the development of self-assembling devices, and understanding the many ways that such a structure can end up in an undesired configuration is essential to that goal. New theoretical work analyzes an origami structure composed of triangles and characterizes the various ways it can unfold.

Mixed states in quantum systems often present a hurdle to identifying topological properties. A theoretical analysis identifies a new physical observable, the “ensemble geometric phase,” which can probe the topology of such systems.

A new metasurface design offers a simple, practical approach to redirecting electromagnetic waves in an arbitrary manner with near perfect power efficiency over a wide range of angles and frequencies.

A scanning tunneling microscope might detect unambiguous signatures of anyons in graphene.

A quantum simulator made of two trapped-ion qubits can model quantum effects occurring during energy-transfer processes in molecules.

Conformal crystals, arrangements of interacting particles subject to an external field, appear in many contexts but are not well understood. Establishing a projection from these inhomogeneous crystals to homogeneous crystals on curved surfaces, however, reveals new patterns in these materials.

Crystalline topological phases are phases of matter described by the interaction between quantum entanglement within a solid and the crystal symmetries that are present. A new analysis offers, for the first time, a systematic theoretical framework for describing these phases.

A new theoretical analysis reveals hidden structural order driving the dynamics of glass-forming liquids, which indicates that the long-debated glass transition is thermodynamic in nature.

A new nanothermometer design that uses nitrogen vacancy centers in nanodiamonds and a magnetic nanoparticle improves on the sensitivity of similar devices by 1 order of magnitude over a wide range of working temperatures. The experiment also observes the phase transition of a single magnetic particle the first time.

Rapid temperature pulses can increase the capacitance of cell membranes (a key mechanism in techniques for restoring neural function), but the underlying biophysics is not well understood. A new predictive model shows that tiny changes in membrane dimensions, mediated by temperature fluctuations, are responsible.

A proposed quantum algorithm for simulating the electronic structure of materials improves on the efficiency of current approaches, offering a path towards demonstrating quantum supremacy in physical applications.

An experimental investigation shows how multielectron quantum dots could function as mediators of information in larger scale quantum computers and give rise to novel computational functionality.

A new theoretical formalism casts the dynamics of holes in high-temperature superconductors in terms similar to those of mesons, setting the stage for simplified descriptions of these exotic materials.

A new theoretical framework describes the dynamics of causal structures in quantum mechanics and finds that a scenario where the order of events is definite cannot transform into one where the order of events is not well defined, and vice versa, if the dynamics is continuous and reversible.

X-ray scattering experiments reveal the intricate electronic nature of the Mott-insulating phase of Ca${}_2$RuO${}_4$.

A new theoretical analysis of anistropic semimetals could lead to a better understanding of how conflicting behaviors such as superconductivity and antiferromagnetism arise in condensed-matter systems.

Studying particles sliding over a 2D potential lattice, researchers have observed a phase transition between a frictional regime and a frictionless, “superlubric” regime.

Experiments and simulations demonstrate local control over quantum-coherent transport by creating an insulating phase of ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional quantum wire, providing a novel test bed for nonequilibrium many-body physics.

A new mathematical analysis uncovers a new class of topological phases in systems of interacting fermions, which could lead to a better understanding of materials in which the electrons are strongly correlated.

A new analysis presents a complete classification scheme for symmetry-protected topological phases in three-dimensional systems of interacting fermions, extending previous work in classifying such phases in bosonic matter.