Neutron-scattering experiments probe changes in atomic structure of the multiferroic hexagonal manganite YMnO${}_3$ during its structural phase transition and find signatures of a new type of transition that could explain some of the material’s unusual electric behavior.

A new proposal for characterizing chirality could lead to highly sensitive and extremely accurate ultrafast detection of chiral phenomena even in systems that are only weakly chiral.

A new model of a topological crystalline phase helps resolve important issues regarding how features of topological materials relate to one another and how they are influenced by interactions among electrons.

A new way of probing molecules with handedness involves a light pulse in which the polarization changes in the middle of a single wave cycle.

Experiments reveal the coexistence of a spin-liquid state and ferroelectricity in the antiferromagnet TbInO${}_3$, suggesting that this material may be a strong platform for studying novel edge effects in spin liquids.

A proof of a tighter light cone for quantum systems with long-range interactions sets the stage for new insights into the limits at which information can propagate.

A complex of proteins responsible for packing chromosomes into tight loops during cell division must have additional compacting capabilities not yet seen in experiments, a new model predicts.

Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments reveal how the electronic properties of hydrogen in iron hydride change under extreme pressure, a step toward understanding the onset of high-temperature superconductivity in metal hydrides.

The growth of entanglement in a quantum system changes qualitatively when it is observed more frequently than a certain critical rate, an important insight for describing quantum systems computationally.

Experiments show how a honeycomb lattice of photonic resonators produces exotic photon transport behavior with properties that go beyond those found in existing Dirac materials.

A mathematical tool provides a way to translate descriptions of objects in the language of quantum gravity into the language of purely quantum-mechanical systems without gravity.

A trick that pathogens use against the immune system turns out to be similar to a technique for fooling an image recognition algorithm.

Using tools from quantum information and atomic physics, new experiments show that two quantum systems at the same fixed temperature can give rise to a virtual quantum system at half that temperature.

Liquid crystals doped with live bacteria spontaneously generate a branched arrangement of channels, which could be used to transport particles at microscale.

A new analysis shows how temporal modulation can overcome the size-delay-bandwidth limitation that constrains modern electronic devices, potentially leading to a new wave of ultrasmall high-bandwidth true-time-delay systems.

Computer simulations provide a framework for understanding why mixtures readily crystallize, an important insight for the design of glass-forming materials.

A new model of contagious spreading on temporal networks focuses on the interactions between individuals to derive criteria essential for risk assessment.

A simple mathematical model for bacterial genome evolution provides a universal framework for understanding scaling laws among functional classes of genes.

Normally, the strength of electron-phonon coupling in a crystal decreases when electron density is increased. New experiments show the opposite effect in certain semiconductors due to a reduced effectiveness of electrostatic screening.

A puzzling coexistence of uniformity and diversity in galaxy rotation curves can be explained if dark matter is thermalized in the central regions of these galaxies.

A new mathematical analysis shows that multilayer graphene hosts topological flat bands and orbital ferromagnetism, both of which contribute to exotic electrical transport and optical properties.

Researchers entangle a pair of light-emitting atoms in a micrometer-scale device, which could potentially be useful for quantum communication and cryptography.

Experiments demonstrate down-conversion of an optical clock signal to terahertz frequencies using a Kerr-microresonator frequency comb, a technology that permits chip-scale, potentially cost-effective fabrication.

The nested configuration of mutually beneficial interactions among species in real ecosystems arises from the number of interactions of each species, a potentially useful insight for understanding the scale at which natural selection operates in those systems.

Some superconductors reflect light in ways similar to magnets. A new theoretical analysis shows that this behavior reflects the spatial structure of electron pairs that are responsible for the superconductivity.

Numerical modeling characterizes how collective excitations change in an ensemble of quantum spins as the system transitions from an ordered magnet to a spin liquid.

By tuning the friction between tiny beads suspended in water, researchers gain new understanding of how avalanches begin.

Electromagnetic emission from a collision of two neutron stars can help constrain the orbital orientation of the system, a crucial parameter for interpreting the energetics of the system.

A new framework for fluctuation theorems, which describe relationships between forward and backward thermodynamic processes, applies to quantum systems as well as classical ones, establishing a foundation for quantum thermodynamics and information theory.

Experiments show how charges become localized in InGaN—a semiconductor alloy widely used in LEDs—which could help explain how this material enables the production of bright and robust white light.

Video microscopy reveals the full 2D phase diagram of a colloid with short- and long-range attractions, which could lead to a better understanding of the phase behavior of real-world 2D materials such as biological membranes and graphene.

The first demonstration of a source of quantum correlated x-ray photons shows that such photons can enhance x-ray imaging.

Experiments turn a topological insulator into a Weyl semimetal using mechanical stress, allowing for an exploration of the exotic electronic behaviors of both systems that hint at deep connections between the two.

Fracton phases of matter are attractive for stable quantum memories but lack a classification scheme that could predict new states. A new framework provides a possible route to a classification scheme for two types of fracton phases.

Observations of the Weyl semimetal TaAs reveal a new mechanism for heat transport that arises from so-called chiral zero sound, a collective vibration of electrons in the material.

Analyses of solar wind data and a three-dimensional kinetic simulation reveal the inseparable nature of wavelike features and turbulent structures.

Experiments show how short laser pulses can directly control spin arrangements in an antiferromagnetic material, offering a potential framework for spintronics applications that rely on spins to store and transfer data.

Based solely on ranking the data, a new symmetry-based perspective on white noise offers a robust and universal approach to statistical signal processing.

The gravitational-wave transient catalog presents the complete set of gravitational-wave events discovered to date by the LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations.

A new approach for optimizing tensor networks draws on techniques from deep learning to accurately and efficiently find quantum many-body ground states.

Experiments discover, for the first time, the collective excitations of the stripe ordered charge-density wave in high-temperature cuprate superconductors, shedding light on a 20-year-old mystery about how the high-temperature superconductivity arises.

Dense flocks of beads flowing in a channel can “freeze” like ice—a unique type of phase transition that may be applicable to human crowds.

A new proposed scheme for compact electron acceleration circumvents the electron energy limits of traditional “laser-wakefield accelerators,” possibly allowing researchers to accelerate electrons to any energy using a small, scalable device.

A ten-qubit system based on spins in impure diamond achieves coherence times of over a minute.

A theoretical analysis proposes a mechanism for how superconductivity arises in ultralow-density semimetals near a ferroelectric quantum phase transition, which could help researchers understand exotic superconductivity in a range of materials.

Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments reveal how electron spins fluctuate in Cu${}_2$IrO${}_3$, a test as to whether this material meets the criteria for an exotic—and still theoretical—magnetic state known as a Kitaev spin liquid.

A model based on Brownian motion describes the tsunami-like propagation of chaotic behavior in a system of quantum particles.

Theoretical work reveals upper bounds on the superconducting transition temperature for a wide range of two-dimensional materials.

Researchers develop a universal classification scheme for complex networks spanning science, finance, and ecology.

Numerical modeling supported by topology reveals the turbulent evolution of 3D topological defects in active nematic matter confined to a spherical droplet, a step toward a better understanding of how such defects behave in systems of self-organizing microentities.

Diamond color centers are potentially powerful atomic-scale sensors but suffer from noise. A new technique for controlling the diamond surface reduces this noise tenfold.

A unifying framework for quantum resources shows that the utility of many physical phenomena in quantum information processing tasks can be described in a common formalism based on state and channel discrimination.