Reviews & Analysis

Experiments in fluids have enabled the simulation of several aspects of black holes and quantum field theory in curved spacetime. This Perspective article discusses possible hydrodynamic simulators of quantum gravitational effects, ranging from the resolution of curvature singularities to the emergence of spacetime geometry from quantum degrees of freedom.

Visual anemometry measures winds using observations of associated environmental flow–structure interactions such as swaying trees and flapping flags. This Perspective article outlines opportunities for physics and data science to further develop visual anemometry for renewable energy, urban sustainability and environmental science.

Granular matter is ubiquitous in engineering, industrial and natural processes. This Technical Review overviews the latest developments in computational modelling of granular matter with a focus on the role of particle shape and discusses pertaining future challenges.

Recent advances in machine learning are enabling progress in several aspects of experimental fluid mechanics. This Perspective article focuses on augmenting the quality of measurement techniques, improving experimental design and enabling real-time estimation and control.

Machine-learning-based sampling strategies have been recently developed for lattice quantum chromodynamics applications. These methods are in their early stages, but have the potential to enable currently intractable first-principles calculations in particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics and also to advance machine learning.

The southern skies and tall mountains of Latin America have cultivated a long history of astronomy on the continent. Today, the continent hosts over 80 observatories that are collaborative research centres for the region and the world. But what about other areas of physics? These have benefited from a culture of collaboration, but there are still challenges in fully developing the potential of research on the continent, such as insufficient researchers or resources. In this Viewpoint, seven physicists discuss the varying research landscapes of different areas of physics across the continent.

Spin caloritronics explores the interplay among spin, heat and charges in condensed matter towards new thermoelectric functionalities and applications. This Review provides an analysis of the role of spin in enhancing charge-based thermoelectricity, magneto-thermoelectricity and thermospin effects.

Five researchers discuss how diverse physics ideas can help better understand the part of Earth’s climate system consisting of snow and ice.

Quantum computers are expected to surpass classical computers and transform industries. This Review focuses on quantum computing for financial applications and provides a summary for physicists on potential advantages and limitations of quantum techniques, as well as challenges that physicists could help tackle.

Topological lattice defects in topological materials offer a platform to explore a diverse range of phenomena, including fractional charges, chiral and gravitational anomalies, topological lasers and non-Hermitian skin effects. This Perspective article surveys the impact of these phenomena on condensed matter physics, photonics, acoustics and materials science.

Amyloid formation is an important class of protein self-assembly behaviour that is linked to functional processes and disease. This Review describes amyloid formation through the lens of general phase transitions, building on both classical and non-classical nucleation theories to illuminate fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

Quantum simulations of the fundamental particles and forces of nature have a central role in understanding key static and dynamic quantum properties of matter. Motivations, techniques and future challenges for simulations of quantum fields are discussed, highlighting examples of early progress towards the dynamics of high-density, non-equilibrium systems of quarks, gluons and neutrinos.

Active matter locally dissipates energy to produce systematic motion. This Perspective highlights proliferation as a special type of activity that breaks particle number conservation and thereby gives rise to a unique set of collective phenomena characteristic of life.

This Review overviews the application of single photons in quantum communication and quantum computation discussing specific needs and requirements and achieved milestones and outlining future improvements.

This Review overviews the application of single photons in quantum metrology, quantum biology and the foundations of quantum physics, discussing specific needs and requirements, achieved milestones and an outline for future improvements.

Atomic gases, usually confined in flat geometries, are now experimentally realized also in curved settings. This Perspective article analyses their many-body physics in the available geometries of rings and shells and discusses the open research questions.

As one of the most important protocols in quantum information technology, quantum teleportation enables the nonlocal transmission of unknown quantum information. This Review discusses the latest developments in the quantum teleportation of complex quantum states and applications to quantum communication and computing.

As we are at the beginning of the second century of quantum physics, we asked four researchers to share their views on new research directions trying to answer old, yet still open, questions in the foundations of quantum theory.

Rapid advances in the capabilities of large language models and the broad accessibility of tools powered by this technology have led to both excitement and concern regarding their use in science. Four experts in artificial intelligence ethics and policy discuss potential risks and call for careful consideration and responsible usage to ensure that good scientific practices and trust in science are not compromised. 

Graph neural networks have been applied to many important physics tasks at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This Technical Review categorizes these applications in a manner accessible to experts and non-experts alike by providing detailed descriptions of LHC physics and graph neural network design considerations.