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Ring-exchange interactions are basic elements needed for realizing topological quantum computation. These interactions and anyonic statistics have been engineered using ultracold atoms in an optical lattice.
Spontaneous formation of a half-skyrmion lattice is observed in a thin-film chiral liquid crystal. The dynamics are shown to be thermally driven — presenting a platform to study the thermal fluctuations of topological defects.
A detailed resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study of a series of well-known cuprate superconductors reveals a correlation between the number of apical oxygens in these systems, and the strength of their in-plane exchange interaction.
A bed of deformable hairs is shown to exhibit a nonlinear response to fluid flows. The biomimetic system suggests that hair-covered surfaces in living systems may function to reduce fluid drag as a means of minimizing excessive stresses.
A photonic experiment demonstrates protective measurements, a type of weak measurements. These make it possible to determine the expectation value of the polarization of a photon from a single measurement.
Quantum electrodynamics predicts a rare process in which light is scattered by light. The ATLAS Collaboration reports signs of this elusive effect in the collisions of ultra-relativistic lead ions.
The Jovian atmosphere is highly turbulent due to processes happening on a wide range of length scales. Cassini spacecraft data now suggest the presence of kinetic energy cascades over different length scales — a likely origin of Jupiter’s turbulence.
Determining how cellular activity affects the collective properties of growing tissues is key to understanding morphogenesis. An epithelial tissue model shows how active tension can give rise to striking mechanical behaviours seen in experiments.
Nuclear reactions taking place in stars are not straightforward to study in laboratories on Earth. Now, inertial-confinement fusion implosion experiments are reported that mimic the conditions for the hydrogen-burning phase in main-sequence stars.
Whether ballistic transport can occur in a system is usually governed by the number of impurities, but a ballistic transport regime is seen in charge-neutral graphene that is limited not by impurities or phonons, but electron–hole collisions.
A linear relationship between spin and momentum relaxation shows that the spin relaxation in an organic semiconductor crystal that has ultra-long spin lifetimes and coherent band-like transport is governed by the Elliott–Yafet mechanism.
In the charge-density wave state of tantalum sulfide, tantalum atoms group into a Star-of-David arrangement. Experiments show that the polaron spins associated with these atomic clusters can form a quantum spin liquid.
The 2D electron gas has long been a popular physical system. Now, experiments with GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures have revealed phases displaying negative permittivity, due to an attractive exchange-correlation energy competing with Coulomb repulsion.
In three-dimensional metals, topological objects known as Weyl nodes can arise from a crossing of the conduction and valence bands. Experiments under high magnetic fields show how Weyl nodes of opposite chiralities can move together to annihilate.
Interactions between cells can affect the way they migrate, impacting processes like cancer invasion and wound healing. Experiments on cell colonies of moderate density show that these interactions can enhance motility by increasing persistence.
A demonstration of long-distance spin transport through an amorphous magnetic insulator shows that magnetic order is not required, and may not even be desirable, in materials for magnonic and spintronic applications.
Lubricated surfaces are known to display extreme liquid repellency. Such behaviour is now confirmed to be due to the formation of a film between the surface and the repelled liquid, with a thickness profile following the Landau–Levich–Derjaguin law.
A spectroscopic study of the superconducting phase in sulfur hydride under extreme pressures is presented, revealing the energy scale for the electron–phonon interaction in this system.
Swarms and statistical physics seem like natural bedfellows, but concepts like scaling are yet to prove directly applicable to insect group dynamics. A study of midges suggests they are, and that they may give rise to a new universality class.