Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Topological charges form readily at defects in liquid crystals, but controlling them is a formidable task. An innovative approach pins defects to a microfibre, enabling controlled creation and manipulation of topological charges.
Chern numbers characterize the quantum Hall effect conductance—non-zero values are associated with topological phases. Previously only spotted in electronic systems, they have now been measured in ultracold atoms subject to artificial gauge fields.
The mechanism holding Cooper pairs together in iron-based superconductors is highly debated. Finding the fingerprint of the pairing mechanism would be a leap forward.
Graphene’s electronic properties can be modified by putting it on a substrate. Now it is shown that intercalating a graphene sheet and an iridium substrate with lead islands causes resonances, attributed to a spatial variation of spin–orbit coupling.
Defects are often introduced to increase the stiffness of three-dimensional materials. Evidence now suggests that the elastic modulus of two-dimensional graphene sheets can also be increased by controlled defect creation.
An experimental study characterizes subradiance—inhibited emission due to destructive interference—in ultracold molecules close to the dissociation limit and shows that it could be used for precision molecular spectroscopy.
The Nernst coefficient is a measure of the transverse thermoelectric effect in a conductor. Superconducting fluctuations magnify this effect but in URu2Si2, the million-fold enhancement suggests that the fluctuations have an exotic origin.
Many quantum protocols require fast, remote entanglement generation to outperform their classical counterparts. A modular solution is now reported, using trapped ions that are remotely entangled through photons.
A proposal for detecting dark matter originating from light fields rather than particles makes use of existing networks of atomic clocks to measure time discrepancies between clocks that are spatially separated.
Falling droplets bounce back well from superhydrophobic surfaces. Now it is shown that when a thin air film is made to persist between drop and surface, efficient bouncing is possible for wettable surfaces too, and for drops with low surface tension.
Communication systems require non-reciprocal electromagnetic propagation, which is difficult to realize in circuits. An alternative is demonstrated by modulating the phase of strongly coupled resonators in a circular configuration.
Superconducting vortex droplets in a mesoscopic superconductor disintegrate in the same way as the charged liquid droplets studied by Lord Rayleigh, revealing dynamics similar to thunder clouds, atomic nuclei and trapped ultracold atoms.
Atomic matter waves provide a controllable platform for studying the behaviour of solitons. In a lithium condensate, a characterization of the dynamics of collisions between solitons reveals a dependence on their relative phases.
Randomness can disorder a two-dimensional vortex lattice and lead to enhanced long-range correlations. The resulting order–disorder transition occurs in two steps, with critical exponents exceeding predictions.
A Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov superconductor comprises pairs of fermions with non-zero momentum, which form alternating superconducting and normal regions in a magnetic field. NMR measurements now provide microscopic evidence for such a state.
Rydberg atoms offer an avenue for quantum simulation of many-body problems, but evidence for the coherent nature of their interaction is indirect. An externally-tuned resonance now reveals coherent oscillations between two single Rydberg atoms.
Quantum technologies are extremely sensitive to environmental disturbance. Control techniques inspired by classical systems engineering allow selective filtering of the noise spectrum, suppressing time-varying noise over defined frequency bands.
The pairing symmetry of iron pnictide superconductors has been hotly debated. First-principles simulations suggest low-energy spin excitations play a central role in raising the superconducting transition temperature of such materials.
The coupling between spin, valley and layer degrees of freedom in transition-metal dichalcogenides is shown to give rise to spin-polarized electron states, providing opportunities to create and manipulate spin and valley polarizations in bulk solids.
The absorption properties of a resonator can be tuned by varying the phase between incoming coherent light beams. Such control is now shown under strong coupling conditions, allowing all incoming energy to be converted into polaritons.