Research articles

Using a water bath subject to a sudden vertical jolt — representing a change in the effective gravity — researchers demonstrate the concept of a ‘time mirror’, where time-reversed waves return to their point source following a downward jolt.

The realization of a quantum kicked top provides evidence for ergodic dynamics and thermalization in a small quantum system consisting of three superconducting qubits.

Josephson plasma waves — electromagnetic waves propagating between layered superconductors — lie at the basis of a broad variety of phenomena. Now, parametric amplification of such waves has been shown by tuning the phase between pump and seed waves.

The elastic energy built up during peptide self-assembly is exploited in the realization of a microactuator. The energy stored is released on millisecond timescales via a buckling instability controlled with droplet microfluidics.

An intriguing state of matter known as a quantum spin liquid has been predicted to host Majorana fermions. A detailed theoretical and numerical analysis re-interprets existing Raman data for α-RuCl₃ and uncovers direct evidence of a fermionic response.

Multiplex networks are shown to harbour significant correlations between layers. A framework describing the correlations enables multilayer community and link detection, and reveals that they improve navigation — but only when they’re strong.

Relativistic Dirac fermions can be locally confined in nanoscale graphene quantum dots using electrostatic gating, and directly imaged using scanning tunnelling microscopy before escaping via Klein tunnelling.

Relativistic Dirac fermions can be locally confirmed in nanoscale graphene quantum dots using electrostatic gating, and directly imaged using scanning tunnelling microscopy before escaping via Klein tunnelling.

Chameleons rely on strong adhesion to manoeuvre prey with their tongues at high speeds across distances up to twice their body length. A large contact area and high mucus viscosity are shown to engender an efficient capture mechanism.

Two distinct valleys in the electronic band structure of graphene provide an additional degree of freedom that could be exploited for devices. Conservation of this valley symmetry can now be seen in the quantized conductance of graphene nanoribbons.

The appearance of a third radiation belt in the Earth’s Van Allen belts is difficult to explain using existing models for two belts. However, a model based on ultra-low-frequency waves agrees quantitatively with measurements of the third belt.

Interacting quantum systems are expected to thermalize, but in some situations in the presence of disorder they can exist in localized states instead. This many-body localization is studied experimentally in a small system with programmable disorder.

A detailed theoretical and numerical study demonstrates a connection between the electronic structure of topological semimetals and Riemann surfaces.

A series of ⁷⁷Se nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on the electron-doped topological insulator Cu_0.3Bi₂Se₃ reveal a spontaneous breaking of the rotational spin symmetry below its superconducting transition temperature.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy shows how the interaction between electrons in graphene and atomic vacancies in a copper substrate produces Kekulé ordering — an electronic phase that breaks chiral symmetry.

X-ray-induced explosions in water drops, examined using time-resolved imaging, show interacting high-speed liquid and vapour flows. This type of X-ray absorption dynamics is predictable and may be used for inducing particular dynamical liquid states.

Materials with low magnetic damping are important for a range of applications but are typically insulating, which limits their use. Thanks to a unique feature of the band structure, similar levels of damping can now be achieved in a metallic alloy.

The linear change in resistance with temperature in high-temperature superconductors is an enduring mystery. And now, the resistance in a magnetic field shows similar scaling, suggesting that physicists have another probe of the linear behaviour.

The detection of spin–orbit torques in a non-centrosymmetric magnetic Heusler alloy at room temperature could guide the search for materials whose magnetism can efficiently be manipulated using electrical currents.

Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy provides access to the spatial variations in the strength of Rashba spin–orbit coupling in a two-dimensional electron system, with local fluctuations shown to cause spin dephasing.