Research articles

Little is known about how edge states in topological materials interact with each other. Here, a quantum spin Hall insulator is used to show that when edge states are brought close together, additional gaps appear in the spectrum.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy study of the conductive edge state in a two-dimensional topological insulator reveals the interplay of topology and electronic correlations.

A technique analogous to angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy used in materials characterization has been developed for interacting Fermi gases in an optical lattice, providing information on the single-particle excitations in a many-body system.

Using sulfur doping and pressure, the authors separate the nematic and magnetic phase transitions in FeSe. They find that a Lifshitz transition sits between two independent superconducting domes where nematic critical fluctuations remain finite.

Strongly interacting bosons in an optical lattice exhibit anomalous subdiffusive evolution when subjected to a dissipative process. The experimental observations are attributed to a mechanism termed ‘interaction-impeding of decoherence’.

A platform for probing the mechanics and migratory dynamics of a growing model breast cancer reveals that cells at the invasive edge are faster, softer and larger than those in the core. Eliminating the softer cells delays the transition to invasion.

Atomic force microscopy reveals that the accumulation of mechanical stress works together with enzymatic activity to ensure the rapid cleavage of dividing bacteria.

In a nanobeam that is strongly coupled to a single-electron transistor, electron tunnelling back-action induces self-sustaining mechanical oscillations. This oscillator can be compared to a phonon laser and can be stabilized.

The crease patterns for origami-based mechanical metamaterials can fold into myriad 3D shapes, but predicting foldability is no simple task. A framework for designing foldable patterns offers a neat alternative to extensive computer optimization.

Vacuum fluctuations in the vicinity of nanophotonic structures can lead to the conversion of a free electron into a polariton and a high-energy photon, whose frequency can be controlled by the electromagnetic properties of the nanostructure.

The recently discovered spin-triplet superconductor UTe₂ is found to display a number of other ‘re-entrant’ superconducting phases under ultrahigh magnetic fields.

The back-action of electrons can cool a nanomechanical oscillator to a few-quantum state when a current flows through a suspended nanotube. The electron back-action, which is attributed to an electrothermal effect, also induces self-oscillations.

Electro-optomechanical conversion between optical and microwave photons is achieved with minimal added noise by cooling the mechanical oscillator to its quantum ground state. This has potential for future coherence-preserving transduction.

The remarkably large thermal Hall response recently observed in the copper oxides challenges our understanding of the excitations in an insulating antiferromagnet. Here, a possible explanation of the underlying physics is provided.

Spin-polarized tunnelling data show that the breakdown of antiferromagnetic order and the collapse of the spectral gap are not correlated in Sr₂IrO₄. This indicates that short-range magnetic correlations are not behind the emergence of the pseudogap.

The dynamics of a single dissipative qubit undergoing non-Hermitian quantum dynamics in the vicinity of an exceptional point is experimentally studied in a superconducting transmon circuit.

Conventional on-axis electron energy-loss spectroscopy can detect vibrational modes in crystals and amorphous solids at atomic resolution by isolating the specific signal from the background signal and the dipole contributions.

A phase of quantum-critical behaviour is observed in a kagome lattice material. This arises from the interplay of strong interactions between electrons, and the frustration that arises both from the interactions and the lattice geometry.

Experiments with two counter-propagating laser beams report the observation that the photon momentum is shared between the electron and parent ion in strong-field ionization, which results from the photon’s magnetic field acting on the electron.

The predicted metallization of hydrogen has long fascinated high-pressure physicists. Conductivity and spectroscopic measurements now reveal that above pressures of 350 GPa, hydrogen starts to conduct in a manner akin to a semimetal.