Physics articles within Nature

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  • Letter |

    Atom chips provide a versatile quantum laboratory for experiments with ultracold atomic gases, but techniques to control atomic interactions and to generate entanglement have been unavailable so far. Here, the experimental generation of multi-particle entanglement on an atom chip is described. The technique is used to produce spin-squeezed states of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate, which should be useful for quantum metrology.

    • Max F. Riedel
    • , Pascal Böhi
    •  & Philipp Treutlein

  • Letter |

    A two-dimensional gas of electrons is a powerful test-bed for the fundamental physics of interacting particles, and has been much studied in the context of integer and fractional quantum Hall effects. The latest observations of this system reveal prominent structure in the high energy single particle spectrum that cannot be readily explained with existing models of this system.

    • O. E. Dial
    • , R. C. Ashoori
    •  & K. W. West

  • News Feature |

    Social scientists have embedded themselves at CERN to study the world's biggest research collaboration. Zeeya Merali reports on a 10,000-person physics project.

    • Zeeya Merali

  • Letter |

    Until now, quantum atomic gases and single trapped ions have been treated separately in experiments. Now a hybrid system has been investigated, involving the immersion of a single trapped ion into a Bose–Einstein condensate of neutral atoms. The two systems could be controlled independently and the fundamental interaction processes were studied. Sympathetic cooling of the single ion by the condensate was observed, hinting at the possibility of using these condensates as refrigerators for ion-trap quantum computers.

    • Christoph Zipkes
    • , Stefan Palzer
    •  & Michael Köhl

  • News & Views |

    The golden ratio — an exact 'magic' number often claimed to be observed when taking ratios of distances in ancient and modern architecture, sculpture and painting — has been spotted in a magnetic compound.

    • Ian Affleck

  • Article |

    Quantum mechanics provides an accurate description of a wide variety of physical systems but it is very challenging to prove that it also applies to macroscopic (classical) mechanical systems. This is because it has been impossible to cool a mechanical mode to its quantum ground state, in which all classical noise is eliminated. Recently, various mechanical devices have been cooled to a near-ground state, but this paper demonstrates the milestone result of a piezoelectric resonator with a mechanical mode cooled to its quantum ground state.

    • A. D. O’Connell
    • , M. Hofheinz
    •  & A. N. Cleland

  • Letter |

    An insulator does not conduct electricity, and so cannot in general be used to transmit an electrical signal. But an insulator's electrons possess spin in addition to charge, and so can transmit a signal in the form of a spin wave. Here a hybrid metal–insulator–metal structure is reported, in which an electrical signal in one metal layer is directly converted to a spin wave in the insulating layer; this wave is then transmitted to the second metal layer, where the signal can be directly recovered as an electrical voltage.

    • Y. Kajiwara
    • , K. Harii
    •  & E. Saitoh

  • News & Views |

    Einstein's theory of general relativity has been tested — and confirmed — on scales far beyond those of our Solar System. But the results don't exclude all alternative theories of gravity.

    • J. Anthony Tyson

  • News |

    General relativity fits survey observations but there's still room for its rivals.

    • Zeeya Merali

  • Review Article |

    • T. D. Ladd
    • , F. Jelezko
    •  & J. L. O’Brien

  • Letter |

    The phenomenon of superconductivity continues to intrigue, and several new superconducting materials have been discovered in recent years — but in the case of organic superconductors, no new material system with a high superconducting transition temperature has been identified in the past decade. Now it has been shown that the introduction of potassium into crystals of organic molecule picene can yield superconductivity at temperatures as high as 18 K.

    • Ryoji Mitsuhashi
    • , Yuta Suzuki
    •  & Yoshihiro Kubozono

  • Books & Arts |

    Paul Davies's latest book argues that the search for intelligent life beyond Earth should be expanded. Chris McKay considers why we should look closer to home — perhaps even in our DNA.

    • Chris McKay

  • Letter |

    In principle, it is possible to simulate some astrophysical phenomena inside the highly controlled environment of an atomic physics laboratory: previous work on the thermodynamics of a two-component Fermi gas (a system suited for such studies) led to thermodynamic quantities averaged over the trap. Now a general experimental method is reported that yields the equation of state of a uniform gas, providing new physical insights and enabling a detailed comparison with existing theories.

    • S. Nascimbène
    • , N. Navon
    •  & C. Salomon

  • News & Views |

    The finding that the normal phase of an ultracold gas of fermionic atoms in the strongly interacting regime is close to a Fermi liquid isn't quite what theorists expected for these systems.

    • Yong-il Shin

  • News |

    Catastrophic failure that caused accelerator shutdown was not a freak accident, says project physicist.

    • Geoff Brumfiel

  • Letter |

    One of the central predictions of general relativity is that a clock in a gravitational potential well runs more slowly than a similar clock outside the well. This effect, known as gravitational redshift, has been measured using clocks on a tower, an aircraft and a rocket, but here, laboratory experiments based on quantum interference of atoms are shown to produce a much more precise measurement.

    • Holger Müller
    • , Achim Peters
    •  & Steven Chu

  • News & Views |

    A technique used primarily to study fundamental issues in quantum mechanics has now been shown to have promise as a powerful practical tool for making ultra-precise measurements.

    • Aephraim M. Steinberg

  • News |

    Twisting vortices seen in fireballs could unravel matter-antimatter conundrum.

    • Eric Hand

  • Letter |

    The difference between the mass of an atom and the sum of its building blocks (the binding energy) is a manifestation of Einstein's famous relation E = mc2. Superheavy elements have been observed, but our present knowledge of the binding energy of these nuclides is based only on the detection of their decay products, although they represent the gateway to the predicted 'island of stability'. Here, direct mass measurements of trans-uranium nuclides are reported, providing reliable anchor points en route to the island of stability.

    • M. Block
    • , D. Ackermann
    •  & C. Weber

  • Editorial |

    NASA is taking a risk on commercial space services. But the pay-offs could be high.

  • News & Views |

    To discover superheavy elements and study their properties, we need to know the masses of the isotopes of elements heavier than uranium. Weighing these isotopes in an electromagnetic trap has now become possible.

    • Georg Bollen

  • News |

    Precise mass measurement aids the hunt for heavy elements that decay slowly.

    • Geoff Brumfiel

  • News & Views |

    The atmospheric properties of distant worlds are becoming increasingly clear. The latest observations reveal fluorescent emission from methane in the upper atmosphere of a Jupiter-like extrasolar planet.

    • Seth Redfield

  • News & Views |

    The thermal process known as Joule heating, which often plagues electronic devices, has been turned to good use: making devices that can produce sound as well as reproduce music and speech.

    • Rama Venkatasubramanian

  • News & Views |

    The photosynthetic apparatus of cryptophyte algae is odd — its pigments are farther apart than is expected for efficient functioning. A study into how this apparatus works so well finds quantum effects at play.

    • Rienk van Grondelle
    •  & Vladimir I. Novoderezhkin

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