/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. During 2024, onlookers observed a startling sight on China's Qiantang River: waves forming a grid-like pattern. Dubbed the "matrix tide," this complex wave pattern was caused by the river's famed tidal bores that surge upstream against the current. Specifically, two shockwave-like tidal bores, known as undular bores, spread along two different directions like ripples on a pond and collided with each other. /news/2025-08-numerical-simulations-characterize-matrix-tides.html Mathematics Wed, 13 Aug 2025 10:50:03 EDT news674301001 Skyrmions are localized, particle-like excitations in materials that retain their structure due to topological constraints (i.e., restrictions arising from properties that remain unchanged under smooth deformations). These quasiparticles, first introduced in high-energy physics and quantum field theory, have since attracted intense interest in condensed matter physics and photonics, owing to their potential as robust carriers for information storage and manipulation. /news/2025-08-experimental-quantum-optical-skyrmions-semiconductor.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 13 Aug 2025 08:30:01 EDT news674226132 Researchers with the schools of science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are exploring new ways to manipulate matter with light to unlock a new generation of computer chips, photovoltaic cells and other advanced materials. /news/2025-08-material-properties-reveals-atomic-nanocrystals.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:19:04 EDT news674230741 A joint research team from Japan has observed "heavy fermions," electrons with dramatically enhanced mass, exhibiting quantum entanglement governed by the Planckian time—the fundamental unit of time in quantum mechanics. This discovery opens up exciting possibilities for harnessing this phenomenon in solid-state materials to develop a new type of quantum computer. The findings are published in npj Quantum Materials. /news/2025-08-heavy-fermions-entangled-discovery-planckian.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 05 Aug 2025 10:25:03 EDT news673608301 Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems far beyond the reach of today's fastest supercomputers. But today's machines are notoriously fragile. The quantum bits, or "qubits," that store and process information are easily disrupted by their environment, leading to errors that quickly accumulate. /news/2025-08-discarded-particles-dubbed-neglectons-universal.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:00:03 EDT news673519082 In a major step toward next-generation electronics, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have discovered a way to manipulate the direction of charge flow in ultrathin metallic films at room temperature using light. This discovery opens the door to more energy-efficient optical sensors, detectors, and quantum information devices. /news/2025-08-ultrathin-metallic-tunable-room-temperature.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:40:02 EDT news673529870 Exploring the BTZ black hole in (2+1)-dimensional gravity took me down a fascinating rabbit hole, connecting ideas I never expected—like black holes and topological phases in quantum matter! When I swapped the roles of space and time in the equations (it felt like turning my map upside down when I was lost in a new city), I discovered an interior version of the solution existing alongside the familiar exterior, each with its own thermofield double state. /news/2025-07-space-btz-black-hole.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:10:04 EDT news673171327 Prof. Michael Murrell's group (lead author Zachary Gao Sun, graduate student in physics) in collaboration with Prof. Garegin Papoian's group from the University of Maryland at College Park has found critical phenomena (self-organized criticality) that are reminiscent of the earthquakes and avalanches inside the cell cytoskeleton through self-organization of purified protein components. /news/2025-07-cell-cytoskeleton-mimics-critical-phenomena.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:00:03 EDT news672911638 Topological materials are a class of materials that exhibit unique electronic properties at their boundary (surface in 3D materials; edge in 2D materials) that are robust against imperfections or disturbances and are markedly different from their bulk properties. In other words, these materials could be insulators (i.e., resisting the flow of electrons or heat), and yet be conducting at their boundary (i.e., allowing electrons or heat to easily flow through them). /news/2025-07-uncover-topological-excitonic-insulator-tunable.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 25 Jul 2025 07:30:01 EDT news672571742 We know magnetism as a fundamental force of nature that plays a crucial role in both the natural world and modern technology. It governs the behavior of materials at the atomic level and is essential for the functioning of countless devices in our everyday life, including data storage, sensing, wireless charging, sound recording and playing systems, and more. /news/2025-07-method-decodes-hidden-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Thu, 24 Jul 2025 16:08:13 EDT news672592088 A research team led by Linda Zhang at Tohoku University has developed a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) that enables record-breaking separation of hydrogen isotopes, achieving a D2/H2 selectivity of 32.5 at 60 K. /news/2025-07-hydrogen-isotope-isotopologue-driven-dynamics.html Materials Science Wed, 23 Jul 2025 08:59:12 EDT news672479946 Solar cells and computer chips need silicon layers that are as perfect as possible. Every imperfection in the crystalline structure increases the risk of reduced efficiency or defective switching processes. /news/2025-07-cosmic-chips-cooling-triggers-phase.html Condensed Matter Tue, 22 Jul 2025 07:30:05 EDT news672386224 Synthetic antiferromagnets are carefully engineered magnetic materials made up of alternating ferromagnetic layers with oppositely aligned magnetic moments, separated by a non-magnetic spacer. These materials can display interesting magnetization patterns, characterized by swift changes in the behavior of magnetic moments in response to external forces, such as radio frequency (RF) currents. /news/2025-07-rabi-nonlinear-interactions-magnons-synthetic.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Sun, 20 Jul 2025 09:00:01 EDT news672051455 Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington have discovered a surprising new type of magnetic property that could lead to stronger magnets made from tiny particles of common iron oxide. This finding could enhance the performance of everyday technologies while reducing the need for rare-earth metals—materials that are more costly, less sustainable and harder to obtain. /news/2025-07-iron-oxide-behavior-pressure-reliance.html Condensed Matter Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:18:11 EDT news671984288 Researchers are creating new moiré materials at the nanometer scale using advanced DNA nanotechnology. DNA moiré superlattices form when two periodic DNA lattices are overlaid with a slight rotational twist or positional offset. This creates a new, larger interference pattern with completely different physical properties. /news/2025-07-programmable-dna-moir-superlattices-material.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:52:25 EDT news671971940 At the forefront of discovery, where cutting-edge scientific questions are tackled, we often don't have much data. Conversely, successful machine learning (ML) tends to rely on large, high-quality data sets for training. So how can researchers harness AI effectively to support their investigations? /news/2025-07-human-ai-teamwork-uncovers-hidden.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 17 Jul 2025 05:10:24 EDT news671947355 A team of NYU chemists and physicists are using cutting-edge tools—holographic microscopy and super-resolution imaging—to unlock how cells build and grow tiny, dynamic droplets known as biomolecular condensates. /news/2025-07-holographic-precision-super-resolution-vision.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:20:03 EDT news671890677 Recent physics studies have found that light can sometimes flow in unexpected ways, behaving like a so-called "superfluid." Superfluids, such as ultracold atomic gases or helium-4 below specific temperatures, are phases of matter characterized by flowing behavior with zero viscosity (i.e., with no resistance). /news/2025-07-scientists-density-modes-component-fluid.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 09 Jul 2025 06:30:01 EDT news671186961 Look inside a brain cell with Huntington's disease or ALS and you are likely to find RNA clumped together. These solid-like clusters, thought to be irreversible, can act as sponges that soak up surrounding proteins key for brain health, contributing to neurological disorders. /news/2025-07-uncovers-rna-clumps-dissolve.html Biochemistry Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:27:04 EDT news671124421 "Space ice" contains tiny crystals and is not a completely disordered material like liquid water, as previously assumed, according to a new study by scientists at UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge. /news/2025-07-space-ice-previously-thought.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 07 Jul 2025 11:00:05 EDT news670773410 For the first time, an international team of scientists has experimentally simulated spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) at zero temperature using a superconducting quantum processor. This achievement, which was accomplished with over 80% fidelity, represents a milestone for quantum computing and condensed matter physics. /news/2025-07-quantum-simulates-spontaneous-symmetry-temperature.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 02 Jul 2025 16:17:04 EDT news670691821 In a review just published in Nature Materials, researchers take aim at the oldest principle in electronics: Ohm's law. /news/2025-07-ohm-law-nonlinear-currents-emerge.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:09:03 EDT news670676942 Researchers from the Illinois Grainger College of Engineering are the first to demonstrate a simple and tunable method for realizing asymmetric couplings in integrated photonics. Their findings, published in Â鶹ÒùÔºical Review Letters and selected as an Editor's Pick, provide insight into topological physics while introducing a new approach for optical non-reciprocity and photonic gyration. /news/2025-06-giant-photonic-isolation-gyration.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:19:03 EDT news670234741 An international team of scientists led by Rice University's Pengcheng Dai has confirmed the existence of emergent photons and fractionalized spin excitations in a rare quantum spin liquid. Published in Nature Â鶹ÒùÔºics on June 19, their findings identify the crystalline compound cerium zirconium oxide (Ceâ‚‚Zrâ‚‚O₇) as a clear 3D realization of this exotic state of matter. /news/2025-06-physicists-elusive-quantum-liquid.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:49:03 EDT news669908942 A new platform for engineering chiral electron pathways offers potential fresh insights into a quantum phenomenon discovered by chemists—and exemplifies how the second quantum revolution is fostering transdisciplinary collaborations that bridge physics, chemistry, and biology to tackle fundamental questions. /news/2025-06-quantum-spirals-programmable-platform-ways.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 13 Jun 2025 14:00:03 EDT news668940541 Researchers have identified a form of molecular motion that has not previously been observed. When what are known as "guest molecules"—molecules that are accommodated within a host molecule—penetrate droplets of DNA polymers, they do not simply diffuse in them in a haphazard fashion, but propagate through them in the form of a clearly-defined frontal wave. The team includes researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the University of Texas at Austin. /news/2025-06-molecular-motion-guest-molecules-dna.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:00:03 EDT news668962430 For the past six years, Los Alamos National Laboratory has led the world in trying to understand one of the most frustrating barriers that faces variational quantum computing: the barren plateau. /news/2025-06-quantum-problem-barren-plateau.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:19:41 EDT news668942365 In a new study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have used a cloud of atoms chilled down to incredibly cold temperatures to simultaneously measure acceleration in three dimensions—a feat that many scientists didn't think was possible. /news/2025-06-quantum-device-atoms-3d.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 11 Jun 2025 14:18:04 EDT news668870281 Quantum materials exhibit remarkable emergent properties when they are excited by external sources. Functional applications of these properties rely heavily on their tunability in real time. However, these excited states decay rapidly once the excitation is removed, limiting their practical applications. /news/2025-06-quantum-state-lifetimes-laser-triggered.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 05 Jun 2025 13:08:01 EDT news668347675 In the nanometer range (billionth of a meter), interactions occur between light and matter that do not happen on larger scales. As such, so-called nanophotonic materials have unique optical properties that open up a whole range of technical possibilities. /news/2025-05-ultrathin-resonators-standard-efficient.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 29 May 2025 12:09:11 EDT news667739344