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Study may lead to improved networked quantum sensing

Could global positioning systems become more precise and provide more accurate details on distances for users to get from point A to point B?

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Mirrorless laser: Physicists propose a new light source

A team of physicists from the University of Innsbruck and Harvard University has proposed a fundamentally new way to generate laser light: a laser without mirrors. Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, shows that quantum emitters spaced at subwavelength distances can constructively synchronize their photon emission to produce a bright, very narrow-band light beam, […]

Electric signals reveal magnetic spin waves, hinting at faster computing

Today’s computers store information in magnetic hard drives, keeping files safe even when the device is powered off. But to run programs and process information, computers rely on electricity. Each calculation requires a transfer of information between the electric and magnetic systems. This back-and-forth is a major bottleneck in the speed of modern computing.

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Topological insulator maintains quantum spin Hall effect at higher temperatures

Topological insulators could form the basis for revolutionary electronic components. However, as they generally only function at very low temperatures, their practical application has been severely limited to date. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have now developed a topological insulator that also works at higher temperatures. Their results are published in Science Advances.

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Nuclear clock technology enables unprecedented investigation of fine-structure constant stability

In 2024, TU Wien presented the world’s first nuclear clock. Now it has been demonstrated that the technology can also be used to investigate unresolved questions in fundamental physics.

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Distributed quantum sensor network achieves ultra-high resolution near Heisenberg limit

Precise metrology forms a fundamental basis for advanced science and technology, including bioimaging, semiconductor defects diagnostics, and space telescope observations. However, the sensor technologies used in metrology have so far faced a physical barrier known as the standard quantum limit.

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Mathematical proof unites two puzzling phenomena in spin glass physics

A fundamental link between two counterintuitive phenomena in spin glasses—reentrance and temperature chaos—has been mathematically proven for the first time. By extending the Edwards–Anderson model to include correlated disorder, researchers at Science Tokyo and Tohoku University provided the first rigorous proof that reentrance implies temperature chaos.

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Google claims its latest quantum algorithm can outperform supercomputers on a real-world task

Researchers from Google Quantum AI report that their quantum processor, Willow, ran an algorithm for a quantum computer that solved a complex physics problem thousands of times faster than the world’s most powerful classical supercomputers. If verified, this would be one of the first demonstrations of practical quantum advantage, in which a quantum computer solves […]

Electrohydrodynamics pump and machine learning enable portable high-performance excimer laser

According to a recent study published in APL Photonics, a research team led by Prof. Liang Xu from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed an ultra-compact excimer laser roughly the size of a thermos bottle.

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Controlled atomic defects in nickelate films narrow down explanations of superconductivity emergence

An international team led by researchers at MPI-CPfS used irradiation with extremely high-energy electrons to controllably introduce atomic defects in superconducting nickelate thin films. Their systematic investigation recently published in Physical Review Letters helps to narrow down the possible answers to fundamental questions of how superconductivity emerges in these materials.

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Bacterial motility helps uncover how self-propelled particles distribute in active matter systems

A collaborative team of physicists and microbiologists from UNIST and Stanford University has, for the first time, uncovered the fundamental laws governing the distribution of self-propelled particles, such as bacteria.

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The beginning of the universe: Cosmic inflation with standard particle physics repertoire

How did the universe come into being? There are a multitude of theories on this subject. In a Physical Review Letters paper, three scientists formulate a new model: according to this, inflation, the first, very rapid expansion of the universe, would have taken place in a warm environment consisting of known elementary particles.

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Record-breaking quantum key distribution transmission distance achieved alongside classical channels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) harnesses the power of quantum mechanics to securely transmit confidential information. When an outside source eavesdrops on a QKD transmission, the quantum states are affected. This dependably alerts the receiver and sender that the transmission is no longer secure.

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Physicists create the smallest pixel in the world (so far)

Smart glasses that display information directly in the field of vision are considered a key technology of the future—but until now, their use has often failed due to cumbersome technology. However, efficient light-emitting pixels are ruled out by classical optics if their size is reduced to the wavelength of the emitted light.

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Using entanglement to test whether gravity is quantum just got more complicated

Unifying gravity and quantum theory remains a significant goal in modern physics. Despite the success in unifying all other fundamental interactions (electromagnetism, strong force and weak force) with quantum mechanics and many attempts at explaining a “quantum gravity,” scientists are still coming up short. Still, some believe we are getting closer to determining whether these […]