Computational model guides lighting design to improve color discrimination in aging eyes

Researchers have developed a new computational model that accounts for the effects of aging on our eyes’ ability to discriminate color. It could help guide lighting designs that make it easier for older adults to perceive colors while preserving the expected appearance for people with typical color vision.

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Optical skyrmions can control the motion of magnetic skyrmions

Magnetic skyrmions (MSks) are swirling patterns of magnetization that form inside certain magnetic materials. They can behave like actual particles in many ways, exhibiting a stable internal structure and distinct boundaries. Because they are extremely small and can be pushed around with relatively little energy, MSks are regarded as promising information carriers in emerging technologies, […]

New topological microscope tip reveals evidence of 2D altermagnetism

Researchers have fashioned a layered topological material into a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip that senses spin-related electronic states at atomic resolution.

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Faster molecular simulations identify promising diamond defects for quantum computers and sensors

A faster way of finding the best diamond-based materials for quantum computers has been developed by a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The new approach has already identified promising materials for practical quantum sensors and computers that could one day transform scientific research as a whole. The […]

‘Carpet’ growth method yields long-sought 2D quantum material

For decades, physicists have sought a practical two-dimensional topological insulator: an ultrathin material whose interior blocks electricity but whose edges conduct it. In ordinary wires, electrons constantly bounce off imperfections, losing energy. But along the edges of a 2D topological insulator, electrons with opposite spins travel in opposite directions, like cars in one-way lanes, so […]

Could meditation reveal an SU(3) symmetry shared by the observer and the universe?

You sit down to meditate. A conversation returns, then thoughts. You bring your attention back to the breath. Sometimes, after many such returns, the effort eases. Thoughts lose their urgency, while awareness remains clear. Less occupies the mind, yet the moment still feels whole.

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Quantum physicists trace a century of controlling spin

A concept from the field of quantum mechanics, spin is a property of particles that has no direct counterpart in everyday experience. Since the early 20th century, researchers have learned to manipulate it deliberately by means of precisely shaped electromagnetic pulses. This has resulted in two technologies that are widespread today: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) […]

Gravity and quantum information linked through a derivation of Einstein’s equations

Recent research shows that gravity and quantum information are deeply connected and that the shape of spacetime can be traced back to the way information is stored in quantum fields.

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Magnetic sculpting transforms single-source fields into predetermined shapes with mathematical precision

Magnetic fields are invisible yet essential components in technologies ranging from MRI scanners and particle accelerators to atomic clocks and future quantum computers. Each of these applications requires magnetic fields with specific shapes and properties. Today, creating such tailored magnetic fields requires researchers and engineers to design specialized, carefully optimized magnets or large systems of […]

From nonmagnetic to magnetic: A 2D semiconductor with electrically tunable magnetism

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with scientists from institutions in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany, have demonstrated a way to introduce magnetism into an otherwise nonmagnetic two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor and subsequently control its magnetic properties using an electrical voltage. The findings, published in Science Advances, establish a new platform […]

One step closer to quantum computers that can correct their own mistakes

Researchers from Rutgers, IBM and collaborating institutions have shown that a quantum computer can check what is happening inside it and respond while it is running, repeatedly resetting parts of the system to bring chaotic behavior under control.

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Hybrid quantum computers could finally get to grips with light and matter

Many of nature’s most important processes depend on how particles of matter interact with light and other force-carrying particles. So far, however, it has proven difficult for conventional computers to determine how individual particles behave in these interactions.

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Quantum ‘birthmarks’ hold lasting traces of a system’s past

Some classical physical systems can explore many configurations over time until their long-term behavior no longer reveals their starting conditions. The sampling of available configurations according to the appropriate statistical distribution is a property called ergodicity.

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Ultraviolet laser pulses engineer diamond defects selectively, leaving quantum qubits intact

When we think about a diamond, we often think about a material whose value comes from its perfection. In my research, however, I am interested in something almost opposite: the tiny imperfections inside diamonds. These atomic-scale defects can give diamonds new optical and electronic properties, and some of them can serve as quantum systems. The […]

New stability rules distinguish quantum phases of matter that an older method wrongly groups together

Most of us recognize basic phases of matter and their properties: solids maintain their shape, liquids flow freely with constant volume, and gases expand to fill their container. Quantum phases, on the other hand, are much harder to categorize, overturning traditional notions of what a phase even is and forcing physicists to rethink their definitions. […]