PhysORG Physics News

Ultrashort laser pulses catch a snapshot of a 'molecular handshake'
Liquids and solutions are complex environments—think, for example, of sugar dissolving in water, where each sugar molecule becomes surrounded by a restless crowd of water molecules. Inside living cell …
Long-hypothesized dynamic transition seen in deeply supercooled water for the first time
In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers have achieved the first experimental observation of a fragile-to-strong transition in deeply supercooled water, resolving a scientific puzzle th …
Zero lasing modes are not always topological
The convergence of non-Hermitian physics and topological photonics has opened exciting research directions in recent years, particularly in the development of robust laser systems.
Atomic Josephson contacts: How Bose-Einstein condensates replicate Shapiro steps
The microscopic processes taking place in superconductors are difficult to observe directly. Researchers at the RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau have therefore implemented a quantum simulation …
Water's enigmatic surface: X-ray snapshots reveal atoms and molecules at work
Water is all around us, yet its surface layer—home to chemical reactions that shape life on Earth—is surprisingly hard to study. Experiments at SLAC's X-ray laser are bringing it into focus.
Pinpointing the glow of a single atom to advance quantum emitter engineering
Researchers have discovered how to design and place single-photon sources at the atomic scale inside ultrathin 2D materials, lighting the path for future quantum innovations.
Dual substitution induces room-temperature ferromagnetism and negative thermal expansion in BiFeO₃
Using a dual-cation substitution approach, researchers at Science Tokyo introduced ferromagnetism into bismuth ferrite, a well-known and promising multiferroic material for next-generation memory tech …
Tiny optical modulator could enable giant future quantum computers
Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Colloidal quantum dot photodiodes integrated on metasurfaces for compact SWIR sensors
This week, at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM 2025), imec, a research and innovation hub in advanced semiconductor technologies, successfully demonstrated the integration of coll …
Chip-scale magnetometer uses light for high-precision magnetic sensing
Researchers have developed a precision magnetometer based on a special material that changes optical properties in response to a magnetic field. The device, which is integrated onto a chip, could bene …
Radiofrequency upgrades ensure accelerator stability and reliability
Running a synchrotron light source is a massive team effort that brings hundreds of highly skilled and specialized professionals together. The radiofrequency (RF) group at the National Synchrotron Lig …
All-optical modulation in silicon achieved via an electron avalanche process
Over the past decades, engineers have introduced numerous technologies that rely on light and its underlying characteristics. These include photonic and quantum systems that could advance imaging, com …
Theoretical results could lead to faster, more secure quantum technology
University of Iowa researchers have discovered a method to "purify" photons, an advance that could make optical quantum technologies more efficient and more secure.
Polarized light boosts accuracy of wearable health sensors for all skin tones
Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical sensing technique that measures blood volume changes and underpins devices ranging from hospital-grade pulse oximeters to consumer wearables that track heart r …
Using soccer balls to refine computational fluid dynamics research methods
If you're a soccer fan, you're familiar with this common sight: A penalty kick is in place, with a "wall" of defenders lined up in front of the goal, ready to leap to try to block …
Magnetic ordering induces Jahn-Teller effect in spinel-type compounds
The Jahn-Teller effect, proposed by Jahn and Teller in 1937, describes how molecules or crystals with degenerate electronic orbitals can lower their total energy by distorting their structure. This di …
Study links vanishing of specific heats at absolute zero with principle of entropy increase
In a new publication, Professor José-María Martín-Olalla, from the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Seville, has described the direct link between the vanishing of specific …
LHC delivers a record number of particle collisions in 2025
All experiments broke records in the final full operating year of the third run of the LHC.
ALICE solves mystery of light-nuclei survival
Observations of the formation of light-nuclei from high-energy collisions may help in the hunt for dark matter.
The rhythm of swarms: Tunable particles synchronize movement like living organisms
A collaboration between the University of Konstanz and Forschungszentrum Jülich has achieved the first fully tunable experimental realization of a long predicted "swarmalator" system. The st …
Direct observation reveals 'two-in-one' roles of plasma turbulence
Producing fusion energy requires heating plasma to more than one hundred million degrees and confining it stably with strong magnetic fields. However, plasma naturally develops fluctuations known as t …
New iron telluride thin film achieves superconductivity for quantum computer chips
If quantum computing is going to become an every-day reality, we need better superconducting thin films, the hardware that enables storage and processing of quantum information. Too often, these thin …
An old jeweler's trick could unlock next-generation nuclear clocks
In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this longstandin …
Quantum machine learning nears practicality as partial error correction reduces hardware demands
Imagine a future where quantum computers supercharge machine learning—training models in seconds, extracting insights from massive datasets and powering next-gen AI. That future might be closer than y …
Quantum clues to consciousness: New research suggests the brain may harness the zero-point field
What if your conscious experiences were not just the chatter of neurons, but were connected to the hum of the universe? In a paper published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, I present new evidence …
Neutrino observatories show promise for detecting light dark matter
Dark matter is an elusive type of matter that does not emit, reflect or absorb light, yet is estimated to account for most of the universe's mass. Over the past decades, many physicists worldwide …
Ghostly solar neutrinos caught transforming carbon atoms deep underground
Neutrinos are one of the most mysterious particles in the universe, often called "ghost particles" because they rarely interact with anything else. Trillions stream through our bodies every …
'Light-bending' material that controls blue and ultraviolet light could transform advanced chipmaking
Researchers from TU Delft and Radboud University (The Netherlands) have discovered that the two-dimensional ferroelectric material CuInP₂S₆ (CIPS) can be used to control the pathway and properties of …
Surprising nanoscopic heat traps found in diamonds
Diamond is famous in material science for being the best natural heat conductor on Earth—but new research reveals that, at the atomic scale, it can briefly trap heat in unexpected ways. The findings c …
Laser draws made-to-order magnetic landscapes
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, have for the first time succeeded in using existin …