There’s a hot new BEC in town that has nothing to do with bacon, egg, and cheese. You won’t find it at your local bodega, but in the coldest place in New York: the lab of Columbia physicist Sebastian Will, whose experimental group specializes in pushing atoms and molecules to temperatures just fractions of a … Read more
A spin liquid is a fascinating state of matter that occurs in certain magnetic materials at very low temperatures. Unlike conventional magnetic states where electron spins align in a regular pattern, spin liquids exhibit a disordered state due to the peculiarities of quantum mechanics. This state of matter does not resemble everyday liquids but is … Read more
Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom “recoils” in the opposite direction, making it difficult to measure the position and momentum of the atom precisely. This recoil can have big implications for quantum sensing, … Read more
An Australian-led study has found unusual insulating behavior in a new atomically-thin material—and the ability to switch it on and off. Materials that feature strong interactions between electrons can display unusual properties such as the ability to act as insulators even when they are expected to conduct electricity. These insulators, known as Mott insulators, occur … Read more
Science is taking a step forward in the quest for superconductors that will not require ultra-high pressure to function, thanks to multinational research led by Xiaojia Chen at the University of Houston. “It has long been superconductivity researchers’ goal to ease or even eliminate the critical controls currently required regarding temperature and pressure,” said Chen, … Read more
In a significant development in the field of superconductivity, researchers at The University of Manchester have successfully achieved robust superconductivity in high magnetic fields using a newly created one-dimensional (1D) system. This breakthrough offers a promising pathway to achieving superconductivity in the quantum Hall regime, a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. Superconductivity, the ability … Read more
Weak fluctuations in superconductivity, a precursor phenomenon to superconductivity, have been successfully detected by a research group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech). This breakthrough was achieved by measuring the thermoelectric effect in superconductors over a wide range of magnetic fields and over a wide range of temperatures, from much higher than the superconducting transition … Read more
Research often unfolds as a multistage process. The solution to one question can spark several more, inspiring scientists to reach further and look at the larger problem from several different perspectives. Such projects can often be the catalyst for collaborations that leverage the expertise and capabilities of different teams and institutions as they grow. For … Read more
Electronic states that resemble molecules and are promising for use in future quantum computers have been created in superconducting circuits by physicists at RIKEN. The most obvious advantage of superconductors—materials that offer no electrical resistance to the flow of electrons—in electronic circuits is that they don’t produce any wasteful heating, which limits the energy efficiency … Read more
In the early hours of September 5, 2021, a groundbreaking achievement unfolded within the laboratories of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), marking a significant milestone in the realm of fusion energy research. Engineers successfully developed a new type of magnet using high-temperature superconducting material, achieving a world-record magnetic field strength of 20 tesla … Read more
Under extreme pressure, hydrogen, like many elements, exhibits peculiar behavior that defies conventional understanding. Theoretical predictions suggest that under pressures exceeding a million times that of our atmosphere, hydrogen transforms into a metal and, even more remarkably, a superconductor—a material capable of conducting electricity without resistance. Scientists have long sought to comprehend and harness the … Read more
For years, niobium was considered an underperformer when it came to superconducting qubits. Now, scientists supported by Q-NEXT have found a way to engineer a high-performing niobium-based qubit and take advantage of niobium’s superior qualities. When it comes to quantum technology, niobium is making a comeback. For the past 15 years, niobium has been sitting … Read more
University of Oxford researchers have used a new technique to measure the movement of charged particles (ions) on the fastest ever timescale, revealing new insights into fundamental transport processes. These include the first demonstration that the flow of atoms or ions possesses a “memory.” The study, “The persistence of memory in ionic conduction probed by … Read more
An international collaboration between researchers from Innsbruck and Geneva has unveiled a groundbreaking thermometry method tailored for measuring temperatures in low-dimensional quantum gases. Surprisingly, their findings suggest that compressing a gas may lead to cooling—a counterintuitive phenomenon that challenges conventional wisdom. Published in Science Advances, this study marks a significant milestone in our understanding of … Read more
Physicists have been captivated by superconductors for decades, yet these materials, facilitating the flawless flow of electrons, typically unveil their quantum marvel only at temperatures near absolute zero, making practical applications challenging. Harvard’s Professor Philip Kim and his team have presented a groundbreaking approach, outlined in the journal Science, to create and manipulate a prominent … Read more
Physics, often referred to as the fundamental science, is a branch of natural science that seeks to understand the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter and energy in the universe. It is a discipline that explores the properties of the smallest particles at the quantum level and the vastness of cosmic structures at the … Read more
In a recent breakthrough detailed in Nature Communications, a collaborative effort among researchers from Politecnico di Milano, Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, and Sapienza University of Rome sheds new light on a perplexing aspect of copper-based superconductors with high critical temperatures. These materials exhibit unique behavior, acting as “strange” metals even when temperatures surpass … Read more
Quantum Field Theory (QFT) stands as one of the cornerstones of modern theoretical physics, providing a powerful framework for understanding the fundamental particles and forces that make up the universe. Born out of the synthesis of quantum mechanics and special relativity, quantum field theory describes particles as excitations of underlying fields permeating space and time. … Read more
Electromagnetism is a branch of physics that deals with the study of electromagnetic forces and their interplay with electric charges and currents. This phenomenon, encompassing both electricity and magnetism, is fundamental to our understanding of the physical world. The intricate relationship between electric and magnetic fields was first systematically explored and mathematically formalized in the … Read more
Nathan Goldman and Lucila Peralta Gavensky, along with their Science Faculty colleagues at ULB, unveil a versatile framework in PRX Quantum. This framework offers a means to modify and govern nonlinearities across a diverse range of physical systems, encompassing optical devices and quantum atomic gases. The interaction dynamics of particles are typically governed by nature’s … Read more