Theorists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign address an experimental paradox by developing a general theory uniting a kind of order known as electronic nematicity with a crystal’s elasticity.

Researchers build world’s smallest interferometer to measure how X-rays and atomic nuclei interact

The researchers study the performance of the PLATON demonstrator by characterising its spatial resolution with data collected in the laboratory for light intensities ranging from a few hundred down to five detected photons.

An international team at GSI/FAIR has observed for the first time an exotic bound state of a carbon-11 nucleus and an η′ meson, held together solely by the strong interaction. The discovery confirms a 20-year-old prediction and reveals that the η′ meson mass decreases inside nuclear matter, offering new insight into the origin of mass in strongly interacting particles.

Quantum physicists at ANU have observed helium atoms entangled in motion for the first time, demonstrating that massive particles with gravity can exist in two places at once and interfere with themselves. This milestone advances quantum mechanics experiments beyond photons, opening new paths to explore the interface between quantum physics and gravity.

Electrons can be ‘kicked across’ solar materials at almost the fastest speed nature allows, scientists have discovered – challenging long-held theories about how solar energy systems work. The finding could help researchers design more efficient ways of harvesting sunlight and converting it into electricity. In experiments capturing events lasting just 18 femtoseconds – less than 20 quadrillionths of a second – researchers at the University of Cambridge observed charge separa

The team developed a platform that uses powerful X-rays from the lab’s LCLS X-ray laser to resolve for the first time the evolution of instabilities in high-density plasmas.

The three atoms of the excited NeKr 2 trimer keep roaming around each other for up to one picosecond. © FHI Together with an international team, researchers from the Molecular Physics Department at the Fritz Haber Institute revealed how atoms rearrange themselves before releasing low-energy electrons in a decay process initiated by X-ray irradiation. For the first time, they gain detailed insights into the timing of the process – shedding light on related radiation damage me

In a landmark achievement at the confluence of artificial intelligence and fundamental physics, a team of researchers from Tongji University, the Chinese university of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University has developed an AI algorithm capable of classifying complex topological phases of matter without relying on the mathematical tools that have limited human scientists for decades. This breakthrough, which tackles the notoriously difficult realm of non-Hermitian sys

For the first time, researchers simultaneously used ultrafast X-rays and electrons to image a shockwave in water, a “multi-messenger” view that reveals details previous experiments couldn’t see. Researchers found an unexpected layer of water vapor made the shockwave symmetric, a feature similar to what happens in certain targets used for inertial confinement fusion. The work shows how researchers can use small-but-mighty systems called laser-plasma accelerators to explore the

A team from the Faculty of Physics and the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies at the Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw has developed a new method for measuring elusive terahertz signals using a "quantum antenna." The authors of the work utilized a novel setup for radio wave detection with Rydberg atoms to not only detect but also precisely calibrate a so-called frequency comb in the terahertz band. This band was until recently a white spot in the electroma

For a long time, the two areas of strong-field physics and quantum optics were considered independent areas of physics research without any significant overlaps. Whilst strong-field physics focuses on the behavior of material, such as atomic gases, in intense light fields, quantum optics focuses on researching special quantum properties of light that cannot be described within the framework of classical physics. Strong-field physics requires intense laser rays, in other words