https://phys.org/physics-news/ en-us The latest news in physics, materials science, quantum physics, optics and photonics, superconductivity science and technology. Updated Daily. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method that uses a single ion to detect electromagnetic fields above a surface and to create a three-dimensional map of them. In the future, this approach can be used to improve chips for quantum computers and quantum sensors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ion-3d-electromagnetic-fields-chips.html Condensed Matter Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:20:04 EDT news702223023 Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different structural conformations. Their study provides a new window into how molecules rearrange themselves during chemical reactions, offering fundamental insights into the microscopic processes that govern chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-synchronized-infrared-lasers-molecular-expose.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:10:01 EDT news702230341 The transmission of optical information through random scattering media is a major challenge in optics, biomedical imaging, telecommunications and remote sensing. When light passes through a turbid or diffusive medium, such as biological tissue or a randomly structured optical material, the original image information can be severely distorted, making reliable recovery difficult. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diffractive-networks-enable-optical-random.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news702222722 Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are the first to directly utilize orbital currents without the need for conversion of the orbital current into a spin current. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-orbitronics-key-hurdle-orbital-currents.html Condensed Matter Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:10:01 EDT news702229681 Quantum materials, materials exhibiting physical behavior governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, have proved promising for the development of numerous advanced technologies, including quantum technologies, memory devices and solar panels. In some of these materials, electrons can collectively arrange themselves in unusual patterns, giving rise to states that cannot be explained by classical physics theories. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-spontaneous-current-loops-kagome-metal.html Condensed Matter Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:20:07 EDT news702218355 Quantum properties of light are extremely delicate. When researchers attempt to measure them, even small losses on the way to a detector can make them invisible, limiting their use outside carefully controlled environments. A collaborative team of researchers involving scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) has shown a new way to measure several quantum channels of light at the same time and reveal their entanglement, even when almost all of the light is lost before reaching the detector. The results, recently published in Nature Communications, open new possibilities for scalable quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-properties-multimode-extreme-losses.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:20:04 EDT news702215161 Everything around us, from atoms and molecules to planets and galaxies, is governed by two extraordinarily successful theories of physics: quantum mechanics and gravity. Quantum mechanics explains the behavior of the microscopic world, while Einstein's theory of gravity describes the motion of stars, black holes and the expansion of the universe. Yet despite their successes, physicists are still searching for a theory of "quantum gravity" that would unite them into a single description of nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-gravity-ordinary-spacetime-superposition.html General Physics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:20:08 EDT news702208921 Dark matter accounts for 85% of the matter in the universe, but scientists still do not know what it is made of. A study, published in Physical Review Letters, by Rice University researchers proposes a detector design that could help search for axions, hypothetical particles that many physicists think could make up dark matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-semiconductor-dark.html General Physics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news702203102 Hawking radiation is a form of radiation emitted by black holes, as theoretically predicted by Stephen Hawking. It suggests that black holes do not merely swallow matter—as had previously been assumed—but also emit very faint radiation themselves. This radiation has not yet been observed in space; instead, researchers use models in the laboratory that mimic the behavior of black holes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-analog-gravity-advance-insights-hawking.html General Physics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news702202982 By remotely accessing an IBM quantum computer, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has successfully simulated a key process in particle physics: hadronization. Although based on a simplified model of quantum mechanics, the project lays the groundwork for how physicists can leverage the power of quantum computers to make large scientific calculations beyond the capabilities of classical supercomputers. The research is published in the journal Physical Review D. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-simulates-hadronization-qubits.html General Physics Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:40:01 EDT news702058201 In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers have demonstrated the Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) effect with up to 12 indistinguishable neutral atoms—an effect that has been predominantly observed in photonic systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-physicists-hongoumandel-atoms.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 30 Jun 2026 12:00:01 EDT news702035661 Plutonium is one of the most complex elements in the periodic table. First synthesized and isolated in 1940 by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, plutonium has been studied closely for more than eight decades. It's most often associated with its role in nuclear security, but it's also vital to nuclear power, where it is produced in reactors and can be recycled as fuel. Despite plutonium's importance, some of its most fundamental behaviors remain a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-plutonium-compound-rare-topological-quantum.html General Physics Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:30:01 EDT news701969521 When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening new possibilities for fusion energy, particle acceleration, astrophysics and beyond. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-kind-laser-avenues-plasma.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:00:07 EDT news701962082 The ordinary graphite in pencil lead is proving to be surprisingly multifaceted at the microscale. In a study published in the journal Nature, MIT researchers report that a certain microscopic structure found in natural graphite can host multiple superconducting states. Superconductivity is an electronic state of matter in which electrons pair up and glide through a material with zero resistance. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-graphene-multiple-states-superconductivity.html Condensed Matter Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:40:01 EDT news701961484 An international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, their response is averaged over many different local environments and therefore appears isotropic, as expected for a cubic crystal. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-disorder-optics-compound-semiconductors.html Condensed Matter Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:10:02 EDT news701968441 An international team of quantum researchers has shown how machine learning can be used to filter a practically infinite number of possible material combinations to identify candidates for superconductivity. Thanks to the breakthrough, new superconductors can now be found much faster, says Aalto University Professor Päivi Törmä, who leads the SuperC consortium behind the research. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-superconductors-yield-thousands.html Condensed Matter Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:20:09 EDT news701954709 The world's most powerful particle accelerator will shutter operations Monday for four years of renovations to dramatically boost its collision capacity and the potential for unlocking one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: dark matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-world-largest-particle-smasher-halts.html General Physics Sat, 27 Jun 2026 15:29:47 EDT news701792967 In quantum mechanics, the geometry of quantum states has emerged as a powerful framework for understanding phenomena ranging from electrical conductivity to superconductivity. One research direction aims to extend these geometric concepts to non-Hermitian quantum mechanics—where systems can exchange energy with their environment—including the generalization of the Berry phase, a key geometric quantity, to the non-Hermitian case. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hermitian-geometry-reveals-quantum-amplification.html General Physics Sat, 27 Jun 2026 11:00:02 EDT news701439389 Scientists at Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with Waymo, have developed a new model that predicts with high accuracy how human drivers respond to dangerous traffic situations. For the first time, different types of collision avoidance behavior are combined into a single model. The results will be published on 10 June in Nature Communications. Waymo is already using the model to compare the performance of its autonomous vehicles with that of human drivers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-humanlike-accuracy.html General Physics Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:30:01 EDT news700414030 Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have developed a technique for interrogating molecules on surfaces with spectroscopic precision, thereby reaching the ultimate quantum limit for the first time. With their findings, published in Science, the researchers open new opportunities for the study of molecule-surface interactions and molecular quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-crystal-surface-molecules-ultimate-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 26 Jun 2026 17:00:01 EDT news701698772 Almost every material expands when heated. Well-known examples include railroad tracks and concrete roadways, which feature visible expansion gaps to accommodate this effect. However, thermal expansion poses a far more acute challenge for extremely precise technologies, such as lasers and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, where even minute dimensional changes can compromise precision. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-crystal-strategy-thermal-expansion.html Condensed Matter Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:40:01 EDT news701696989 Physicists at Paderborn University have, for the first time, experimentally demonstrated the so-called "return" of Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots. The phenomenon, which was first predicted theoretically in 2007, describes the decrease in the emission intensity of the quantum dots, which are initially damped by interactions with the lattice vibrations of a solid (phonons). https://phys.org/news/2026-06-semiconductor-quantum-dots-reawaken-rabi.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:00:04 EDT news701694781 Controlling and trapping molecules, units of a substance consisting of two or more chemically bound atoms, with laser light is significantly more challenging than trapping individual atoms. This is because molecules exhibit more complex vibrational and rotational dynamics that make them more difficult to cool and trap. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-metal-hydride-molecule-laser-path.html General Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:40:01 EDT news701522897 A research team led by Prof. Zhang Jinglei from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the trilayer nickelate La4Ni3O10-δ exhibits a nearly isotropic upper critical field under high pressure. This finding provides important experimental insight into the superconducting mechanism of nickel-based materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-isotropic-superconducting-property-revealed-trilayer.html Condensed Matter Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:20:01 EDT news701622961 Researchers have developed light-transmitting hydrogel fibers that are just hundreds of micrometers in diameter. With further development, these soft fibers could one day make it possible to use imaging techniques to detect early breast cancer hidden inside very small breast ducts. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-microscale-hydrogel-fibers-enable-imaging.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:20:03 EDT news701621602 In an international experiment, researchers observed Jahn–Teller polarons—quasiparticles that could play an important role in future ultrafast spintronic devices. These polarons emerged within the crystal lattice of cobalt oxide that had been activated by carefully tailored laser pulses. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-laser-pulses-capture-unexplored-polaronic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:40:02 EDT news701617923 Chiral 2D metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are among the most promising materials for future technologies that exploit the spin of electrons in spin-based optoelectronics, or spintronics, but getting them to perform consistently has proven difficult. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a data-driven approach that identifies and models key synthesis parameters to optimize their performance. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-roadmap-boost-gen-spintronics.html Condensed Matter Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:30:01 EDT news701626681 It's one thing to design a pharmaceutical drug. It's another to know if and why it actually works; not on paper or in a computer model, but inside the chaotic world of living systems, where proteins twist into shape, atoms constantly pull and push each other apart, and molecular interactions are the difference between health and disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-hidden-quantum-power-generation.html Quantum Physics Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:20:10 EDT news701617438 Scientists have developed a new type of "virtual" metasurface—capable of controlling light in ways traditional lenses and optics can't—which they say is superior to the current approach, which relies on ultrathin engineered materials. The Nottingham Trent University team says the work will help fully optimize metasurface potential for a range of real-world applications and paves the way for a move from physical to virtual platforms in nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ultra-fast-technology-game-changer.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:00:02 EDT news701617246 Strongly interacting quantum particles are key to some of the most fascinating phenomena in modern physics—from magnetism and superconductivity to topological states. Yet the complexity of such systems makes many of their properties difficult to understand even today. A research team from Innsbruck and Turin has now proposed a new theoretical framework for generating and studying these exotic states of matter in ultracold magnetic atoms in a one-dimensional lattice. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-exotic-quantum-phases-ultracold-magnetic.html Superconductivity Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:20:09 EDT news701607901