Phase transitions as a research area investigates qualitative changes in the macroscopic state of matter or systems as control parameters such as temperature, pressure, or external fields are varied, with emphasis on critical phenomena, universality, and order-parameter behavior. It encompasses equilibrium and nonequilibrium transitions, including first- and second-order transitions, symmetry breaking, renormalization-group theory, and scaling laws. The field spans condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, and interdisciplinary complex systems, using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods to characterize phase diagrams, critical exponents, collective excitations, and emergent structures, and to understand how microscopic interactions give rise to distinct thermodynamic or dynamical phases.
Pack enough string-like objects together, and they will begin to align with one another. But replace the strings with worms or bacteria living in your gut, and this self-organization becomes much more difficult. A team of ...
Soft Matter
Jun 13, 2026
0
26
Researchers at University College Dublin and international collaborators have just published a detailed and accessible guide that aims to translate theoretical ideas into practical devices for quantum enhanced sensing technologies.
Quantum Physics
Jun 9, 2026
1
33
Florida State University physicists are part of a team that has discovered unusual superconducting states in parts of graphene, with the potential to drive unexpected quantum technologies.
Superconductivity
Jun 8, 2026
1
21
Waves of light and sound interact to drive electronic and structural changes in a perovskite crystal. At the atomic scale, nothing is ever truly still. Materials that appear perfectly rigid and motionless to the naked eye ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 5, 2026
0
101
Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics describing many-body interactions, have proved promising for the development of various advanced technologies. Many of these ...
Embryonic development is one of the most dynamic biological processes in nature. Cells and tissues organize and reorganize themselves following incredibly precise patterns, while remaining flexible and robust. Scientists ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 2, 2026
0
10
Quantum entanglement is a state in which particles are entwined with each other. In this entwined state, the properties of one particle influence the other, even when they aren't physically close to each other. This phenomenon ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 1, 2026
0
57
Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 1, 2026
0
47
Using finely tuned nanoscale building blocks, researchers from Brown University and the University of Michigan College of Engineering have stabilized a fleeting structural phase of matter that had been predicted theoretically ...
Nanophysics
May 28, 2026
0
79
Researchers in Spain have discovered that in collectives of moving fire ants, rippling "waves" of density and activity are likely triggered by local regions where ants collectively travel in the same direction as their neighbors.
