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.
Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have reconciled two closely related but contentious mechanisms underlying transcription, the process of converting genetic information in DNA into messenger RNA. Phase separation ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 3, 2025
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For the first time, an international team of scientists has experimentally simulated spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) at zero temperature using a superconducting quantum processor. This achievement, which was accomplished ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 2, 2025
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As the number of particles in a physical system increases, its properties can change and different phase transitions (i.e., shifts into different phases of matter) can take place. Microscopic systems (i.e., containing only ...
A research team, led by Professor Junhee Lee from the Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering at UNIST, has demonstrated through quantum mechanical calculations that charged domain walls in ferroelectrics—once ...
Condensed Matter
May 22, 2025
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In physics, a phase transition is a transformation of a substance from one form to another. They happen everywhere, from beneath the Earth's crust to the cores of distant stars, but the classic example is water transitioning ...
Condensed Matter
May 6, 2025
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In the intricate world of quantum physics, where particles interact in ways that seem to defy the standard rules of space and time, lies a profound mystery that continues to captivate scientists: the nature of deconfined ...
Quantum Physics
Apr 23, 2025
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In a recent study, researchers made a significant observation of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition in a 2D dipolar gas of ultracold atoms. This work marks a milestone in understanding how 2D superfluids ...
Soft Matter
Apr 17, 2025
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In nature and technology, crystallization plays a pivotal role, from forming snowflakes and pharmaceuticals to creating advanced batteries and desalination membranes. Despite its importance, crystallization at the nanoscale ...
A team of Rice University researchers reported the first direct observation of a surprising quantum phenomenon predicted over half a century ago, opening pathways for revolutionary applications in quantum computing, communication, ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 14, 2025
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148
Using artificial intelligence shortens the time to identify complex quantum phases in materials from months to minutes, finds a new study published in Newton. The breakthrough could significantly speed up research into quantum ...
Superconductivity
Apr 10, 2025
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