https://phys.org/physics-news/quantum-physics/ en-us The latest news on quantum physics, wave particle duality, quantum theory, quantum mechanics, quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation, and quantum computing. Researchers have completely suppressed superconductivity in magic-angle graphene by screening interactions between electrons, helping resolve a long-running debate about the origin of the phenomenon. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-magic-angle-graphene-evidence-unconventional.html Superconductivity Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:20:03 EDT news707746981 The BESIII Collaboration, led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has achieved the world's most precise measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the Lambda (Λ) hyperon using quantum-entangled Λ–anti-Λ pairs produced in J/ψ decays. The result improves the experimental sensitivity by about three orders of magnitude compared with the previous measurement, providing a new way to probe charge-parity (CP) violation in particles containing strange quarks. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-besiii-world-stringent-limit-lambda.html General Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:00:17 EDT news707655901 A new study has demonstrated that it is possible to make a network of atoms and photons that could improve how artificial intelligence stores and recalls memories. This network, called a quantum-optical spin glass, works as an associative memory, a form of AI that enables the recall of full memories from partial information—much like how humans can recognize a person's face in a blurred photograph. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-optical-glass-ai.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news707657764 Research means asking questions of the universe. For centuries, clever minds have advanced science by devising ingenious experiments designed so their results reveal something about the laws of nature as clearly and unambiguously as possible. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-physics-outperform-human-setups.html General Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:20:06 EDT news707649841 Researchers from MIT have designed a new qubit architecture that enables qubits to interact with each other much more quickly while remaining very stable. This advance could someday help scientists build practical quantum computers that can run long, complex algorithms with high accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dual-purpose-qubit-quantum-errors.html Quantum Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:20:04 EDT news707646374 The hidden world of quantum mechanics exists at scales many orders of magnitude smaller than living organisms, yet scientists have long theorized that quantum effects play an important role in biology. Birds' ability to sense magnetic fields during migration is one of the best-known mysteries in this field, with leading theories suggesting that this sensing could be achieved by exploiting quantum entanglement. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-algorithm-birds-migrate.html Quantum Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:20:07 EDT news707643721 What happens when a superconductor becomes so thin that electrons can no longer behave as if they were moving through an ordinary three-dimensional piece of metal? This question has been at the center of my recent work on quantum confinement in metallic films. Over the past few years, I have been developing this line of theory with my colleague Giovanni Ummarino at Politecnico di Torino. Our initial goal was to understand something rather concrete: Why does shrinking the thickness of a superconducting film change the temperature at which superconductivity appears? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-superconductors-thinner-accommodate-magnetic-fields.html Superconductivity Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news707392815 An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The result shows that a fundamental principle at the heart of Einstein's theory of gravity remains consistent with the behavior of matter in the quantum world. The study, led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Ulm and the University of Oxford, was published today (Sept. 2) in Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-einstein-gravity-quantum-world.html General Physics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:00:13 EDT news707475782 Neutrinos are pervasive yet intangible particles that permeate the universe, streaming through whole planets, stars and our bodies by the trillions each second. The elementary particles are often described as "ghostly" for their near-zero mass and elusive nature, as they have very little interaction with normal matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-neutrino-laser-wont-physicists.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:20:04 EDT news707567701 The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is central to Einstein's general relativity. It posits that gravity must accelerate everything equally, regardless of what it is made from. For the first time, a team led by Ming-Sheng Zhan at the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics has tested the principle using clouds of continuously free-falling atoms aboard an orbiting space station. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-physicists-weak-equivalence-principle-orbiting.html General Physics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:30:01 EDT news707556747 A research group in Japan has demonstrated a world-record 10-channel multiplexed quantum photonic interface based on an integrated waveguide array, a key technology for optically interconnecting multiple quantum computers. The study is published in the journal Optica. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ten-channel-photonic-interface-links.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:00:02 EDT news707477822 Carnegie Mellon University scientists have uncovered a new phenomenon that challenges a longstanding assumption about how electronic materials respond to magnetic fields. The discovery broadens the fundamental understanding of the Hall effect, a principle widely used to measure the magnetic and electronic properties of materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-hall-effect.html Condensed Matter Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:20:07 EDT news707385286 For nearly 80 years, physicists have relied on a thought experiment created by Richard Feynman to predict how quantum particles behave. For the first time, researchers in China have tested this trick directly in the lab. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-feynman-path.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:00:02 EDT news707138733 Quantum technologies promise secure communication networks, powerful forms of computing and new sensing tools. One of the major challenges, however, is that different quantum systems often operate at different wavelengths of light. Quantum memories, trapped ions and other quantum devices may work best in the ultraviolet or visible range, while long-distance communication over optical fibers works most efficiently at telecommunications wavelengths. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hollow-core-fiber-platform-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:02 EDT news706879144 Table tennis professionals are true masters at redirecting fast-moving projectiles. Putting a targeted spin on a serve can make the little white ball fly straight toward the edge of the table but then, at the last moment, take a sharp curve into the left corner. The physical phenomenon behind this sporting trick is known as the Magnus effect. It acts on balls of all sizes and has helped decide more than a few soccer matches. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-optical-magnus-effect-sharpen-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:20:04 EDT news707047501 While quantum computing could be the future, it is currently plagued by finicky hardware. To make the technology practical, researchers must demonstrate that it consistently and continuously works and performs at scale. In a new study, published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Ion Storage Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, created a robust process for entangling trapped-ion qubits. The result means better building blocks for ion-based quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ramped-fields-robust-entanglement-ion.html Quantum Physics Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:20:06 EDT news706969261 For decades, light has been used to understand the molecular structures of matter. A sample is irradiated with light, and measurements determine the wavelengths at which it is absorbed. Since each molecule absorbs light at very specific wavelengths that depend on its structure, the resulting absorption spectrum acts like a molecular fingerprint. For individual molecules, however, this signal is vanishingly small and mostly indistinguishable from noise. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-molecule-photon-entanglement-imperceptible-recoil.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:00:14 EDT news706866181 Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated a promising new way to protect fragile quantum information using nothing but mechanical vibrations—essentially extremely small sound waves. The breakthrough, which comes from the lab of Marko Lončar, Tiantsai Lin Professor of Electrical Engineering, paves a path toward compact, sound-based quantum networks on chips, as well as hybrid quantum systems that combine many different types of quantum bits, or qubits. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-duty-quantum.html Quantum Physics Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news706882021 A team of scientists from Caltech and Yale University has shown for the first time how to accurately quantify an important quantum phenomenon in metals, called the Kondo effect, for specific real materials. Unlike previous approaches, which for decades have relied on simplified models to qualitatively describe the effect, the new work uses the actual atomic and electronic structures of materials to solve the problem directly. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-chemical-physicists-quantitatively-electron-interactions.html Condensed Matter Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:20:05 EDT news706870561 The search for materials that can power future quantum technologies is accelerating, but identifying the most promising candidates remains painfully slow. Evaluating whether a material can efficiently emit quantum light requires computationally intensive simulations, making it difficult to screen the vast number of available materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bright-ideas-quantum-emitters.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:02 EDT news706801202 In a study published in Nature on Aug. 19, a research team has enhanced superconductivity through vacuum fluctuations for the first time. The achievement marks a significant advance in controlling quantum states of matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-vacuum-fluctuation-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:50:01 EDT news706806661 There's a new lighthouse on Long Island. But instead of shining light to guide ships through waterways, this one transmits and receives particles of light that carry quantum information. Perched atop a seven-story building at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the "Quantum Lighthouse" is a key pillar of the free-space optical (FSO) link spanning Brookhaven Lab, the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) and Yale University. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-free-space-optical-link-wireless.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:43:00 EDT news706783326 Electron microscopes are used wherever particularly small details need to be imaged. But from a strictly physical point of view, every electron in a conventional electron microscope represents a missed opportunity: If all you do is count electrons, any additional quantum information they carry remains unused. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-microscope-significantly-electron-microscopy.html Quantum Physics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news706276299 Quasiparticles arise from the complex interaction of many particles in solids; for example, we describe lattice vibrations in crystals as phonons. Fractons are exotic quasiparticles that occur at the vertices of magnetic domain walls between different spin orders. What makes them special is that they are virtually immobile and can only be displaced by other fractons. In theory, this limited mobility could be exploited to robustly store quantum information. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-realistic-solid-state-fractons-quantum.html Condensed Matter Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news706535537 Loughborough University physicists and an international team have demonstrated that a grain-of-rice-sized microchip can be used to produce a spectrum of precisely spaced frequencies of light, which is then converted into multiple high-frequency electromagnetic signals known as millimeter waves. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rainbow-chip-6g-networks-precision.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:00:03 EDT news706524302 Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, headquartered at Florida State University, have designed a new quantum computing architecture that uses magnetic levitation to smooth over design flaws in the intricate components necessary to run a quantum computer. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-magnetically-levitated-quantum-bit-flaws.html Quantum Physics Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:20:04 EDT news706449722 For close to a century, physicists have pursued a way to unite gravity with quantum mechanics. Known as quantum gravity, this goal has remained frustratingly out of reach so far. Similarly elusive is the force of dark energy, which is believed to be driving the universe's accelerating expansion. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dark-energy-quantum-gravity-deeply.html General Physics Thu, 20 Aug 2026 07:40:06 EDT news706364525 When different materials transition from one phase to another, such as water coming to a boil or a magnet losing its ability to attract metals, something remarkable can happen: They begin to behave identically, following the same mathematical rules. "Physicists call this trait universality—the messy, microscopic details wash out and only a few essential features survive," explains Jason Alicea, William K. Davis Professor of Theoretical Physics. The math underlying these universal traits is commonly described by a theoretical framework called conformal field theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-universal-pattern-revealed-quantum.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news706363021 Quantum computers hold great promise for applications from drug discovery to cybersecurity. Yet figuring out what would give quantum computers their edge over everyday "classical" computers is a subtle problem. A new theoretical study led by researchers at the Cavendish Laboratory shows that quantum computers are harder to make powerful than previously assumed while offering the clearest picture yet of what actually makes them work. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bit-magic-secret-quantum-negativity.html Quantum Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:40:04 EDT news706361343 Quantum batteries, devices that store energy by exploiting quantum mechanical phenomena, could, in principle, be charged faster and more efficiently than classical ones. Despite their potential, connecting these batteries to chargers is known to create quantum correlations that can trap some energy inside the combined battery-charger system. This can reduce useful work, or the energy available to complete a task that can be extracted from the battery alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-battery-environmental-sensitivity-advantage.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:40:07 EDT news706351396