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. 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 Despite science's best efforts to classify the vast menagerie of subatomic particles discovered over the past few decades, some exotic varieties defy explanation. Now, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have found evidence of two unexpected structures that could help better sort the zoo of exotic particles. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strange-quark-sector-reveals-particle.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:20:05 EDT news706350601 In the coming years, increasingly larger and more powerful quantum systems are expected to tackle problems that are difficult or impossible to solve using conventional computers. However, the more powerful quantum simulations become, the more difficult it is to independently verify their results. Where classical simulation is still feasible, results can be cross-checked directly; beyond that regime, other methods are needed. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-simulators-gain-quantitative-error.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:45:31 EDT news706351469 To commercialize quantum computing, manufacturers need high-quality superconducting materials for microchips, but they also require a reliable, sustainable nanofabrication process. Tantalum is a corrosion-resistant metal that meets the first criterion but not the second. That's because it has to be deposited on a substrate at temperatures that typically exceed 400°C (752°F)—too hot for many semiconductor foundries' current tools. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-krypton-gas-emerges-ingredient-quantum.html Superconductivity Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:40:06 EDT news706277341 Quantum communication promises many advantages over today's standard technologies, including absolutely secure transmission of large amounts of data. However, it requires single photons—and generating them is very difficult. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) have developed a new method that overcomes the problems of previous approaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-photonic-crystal-method-photon-sources.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:00:04 EDT news706273921 Optical fibers are already the backbone of global communication systems. Recently, however, physicists have started to explore how their functionality could be boosted further by conveying information via entangled quantum particles—potentially enabling instantaneous exchanges of information across vast distances. Such a system could eventually be the basis of a future 'quantum internet,' offering a level of security and computing power beyond anything possible today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-entangle-quantum-memories-km.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:30:01 EDT news706284107 Quantum sensors, devices that collect measurements by exploiting quantum-mechanical phenomena, could potentially detect extremely weak magnetic, gravitational and electromagnetic signals with greater sensitivity than classical sensors. Some quantum sensors leverage entanglement, a phenomenon that prompts distant particles to become so strongly linked that the physical state of one particle dictates the state of the others. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-approach-noise-resistant-quantum-sensors.html Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:07 EDT news705926571 What is heat, and what is useful work if a machine consists only of an atom and light particles? In modern quantum technologies, this kind of question connects thermodynamics with quantum physics. Researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have developed a theoretical approach that can reconcile both theories. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-links-atom-photon-thermodynamics.html General Physics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:30:02 EDT news706204501 Physicists at the University of Twente have improved the standard test for the quality of individual particles of light. By letting three photons interfere at the same time instead of two, they draw more information from every measurement. Their experiment outperforms even a perfect, noise-free run of the old method. The work appeared in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-photons-standard-photon.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news706188421 New results from the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) suggest that gluons, the glue-like particles that hold quarks together inside protons, play a central role in the conservation of baryon number—an essential part of a particle's quantum identity. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gluons-play-central-role-baryon.html General Physics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:40:07 EDT news706187401 Researchers at Monash University have predicted a new type of quantum matter that challenges decades of thinking about how ultracold particles behave. The paper, "Quantum droplets in a resonant Bose-Fermi mixture," is published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:20:03 EDT news706186441 An electron is supposed to be indivisible. It carries one fundamental unit of electric charge, and every electron is exactly the same. But under extreme conditions, large numbers of electrons act together and give rise to new quantum objects called quasiparticles. These act as if they carry only a fraction of an electron's charge, making them one of the strangest phenomena in modern physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-graphene-device-fractional-electric-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:40:10 EDT news706185841 A study has been published in Nature Communications that identifies an unusual regime of quantum oscillations in a three-dimensional topological insulator. The results show that, when subjected to temperatures near absolute zero and extreme magnetic fields, electrons in the material zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe₅) exhibit behavior that deviates from the pattern predicted by conventional theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-anomalous-quantum-oscillations-reveal-physics.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:40:05 EDT news706178521 Time-reversal symmetry is an exotic behavior found in systems whose internal physics looks different when running forward versus backward in time. For some time, physicists have searched for this behavior in systems with almost no overall magnetization. Such phases are highly prized for spintronics, where information is carried using the quantum spins of electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strain-flips-hall-altermagnetic-manganese.html Condensed Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:04 EDT news705839192 Altermagnetism is a new, third type of magnetism of great interest for spin-transport applications like computer memory. If properly harnessed, it could combine the benefits of the two existing types of magnetism, ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism, ultimately reducing or eliminating heat during information transfer and increasing the ability to miniaturize next-generation technologies. Rice University's Pengcheng Dai recently published a paper in Physical Review X describing the first successful efforts to put a proposed altermagnetic material into a single magnetic-domain state, allowing the research team to characterize the material's intrinsic magnetic structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-uniaxial-strain-reveals-tune-electron.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Aug 2026 02:39:51 EDT news705807532 Signals ride on waves of one kind or another: light, sound, radio. But new carriers are needed to relay information in next-generation devices. Disturbances or waves in magnetic materials called magnons could be an efficient option—if scientists can tame them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spontaneous-magnons-synchronize-external-room.html Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news705746821 Quantum advantage refers to the point at which a quantum computer solves a clearly defined task faster or more efficiently than any classical computer—or makes it solvable in the first place. For many practical applications, this has not yet been demonstrated. Research therefore relies heavily on theoretical models and simulations to explore where and under what conditions such an advantage may realistically be achieved in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-advantage-reassessed-realistic-benchmarks.html General Physics Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:20:08 EDT news705742802 Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity with zero electrical resistance below specific temperatures. Most of these materials become superconducting at very low temperatures, but some also exhibit superconductivity at higher temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sought-zhang-rice-singlet-visualized.html Superconductivity Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news705663782 A University of Kansas physicist played a leading role in a CERN study showing that two rival explanations for how gluons behave inside atomic nuclei can now be experimentally distinguished. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cern-conventional-gluons-atomic-nuclei.html General Physics Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:40:04 EDT news705672722 Researchers at the University of Basel and the Technical University of Munich have developed a new method to reveal the collective motion of electrons in one of the most elusive states of matter: the Wigner crystal. Using light, the physicists were able to uncover previously inaccessible properties of this fragile quantum state. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-optical-method-reveals-internal-dynamics.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 11 Aug 2026 05:00:03 EDT news705591481 Every electronic and optoelectronic device generates heat, and today that heat is managed almost entirely from the outside. Heatsinks, fans, cold plates and refrigerators are bulky exterior measures bolted onto a chip or package after the fact. They treat heat as a single averaged quantity to be removed in bulk, even though the heat is actually produced locally, component by component, deep inside the circuitry. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-circuits-electronics-oldest-power.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:40:10 EDT news705585471 Over the last decade, researchers have developed two-dimensional materials with fascinating quantum effects that could be harnessed for next-generation technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-discovery-electrons-2d-material-memory.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:20:05 EDT news705584761 Using light to process quantum information is one of the most promising approaches to building future quantum computers. Light particles, known as photons, are excellent carriers of quantum information, but their lack of natural interactions has created a major challenge for researchers seeking to build systems capable of performing a full range of computations. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-shifting-architecture-versatility-photonic-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news705325201