https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In a world first, the team, led by Professor Stephen Liddle, discovered a new type of aromatic molecule made entirely of metal atoms, the heaviest of its kind ever confirmed. The team stabilized an extremely rare three‑atom ring of bismuth, held between two large metal atoms (uranium or thorium) in a structure known as an "inverse‑sandwich" complex. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-chemists-stabilize-rare-threeatom-metal.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:00:08 EDT news695904841 A team of researchers led by the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated a programmable superconducting diode at the LaAlO3/KTaO3 (LAO/KTO) interface, an advance that holds potential to enhance/help usher in the future of next-generation electronics and quantum circuits. The work, published in the journal Nano Letters, and featured on the journal's cover, was led by first author Muqing Yu, a graduate student in the lab of Jeremy Levy, Distinguished Professor of Condensed Matter Physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-programmable-superconducting-diode.html Nanophysics Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:20:01 EDT news693744961 Multiferroic metals are materials that exhibit both electric polarization and magnetic order in the same crystal—a state known as multiferroicity. Because these properties coexist, they can interact through magnetoelectric (ME) coupling, allowing electric fields to influence magnetism. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-room-temperature-dimensional-multiferroic-metal.html Condensed Matter Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:00:01 EDT news692627941 Light is an unusually rich carrier of information. Its direction of travel, wavelength, and polarization can all be used to encode signals or images. Yet controlling these properties independently remains difficult, especially when light can enter a device from either side. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-mbius-surface.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:00:06 EST news691838582 The best candidate for next-generation magnetic devices—technology that can power, store, sense or transport information—may be, counterintuitively, antiferromagnets. Today, the most widely used magnetic materials are ferromagnets, which exhibit permanent magnetization and therefore strongly attract each other. Their opposite, called antiferromagnetic materials, exhibit no net magnetization at all. Despite a net zero magnetic field, they offer appealing properties that would solve the challenges of current magnetic technologies, like stray magnetic field generation or slow operation. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-liquid-crystal-phase-antiferromagnets-electrically.html Condensed Matter Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:20:01 EST news691760161 Physicists in China have unveiled new clues to the origins of high-temperature superconductivity in an iron-based material just a single unit-cell thick. Led by Qi-Kun Xue and Lili Wang at Tsinghua University, the team's experiments show that the effect emerges through a striking dichotomy between two atomic "sublattices" in the material—offering deeper insight into how superconductivity arises. Their results are published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hidden-atomic-dichotomy-superconductivity-ultra.html Superconductivity Tue, 03 Mar 2026 08:10:01 EST news691669418 Why do some melodies feel instantly right, balanced, memorable and satisfying, even if you have never heard them before? New research from the University of Waterloo suggests that more than creativity is at play. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-secret-math-catchy-melodies.html Mathematics Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:36:20 EST news690701761 Modern technologies increasingly rely on light sources that can be reconfigured on demand. Think of microlasers that can quickly switch between different operating states—much like a car shifting gears—so that an optical chip can route signals, perform computations, or adapt to changing conditions in real time. The microlaser switching is not a smooth, leisurely process, but can be sudden and fast. Generally, nearly identical "candidate" lasing states compete with each other in a microcavity, and the laser may abruptly jump from one state to another when external conditions are tuned. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-fast-microlaser-modes-simple-reveals.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Feb 2026 09:42:25 EST news689852521 Two-dimensional (2D) materials, in general, allow the realization of unique quantum phenomena unattainable in the common three-dimensional (3D) world. A prime example is graphene. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a similar structure. Both can be stacked to form van der Waals heterostructures or can be exfoliated into single layers. But TMDs have an extra variety of excellent properties, including strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-broken-inversion-symmetry-3d-crystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:00:01 EST news689603688 Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have developed a new way to fabricate three-dimensional nanoscale devices from single-crystal materials using a focused ion beam instrument. The group used this new method to carve helical-shaped devices from a topological magnet composed of cobalt, tin, and sulfur, with a chemical formula of Co₃Sn₂S₂, and found that they behave like switchable diodes, meaning that they allow electricity to flow more easily in one direction than the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sculpting-complex-3d-nanostructures-focused.html Nanophysics Wed, 21 Jan 2026 05:00:10 EST news688150201 Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the diffraction limit of light. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-vibrational-spectroscopy-technique-enables-nanoscale.html Nanomaterials Mon, 19 Jan 2026 16:24:22 EST news688062242 A recent study carried out by researchers from EHU, the Materials Physics Center, nanoGUNE, and DIPC introduces a novel approach to solar energy conversion and spintronics. The work tackles a long-standing limitation in the bulk photovoltaic effect—the need for non-centrosymmetric crystals—by demonstrating that even perfectly symmetric materials can generate significant photocurrents through engineered surface electronic states. This discovery opens new pathways for designing efficient light-to-electricity conversion systems and ultrafast spintronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-symmetry-limits-photovoltaics-surface.html Condensed Matter Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:00:06 EST news687695367 Antiferromagnetic (AF) materials are made up of atoms or molecules with atomic spins that align in antiparallel directions of their neighbors. The magnetism of each individual atom or molecule is canceled out by the one next to it to produce zero net magnetization. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-antiferromagnetic-metal-diode-behavior-external.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:20:01 EST news687006065 Altermagnets are a newly recognized class of antiferromagnets whose magnetic structure behaves very differently from what is found in conventional systems. In conventional antiferromagnets, the sublattices are linked by simple inversion or translation, resulting in spin-degenerate electronic bands. In altermagnets, however, they are connected by unconventional symmetries such as rotations or screw axes. This shift in symmetry breaks the spin degeneracy, allowing for spin-polarized electron currents even in the absence of net magnetization. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-hidden-magnetism-altermagnets.html Condensed Matter Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:00:01 EST news685267090 Materials react differently to electric and magnetic fields, and these reactions are known as electromagnetic responses. In many solid materials, unusual electromagnetic responses have been known to only emerge when specific symmetries are broken. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-subtle-materials-prompts-electromagnetic-behavior.html Condensed Matter Wed, 17 Dec 2025 08:30:01 EST news685108304 For decades, nuclear physicists believed that "Islands of Inversion"—regions where the normal rules of nuclear structure suddenly break down—were found mostly in neutron-rich isotopes. In these unusual pockets of the nuclear chart, magic numbers disappear, spherical shapes collapse, and nuclei unexpectedly transform into strongly deformed objects. So far, all such islands have been exotic nuclei such as beryllium-12 (N = 8), magnesium-32 (N = 20), and chromium-64 (N = 40), all of which are far away from the stable nuclei found in nature. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-nuclear-island-magic.html General Physics Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:12:19 EST news684429122 A collaborative European research team led by physicists from Slovak Academy of Sciences has theorized a new approach to control spin currents in graphene by coupling it to a ferroelectric In2Se3 monolayer. Using first-principles and tight-binding simulations, the researcher showed that the ferroelectric switching of In2Se3 can reverse the direction of the spin current in graphene acting as an electrical spin switch. This discovery offers a novel pathway toward energy-efficient, nonvolatile, and magnet-free spintronic devices, marking a key step toward the fabrication of next-generation spin-based logic and memory systems to control spin textures. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-electrical-currents-graphene-ferroelectric.html Condensed Matter Fri, 14 Nov 2025 13:50:05 EST news682348466 Time-varying systems, materials with properties that change over time, have opened new possibilities for the experimental manipulation of waves. Contrarily to static systems, which exhibit the same properties over time, these materials break so-called temporal translation symmetry. This in turn prompts the emergence of various fascinating phenomena, including time reflection, refraction and diffraction. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-physicists-varying-strong-coupling-magnonic.html Condensed Matter Mon, 29 Sep 2025 06:30:02 EDT news677737962 A team of researchers has discovered how a little-known type of symmetry in quantum materials, called nonsymmorphic symmetry, governs the way these materials interact with intense laser light. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-hidden-symmetries-ways-quantum-materials.html Condensed Matter Thu, 21 Aug 2025 16:31:03 EDT news675012661 Researchers at The University of Osaka have discovered a new type of chiral symmetry breaking (CSB) in an organic crystalline compound. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-scientists-phenomenon-chiral-symmetry.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:16:04 EDT news674828162 A team of Chinese researchers has developed two new genome editing technologies, known collectively as Programmable Chromosome Engineering (PCE) systems. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-megabase-scale-precision-genome-eukaryotic.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:40:03 EDT news673529861 The generation of electricity from heat, also known as thermoelectric energy conversion, has proved to be advantageous for various real-world applications. For instance, it proved useful for the generation of energy during space expeditions and military missions in difficult environments, as well as for the recovery of waste heat produced from industrial plants, power stations or even vehicles. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-giant-nonlinear-nernst-effect-trilayer.html Nanophysics Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:30:01 EDT news671959548 Superconductivity is an advantageous property observed in some materials, which entails the ability to conduct electricity without resistance below specific critical temperatures. One particularly fascinating phenomenon observed in some unconventional superconductors is so-called spin-triplet pairing. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-greatly-nonreciprocal-ktao-based-interface.html Condensed Matter Wed, 16 Jul 2025 06:30:02 EDT news671711101 When the Empire State Building was constructed, its 102 stories rose above midtown one piece at a time, with each individual element combining to become, for 40 years, the world's tallest building. Uptown at Columbia, Oleg Gang and his chemical engineering lab aren't building Art Deco architecture; their landmarks are incredibly small devices built from nanoscopic building blocks that arrange themselves. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-3d-material-dna.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 09 Jul 2025 06:48:05 EDT news671262482 In a review just published in Nature Materials, researchers take aim at the oldest principle in electronics: Ohm's law. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-ohm-law-nonlinear-currents-emerge.html Condensed Matter Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:09:03 EDT news670676942 As we witness the detrimental effects of climate change, the need for a rapid shift to renewable energy is only becoming more urgent. One of the most efficient forms of renewable energy, solar power, is generated by solar cells, which are the building blocks of solar panels. These electronic devices use semiconductors to convert the energy of light into electricity, a process called the photovoltaic effect. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-artificial-heterostructure-tunable-photovoltaic-effect.html Condensed Matter Tue, 24 Jun 2025 16:00:02 EDT news669999536 Cornell researchers are demonstrating how artificial intelligence—particularly deep learning and generative modeling—can accelerate the design of new molecules and materials, and even function as an autonomous research assistant. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-smarter-faster-ai-explored-molecular.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 19 May 2025 13:14:03 EDT news666879241 Chirality—the property of an object that is distinct from its mirror image—has long captivated scientists across biology, chemistry, and physics. The phenomenon is sometimes called "handedness," because it refers to an object possessing a distinct left- or right-handed form. It is a universal quality that is found across various scales of nature, from molecules and amino acids to the famed double-helix of DNA and the spiraling patterns of snail shells. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-physicists-unusual-chiral-quantum-state.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 May 2025 16:46:04 EDT news665855161 Altermagnets, which exhibit momentum-dependent spin splitting without spin–orbit coupling (SOC) or net magnetization, have recently attracted significant international attention. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-era-magnetization-future-applications-spintronics.html Condensed Matter Sat, 03 May 2025 18:00:01 EDT news665139627 Catenanes are organic compounds with ring-like molecules that are mechanically interlocked. The mechanical locking system in such molecules is so robust that they can only be disentangled via covalent bond cleavage. A recent study has presented a new strategy for controlling the chirality—the property where a molecule has non-superimposable mirror images—of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) like catenanes, without changing its overall shape via non-covalent means. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-compact-catenane-tunable-mechanical-chirality.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Apr 2025 10:10:02 EDT news665139603