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. The middle of the twentieth century was a period of significant scientific advancement, particularly in the realm of physics. Within this rapidly changing landscape, academic disciplines emerged and evolved to keep pace with scientific discoveries. The new subdiscipline of solid-state physics gained prominence in the United States, but it was later subsumed by the broader category of condensed matter physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-busseiron-formation-discipline-japanese-physics.html General Physics Tue, 19 May 2026 07:00:09 EDT news698384882 This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals an enigmatic galaxy with a bright center and a face that hints at spiral structure, yet it holds no obvious spiral arms. Reddish-brown clumps and filaments of dust partially obscure the galaxy's full face, while red, blue, and orange light from distant galaxies shines through its diffuse outer regions and dots the inky-black background. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hubble-reveals-rare-galaxy-million.html Astronomy Mon, 18 May 2026 16:30:01 EDT news698339899 In physics, the spontaneous de-mixing of two substances is known as phase separation. It is an important mechanism in nature to create structure and patterns and typically requires some form of attraction between the constituents. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen, together with collaborators at the University of Edinburgh and the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Warsaw, have now discovered a new route to phase separation available in systems where the constituents are inherently alive or active. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-growth-cell-colonies-phase.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 13 May 2026 16:12:22 EDT news697907521 Researchers have recently found a new way to summon useful structures in magnetic materials using light, heat, and electric fields. This new method, described in a new study published in Physical Review Letters, may lead to more energy-efficient and flexible technologies for data storage and optical devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-liquid-crystal-demand-skyrmions-room.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 May 2026 12:40:02 EDT news697890165 Researchers at the University of Alicante (UA) have developed a highly precise method for measuring distances at the nanometer scale at room temperature, opening up new avenues in molecular electronics research. The team, based at the UA Quantum Transport Laboratory (QT-Lab), has also identified gold nanocontacts just three atoms thick for the first time, significantly advancing current understanding of electronic transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-room-temperature-nanoscale-molecular-electronics.html Nanophysics Wed, 06 May 2026 14:40:05 EDT news697296841 Electronic nematicity is a phase of some crystalline solids in which electrons' collective properties, such as charge or spin densities, organize themselves into ordered patterns, lowering the crystal's rotational symmetry. This phase is found across a wide range of diverse materials, making nematicity crucial to understanding emergent solid-state phenomena, such as unconventional superconductivity and magnetism. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-elastic-nematic-crystals-disordered.html General Physics Tue, 05 May 2026 13:30:01 EDT news697205041 Quantum technology has promising potential to revolutionize how large and complex amounts of information are processed. While already in use primarily in laboratory and research settings globally, quantum technologies are in a transition phase for broader industry applications across many economic sectors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-varying-magnetic-fields-exotic-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 04 May 2026 12:20:09 EDT news697112761 With the involvement of scientists from the Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics in Berlin and the Universities of Augsburg and Münster, international researchers have presented a new roadmap for surface acoustic waves. The study outlines how this technology will evolve over the next 10 years, spanning applications from signal processing to quantum technologies and the life sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-roadmap-highlights-surface-acoustic-technologies.html Nanophysics Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news696679566 With a carefully designed experiment and a handful of tin atoms, University of Tennessee, Knoxville's physicists have found a long-sought form of superconductivity, taking one more step toward creating custom quantum materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pattern-exposes-chiral-superconductivity-sought.html Superconductivity Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:00:03 EDT news696691381 Researchers have uncovered a counterintuitive phenomenon in collision dynamics: high-speed particles bounce back from wet walls much more strongly than expected. Integrating experimental observations with advanced numerical simulations revealed that increasing the impact speed induces a morphological transition in the post-collision liquid film, shifting it from a bridge to a dome shape. Further, it clarified the relevance of cavitation to such a dramatic change and to the stronger bounce. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-high-particles-higher-collisions.html General Physics Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:40:06 EDT news696586201 New observations and simulations by a team of researchers led by MPE reveal that a massive binary star near our galaxy's center is responsible for creating a series of enigmatic gas clouds—compact gas clumps that help feed the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. The study is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mysterious-gas-clouds-milky-black.html Astronomy Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:08 EDT news696159422 A quantum spin liquid is a phase of matter in which the magnetic moments in a material do not align or freeze, even at temperatures close to absolute zero (i.e., at 0 K). The experimental realization of this highly dynamic state could have important implications for the development of quantum computers and other technologies that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pressure-tuned-quantum-liquid-behavior.html Condensed Matter Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:00:02 EDT news695910243 The cosmological constant is the mathematical description of the energy that drives the ever-accelerating expansion of the cosmos. It's also the source of one of the most enduring and confounding problems in modern physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mathematical-universe-cosmological-constant-problem.html General Physics Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news695907962 Superconductivity is a state of matter characterized by an electrical resistance of zero, typically at very low temperatures. Past studies have found that in various materials, this unique state is accompanied by unusual electron arrangements. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-link-metallicity-superconductivity-uncovered-trilayer.html Condensed Matter Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:00:04 EDT news695304845 Researchers from the Department of Energy's Quantum Science Center (QSC) headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating the first digital quantum simulations of how spin currents change over time in a 1-D model of a quantum spin material. The results, now published in Physical Review Letters, establish a new, programmable way to use quantum computers to study the transport of spin—a fundamental quantum variable—in materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-quantum-simulations-reveal-1d-materials.html Condensed Matter Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:20:01 EDT news695486850 A special class of sensors leverages quantum properties to measure tiny signals at levels that would be impossible using classical sensors alone. Such quantum sensors are currently being used to study the inner workings of cells and the outer depths of our universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-multitasking-quantum-sensors-properties.html Quantum Physics Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:40:01 EDT news695461141 The mechanics of the onset of cancer or neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease or ALS remain a mystery. Scientists associate these diseases with an increase in unstable molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells, but they don't fully know why they form or why these molecules might pose a problem. They also are beginning to determine which parts of cells are to blame for producing ROS. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cellular-redox-reactions-path-neurodegenerative.html Biochemistry Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:10:06 EDT news695319901 A Majorana fermion is a particle that would be identical to its antiparticle. Such an object has not yet been found. However, certain solid materials exhibit analogous behavior as if Majorana fermions were present through collective excitations of the system called quasiparticles. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-poor-majoranas-quantum-probes.html Condensed Matter Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:00:04 EDT news695029562 DNA inside the nucleus is not packed as a rigid regular fiber—linker histone H1 dynamically binds and loosely "glues" nucleosomes together, creating a dynamic, fluid organization that can still support essential genome functions. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-liquid-histone-h1-nucleosomes-reshaping.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:00:06 EDT news694967221 The interiors of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune could be home to a previously unknown state of matter, according to new computational simulations by Carnegie's Cong Liu and Ronald Cohen. Their work, published in Nature Communications, predicts that a quasi-one-dimensional superionic state of carbon hydride exists under the extreme pressures and temperatures found deep inside these outer solar system bodies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-depths-neptune-uranus-superionic.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news694435981 Researchers at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology have, for the first time, measured the temporal duration of individual pulses of an extraordinary form of quantum light known as bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). Their findings are published in Optica. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ultrafast-quantum-pulses.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:20:02 EDT news694258144 Researchers at The University of Manchester have created a physics‑informed machine‑learning model that can run molecular simulations for unprecedented lengths of time, even at temperatures as high as 1,000 Kelvin. The study, published in Communications Chemistry, explores the first AI-powered model that can keep molecular simulations running safely and smoothly, even when molecules are pushed to extreme conditions. In simple terms, this model stops molecules from "breaking apart" inside the simulation, allowing researchers to study how they behave over long periods and at very high temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ultrarobust-machinelearning-stable-molecular-simulations.html Biochemistry Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:40:07 EDT news694174261 An international team of researchers built a highly sensitive quantum microscope and used it to directly observe, for the first time at room temperature, how electrons subtly interact with each other in graphene—confirming a decades-old theoretical prediction with remarkable precision. The research is published in the journal Nano Letters. The team was led by Dmitri Efetov, Professor of Experimental Solid State Physics at LMU München's Faculty of Physics and MCQST co-coordinator for Research Area Quantum Matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-quantum-microscope-reveals-electron-interactions.html Nanophysics Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:40:01 EDT news694104917 Studying and designing novel materials is a central application of quantum mechanics. Chemists, materials scientists, and physicists focus on subtle interactions in quantum materials and to uncover them they rely on sophisticated computational and experimental techniques. Computer simulations that connect microscopic quantum interactions to measurable material properties complement experimental data to connect structure to function—but classical computers can struggle to simulate those properties. Fortunately, scientists today have a new tool in their toolbox: quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-quantum-accurately-simulates-real-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:20:02 EDT news693760656 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 For more than a century, condensed matter physics has grappled with one of its greatest unsolved challenges: how to build superconductors that operate at room temperature and transmit electricity with no loss. Now, in a paper published in Nature, a team of Harvard physicists has reported new insights into why one promising superconductor has yielded mysteriously uneven results. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-window-superconductivity-reimagining-classic-tool.html Condensed Matter Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:00:01 EDT news693228425 An international research team led by Alexander Kuznetsov at the Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics (PDI) in Berlin has demonstrated a fundamentally new way to control the condensation of hybrid light-matter particles. Using coherent acoustic driving to dynamically reshape the energy landscape of a semiconductor microcavity, the researchers achieved deterministic steering of a macroscopic quantum state into its lowest energy configuration. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-acoustic-enables-condensation-chip.html Condensed Matter Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:40:01 EDT news692443561 Rydberg atoms are atoms with one or more outer electrons excited to very high energy levels, which interact very strongly with each other. These atoms are widely used to run quantum simulations and develop quantum technologies, as they can give rise to exotic and rare phases of matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superradiant-clock-phase-emerges-rydberg.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:00:01 EST news691926084 When most people hear "polymer," they think of plastics. In our group, polymerization is a way to line up identical molecules like beads on a string and let quantum mechanics take over. Put magnetic building blocks in a one-dimensional row and the chain can behave as a single quantum object. Even more intriguing, the chain can hide its most useful properties at its ends. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-chemically-tuning-nanographene-topological-chains.html Nanophysics Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:40:01 EST news691931086 Chinese researchers have developed a photocatalytic membrane reactor that dramatically improves the synthesis of imines—a class of compounds essential to the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced synthetic materials. Characterized by their C=N bond, imines are critical precursors in the synthesis of various high-value compounds, including oxaziridines, cucurbiturils, and quinolines. However, traditional imine synthesis methods rely on condensation reactions between amines and carbonyl compounds that often require dehydrating agents, strong acids, or costly catalysts, posing significant challenges for sustainable manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-2d-membrane-reactor-photocatalytic-synthesis.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:20:06 EST news691688913