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. Physicists with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering have identified a new form of superconducting behavior. Experiments on the metal uranium ditelluride reveal that Cooper pairs, the composite electron units responsible for superconductivity, can organize into nonuniform patterns that exist even when the main superconducting phase is absent. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-cooper-pairs-superconducting-critical-temperature.html Superconductivity Sat, 03 Oct 2026 07:00:01 EDT news710216698 Helium—the lightest atom that can be laser-cooled and controlled—powers a new design for high-powered, stable quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-helium-quantum-concept-faster-tunneling.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:20:01 EDT news708100202 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 Welcome back to our series on Interstellar Travel, where we look at the many proposals made for sending missions to the stars since the dawn of the Space Age. In our first installment, we examined how Cold War-era developments in nuclear weapons and rockets paralleled advances in space exploration, resulting in proposals for nuclear rockets. We then examined how the creation of thermonuclear weapons led to applications in fusion propulsion. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-interstellar-warp-wormholes-halo.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:40:04 EDT news707391962 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 Strongly interacting quantum particles are key to some of the most fascinating phenomena in modern physics—from magnetism and superconductivity to topological states. Yet the complexity of such systems makes many of their properties difficult to understand even today. A research team from Innsbruck and Turin has now proposed a new theoretical framework for generating and studying these exotic states of matter in ultracold magnetic atoms in a one-dimensional lattice. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-exotic-quantum-phases-ultracold-magnetic.html Superconductivity Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:20:09 EDT news701607901 In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team from the Nägerl group, together with theory collaborator Alvise Bastianello from the CNRS and the Université Paris-Dauphine, demonstrates that highly unusual quantum states known as "fractional Fermi seas" can be quantum engineered. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-equilibrium-cesium-atoms-reveal-fractional.html Quantum Physics Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:20:01 EDT news700999737 Quantum materials are a class of exotic materials with special properties that are governed by quantum mechanics rather than classical physics. Those properties—like superconductivity, entanglement and unusual forms of magnetism—often originate in the tiny repeating patterns of atoms inside crystals, but through clever engineering, they can be observed and controlled at a more human scale. Quantum materials are helping to power the quickly growing field of quantum computing and could find their way into future generations of energy-efficient electronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-reveal-large-scale-quantum.html Condensed Matter Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:00:06 EDT news700320241 Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential of outperforming classical computers on some tasks. Despite their potential, the use of these systems remains very limited, due to their high cost and other challenges that have so far prevented their large-scale fabrication. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-surrogates-quantum-overhead.html Quantum Physics Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:20:01 EDT news699875533 For the first time, scientists have directly imaged the quantum process underlying superconductivity, a phenomenon in which paired electrons cause electric current to flow without resistance at sufficiently low temperatures. The results weren't quite what they expected. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-capture-superconductivity-pairs-revealing.html Condensed Matter Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:50:01 EDT news695487661 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 Quantum states are notoriously fragile, and can be destroyed simply through interactions, measurements, and exposure to their surrounding environments. In a new theoretical study published in Physical Review X, Rohan Mittal and colleagues at the University of Cologne have discovered a new way to protect quantum behavior on large scales within systems driven far from equilibrium. Their results could have promising implications for the design of more robust quantum devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-quantum-coherence-large-scales-realistic.html Condensed Matter Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:20:01 EDT news694340197 Astronomers have found that both the core of our Milky Way and the earliest proto-galaxies in the universe share a surprising trait: They are unusually calm and quiet in terms of harsh radiation. This tranquility is not just a cosmic curiosity; it may be essential for forming complex molecules that provide the ingredients of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-galactic-islands-tranquility-red-dots.html Astronomy Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:20:04 EDT news692548452 The Pauli exclusion principle is a cornerstone of the Standard Model of particle physics and is essential for the structure and stability of matter. Now an international collaboration of physicists has carried out one of the most stringent experimental tests to date of this foundational rule of quantum physics and has found no evidence of its violation. Using the VIP-2 experiment, the team has set the strongest limits so far for possible violations involving electrons in atomic systems, significantly constraining a range of speculative theories beyond the Standard Model, including those that suggest electrons have internal structure, and so-called "Quon models." Their experiment was reported in Scientific Reports in November 2025. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-vip-narrows-exotic-physics-pauli.html General Physics Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:10:24 EST news689530201 Our Milky Way galaxy may not have a supermassive black hole at its center but rather an enormous clump of mysterious dark matter exerting the same gravitational influence, astronomers say. They believe this invisible substance—which makes up most of the universe's mass—can explain both the violent dance of stars just light-hours (often used to measure distances within our own solar system) away from the galactic center and the gentle, large-scale rotation of the entire matter in the outskirts of the Milky Way. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-dark-black-hole-power-milky.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:23:12 EST news689512921 A new unified theory connects two fundamental domains of modern quantum physics: It joins two opposite views of how a single exotic particle behaves in a many-body system, namely as a mobile or static impurity among a large number of fermions, a so-called Fermi sea. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-physicists-bridge-worlds-quantum.html Quantum Physics Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:22:07 EST news688130492 Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are pioneering the design and synthesis of quantum materials, which are central to discovery science involving synergies with quantum computation. These innovative materials, including magnetic compounds with honeycomb-patterned lattices, have the potential to host states of matter with exotic behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-honeycomb-lattice-sweetens-quantum-materials.html Condensed Matter Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:50:52 EST news687783017 In the future, quantum computers are anticipated to solve problems once thought unsolvable, from predicting the course of chemical reactions to producing highly reliable weather forecasts. For now, however, they remain extremely sensitive to environmental disturbances and prone to information loss. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-evidence-particle-previous-quantum-states.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:11:27 EST news687013861 Quantum particles have a social life, of a sort. They interact and form relationships with each other, and one of the most important features of a quantum particle is whether it is an introvert—a fermion—or an extrovert—a boson. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sudden-breakups-monogamous-quantum-couples.html Condensed Matter Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:40:37 EST news686580001 A stable "exceptional fermionic superfluid," a new quantum phase that intrinsically hosts singularities known as exceptional points, has been discovered by researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-superfluid-phase-hermitian-quantum.html General Physics Mon, 29 Dec 2025 07:18:03 EST news686215055 In the past year, two separate experiments in two different materials captured the same confounding scenario: the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism. Scientists had assumed that these two quantum states are mutually exclusive; the presence of one should inherently destroy the other. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-anyons-root-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 22 Dec 2025 13:26:27 EST news685632361 Researchers from the University of Innsbruck, the Collège de France, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles have developed a simple yet powerful method to reveal anyons—exotic quantum particles that are neither bosons nor fermions—in one-dimensional systems. Their paper is published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-simple-swap-reveals-exotic-anyons.html Condensed Matter Thu, 18 Dec 2025 07:37:21 EST news685265822 Although its existence had been theorized for decades, the Higgs boson was finally observed to exist in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Since then, it has continued to be heavily studied at the LHC. Now, a new study from the researchers at CERN combines the last two runs of ATLAS—one of the two general-purpose detectors at the LHC—to lay out evidence that the Higgs boson can decay into a muon–antimuon pair. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-cern-atlas-evidence-decay-higgs.html General Physics Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:10:01 EST news684068791 At its deepest physical foundations, the world appears to be nonlocal: particles separated in space behave not as independent quantum systems, but as parts of a single one. Polish physicists have now shown that such nonlocality—arising from the simple fact that all particles of the same type are indistinguishable—can be observed experimentally for virtually all states of identical particles. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-quantum-nonlocality-inherent-nature-identical.html Quantum Physics Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:57:04 EST news681663422 Electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) are stellar explosions that occur in stars with initial masses around 8–10 times that of the sun. These stars develop oxygen-neon-magnesium cores, which become unstable when electrons are captured by neon and magnesium nuclei. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-exploring-dark-electron-capture-supernovae.html Astronomy Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:30:01 EDT news680174568 The simulation of strongly interacting many-body systems is a key objective of quantum physics research, as it can help to test the predictions of physics theories and yield new valuable insight. Researchers at Quantinuum, a quantum computing company, recently simulated a simplified version of a well-known theoretical model, the so-called Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, using a trapped-ion quantum computer and a previously introduced randomized quantum algorithm. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-sachdev-ye-kitaev-simulated-ion.html Quantum Physics Sun, 19 Oct 2025 09:20:01 EDT news679922134 Optical lattice clocks are emerging timekeeping devices based on tens of thousands of ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice (i.e., a grid of laser light). By oscillating between two distinct quantum states at a particular frequency, these atoms could help to measure time with much higher precision than existing clocks, which would be highly advantageous for the study of various fundamental physical processes and systems. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-strontium-optical-lattice-clock-high.html General Physics Mon, 06 Oct 2025 11:20:05 EDT news678968109 The precise imaging of many-body systems, which are comprised of many interacting particles, can help to validate theoretical models and better understand how individual particles in these systems influence each other. Ultracold quantum gases, collections of atoms cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero, are among the most promising experimental platforms for studying many-body interactions. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-approach-magnify-functions-imaging-interacting.html Condensed Matter Thu, 25 Sep 2025 06:30:01 EDT news677245425 Some phases of matter cannot be described using the conventional framework of symmetry breaking and exhibit a so-called quantum order. One type of quantum order, known as topological order, is characterized by long-range entanglement between particles across an entire system, a ground state degeneracy that depends on the global shape of the system, and a robustness against local disturbances. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-3d-topological-phase-anomalous-symmetry.html Condensed Matter Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:00:01 EDT news674133791 Neutrinos are fundamental particles characterized by no electric charge and very small masses, which are known to interact with other matter via the weak force or gravity. While these particles have been the focus of numerous research studies, the processes through which they acquire their masses have not yet been elucidated. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-neutrino-masses-interactions-dark.html General Physics Fri, 01 Aug 2025 06:30:01 EDT news673174424