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 new Nature Physics study, researchers demonstrated the Aharonov-Bohm effect in a quantum simulation of a lattice gauge theory using a hybrid trapped-ion quantum computer. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-paths-flux-ions-simulate-aharonovbohm.html Quantum Physics Sat, 07 Nov 2026 13:00:02 EST news713027871 Imagine shuffling a deck of cards where some of the cards are fading just because of the way they interact with the external environment as you shuffle them. Your job is to figure out the interplay between the shuffling, or "imposed randomness," due to the way you shuffle your cards and how that relates to the fading as cards are exposed to the external environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-fingerprints-noisy-random-quantum.html Quantum Physics Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:40:01 EST news712934101 As quantum computers grow more ambitious, many researchers believe the best way forward is to build them in multiple interconnected parts. In these modular designs, separate quantum processors are linked so they can work together as one larger machine. For this to happen, however, connections must carry fragile quantum information without destroying it. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-superconducting-cables-link-large-quantum.html Quantum Physics Sat, 31 Oct 2026 12:00:02 EDT news712581515 Quantum networks could one day connect quantum computers into more powerful systems and enable new forms of secure communication. But a fundamental obstacle stands in the way: Quantum information is extraordinarily fragile, and the entanglement between particles of light on which such networks would depend is easily disrupted. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-skyrmions-outlast-entanglement-hinting.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:40:01 EDT news712572482 Theoretical physicists at Emory University have discovered a way to use light to detect the "spectral fingerprints" of anyons—exotic quasiparticles that emerge from the collective behavior of many electrons. Their findings are published in Physical Review Letters. The work offers a new tool for the study of anyons, which hold potential as fundamental building blocks for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-theoretical-method-anyons-potential-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:40:01 EDT news712484101 Researchers at Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) have succeeded in controlling the magnetism in the nucleus of a single atom with radio waves. This came as a surprise: until now, physicists believed that this nuclear spin could not be manipulated directly. The discovery could open up new possibilities for storing and reading quantum information. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-magnetic-core-atom.html General Physics Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:20:08 EDT news712399742 Quantum networks, systems that connect devices using quantum mechanical effects, could potentially allow users to share information more securely and efficiently. Building these networks typically entails linking stationary qubits, units of quantum information encoded in trapped ions or other physical systems, using photons (particles of light) transmitted through optical fibers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bridge-wavelength-gap-quantum-communications.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 27 Oct 2026 08:40:01 EDT news711967827 Quantum systems can occupy superpositions, quantum states that combine different possibilities. For instance, a microwave field can be prepared in a superposition of an empty state and a state that contains microwave light. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-cat-states.html Quantum Physics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:40:02 EDT news711719213 Quantum networks, systems that connect devices and allow them to exchange information encoded in the quantum states of particles, could enable more secure communications. To build these networks, physicists need to devise strategies that allow distant particles to share quantum states, preserving them long enough to perform calculations or enable communication between devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-atomic-memory-distant-ions-entangled.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:40:12 EDT news711706392 Researchers have developed and demonstrated a new hybrid photonic platform that integrates quantum emitters with photonic devices, providing a way to reliably control the interaction between photons and quantum information carriers. The chip-based platform, which combines gallium phosphide (GaP) with a diamond substrate, could help make quantum networks more practical by providing a way to connect quantum devices over long distances. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hybrid-diamond-chip-interactions-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:00:05 EDT news711300067 Quantum networks are systems that connect different users or devices using principles of quantum mechanics. In the future, these networks could help improve the security of communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-network-entanglement-detectors.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:00:01 EDT news711023003 Most of us recognize basic phases of matter and their properties: solids maintain their shape, liquids flow freely with constant volume, and gases expand to fill their container. Quantum phases, on the other hand, are much harder to categorize, overturning traditional notions of what a phase even is and forcing physicists to rethink their definitions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-stability-distinguish-quantum-phases-older.html Condensed Matter Sat, 10 Oct 2026 13:00:02 EDT news710683734 Physicists in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford have used a hybrid quantum computer, made up of qubits and quantum oscillators, to observe the Aharonov–Bohm effect in a quantum simulation. The effect is a quantum phenomenon in which a particle can acquire a measurable phase by traveling around a magnetic flux, even though it never passes through a region where a magnetic field is present. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hybrid-quantum-foundational-effect.html Quantum Physics Sat, 10 Oct 2026 06:57:07 EDT news710834138 Quantum computers, computer systems that leverage the laws of quantum mechanics, store and process information using qubits (i.e., quantum bits). In many quantum computers, qubits are linked via entanglement, a quantum mechanical effect that connects particles in such a way that their shared state cannot be described as separate, independent states. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-superconducting-circuit-links-smaller-photon.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:06 EDT news710499125 Two studies on critical topology have recently been published in the journal Nature. These studies were led by the teams of Prof. Baile Zhang at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Prof. Jianhua Jiang at the University of Science and Technology of China, respectively. Prof. Xue-Jia Yu from the School of Physics at the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT), served as a co-corresponding author on both papers and provided key theoretical guidance in the related experimental collaborations. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-acoustic-topology-persist-gapless-critical.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:40:20 EDT news710599631 Today, many physicists are actively exploring how light could be used to link objects through quantum entanglement. By fully harnessing the effect, they hope to unlock a wide array of applications, from secure communication networks spanning vast distances to sensitive new tests of the fundamental laws of physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-levitating-glass-sphere-entangled-room.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:40:13 EDT news710587355 Collisions between particles at high energies can sometimes produce new particles and shed light on interactions between the fundamental constituents of matter. Simulating these collisions and their underlying processes could yield valuable insights into how matter behaves at extremely small scales. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-shortcut-particle-collisions-easier.html General Physics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:00:01 EDT news710065765 Many complex quantum systems rapidly lose the recognizable patterns of their initial states as their components interact. To describe patterns of regular and chaotic motion in specific systems, physicists can construct a mathematical map called an effective phase space. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-uncover-recurrent-patterns-chaotic.html General Physics Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:04 EDT news709981266 Working in close collaboration, researchers from Paderborn University, the University of Basel and Ruhr University Bochum have made a breakthrough in quantum communication. In their recently published paper in the journal Physical Review Letters, they demonstrate how special semiconductor nanostructures can be used to generate individual photons and pairs of photons that are almost perfectly identical. These "indistinguishable" particles form the basis for quantum entanglement and quantum interference. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-method-generates-indistinguishable-photons-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:40:10 EDT news710077741 Quantum technologies rely on qubits, units of information that can exist in combinations of the states 0 and 1 instead of being limited to one or the other like conventional bits. Qubits can become entangled, which means their states become linked in ways that cannot be explained by considering each qubit separately. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-parallel-gate-entangles-diamond-qubits.html Condensed Matter Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:40:16 EDT news709820817 An international team of physicists has developed a new method for determining the precise color of laser light using an image that rotates as the laser's frequency shifts. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rotating-pattern-reveals-laser-frequency.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 29 Sep 2026 11:40:10 EDT news709897261 Quantum photonics could be a pivotal part of future quantum technology if the right materials can be created, a new review paper has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultrathin-materials-quantum-circuits-programmable.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:40:01 EDT news709554121 We are continuously sending information to each other, transmitting zeros and ones through a giant network of connected computers and devices. Scientists are now trying to extend this familiar concept of the internet to the quantum realm, looking for an efficient way to exchange quantum rather than classical information: qubits instead of bits. The motivation is not just scientific curiosity. Qubits can be a 0, a 1 or any superposition of the two. They can also become entangled, showing a degree of correlation that is out of reach for classical bits. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rephasing-quantum-memories-photon-states.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:10:01 EDT news709556304 A team from SUNY Polytechnic Institute has designed a quantum rule-based simulator known as Quantum Tic-Tac-Toe. The simulator was originally designed to help students learn abstract concepts in quantum mechanics without using matrix algebra, in a game-like environment. It has rules similar to classical tic-tac-toe but incorporates phenomena from quantum mechanics, such as wavefunction collapse, quantum entanglement and quantum superposition. These concepts are also cornerstones of how quantum computers operate. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tic-tac-toe-simulator-quantum.html Mathematics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:00:12 EDT news709376428 A team led by University at Buffalo physicists has found a mathematical solution that shows how a frustrated quantum magnet can transition from ultraslow behavior to ultrafast, highly entangled behavior resembling that of a black hole. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-physicists-math-ultraslow-quantum-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:00:03 EDT news709314001 Researchers in China have extended the lifetime of entanglement in a room-temperature, solid-state system by up to a factor of 240. Led by Shuo Ren and Rui-Jian Liang at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, the team transferred entangled states from the electron spins of solid-state defects to the spins of surrounding atomic nuclei, which are far more resilient to noise. The research has been published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nuclear-swap-room-temperature-entanglement.html Quantum Physics Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:40:08 EDT news709210398 Quantum communication networks consist of several connected nodes that exchange information encoded in quantum states. These networks could potentially enable more secure communications between quantum devices in different locations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-teleport-quantum-states-parallel.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:20:06 EDT news709207814 Have you ever wondered what Earth observation satellites see when they look down at the deep ocean or a dense tropical forest during the dead of night? The answer, for the most part, is nothing. Standard optical sensors require a steady stream of light to function, and in these photon-limited regions, they hit a hard physical boundary. But what if we could rewrite the rules of optical imaging? By borrowing techniques from quantum photonics, we can push beyond these classical limits and unlock a fundamentally new way to observe the darkest and most hidden environments on our planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-earth-photon-limited-environments.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:20:03 EDT news708598068 Physicists at the University of Oxford have helped confirm that one of the strangest phenomena in physics—quantum entanglement—occurs even among some of the heaviest and most fleeting particles ever created. The discovery, made using the world's most powerful particle collider at CERN, has been published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-physicists-uncover-spooky-quantum-effect.html Quantum Physics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:12:41 EDT news708599518 Electronic voting, the use of electronic systems to cast, record or count votes, could potentially simplify the process of electing new political leaders or other representatives. While some countries have already started using internet-connected devices or electronic voting machines at polling stations, the trustworthiness, security and anonymity of electronic voting systems are still widely debated. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-protocols-electronic-voting.html Quantum Physics Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:40:10 EDT news708080473