Phys.org Physics

• Universal embezzlers naturally emerge in critical fermion systems, study finds

  Embezzlement of entanglement is an exotic phenomenon in quantum information science, describing the possibility of extracting entanglement from a resource system without changing its quantum state. In this context, the resource systems play the role of a catalyst, enabling a state transition that would otherwise be impossible, without being consumed in the process. For embezzlement of entanglement to be possible, the resource state needs to be highly entangled.

• New study uncovers surprising physics of 'marine snow'

  The deep ocean can often look like a real-life snow globe. As organic particles from plant and animal matter on the surface sink downward, they combine with dust and other material to create "marine snow," a beautiful display of ocean weather that plays a crucial role in cycling carbon and other nutrients through the world's oceans.

• New theory proposes time has three dimensions, with space as a secondary effect

  Time, not space plus time, might be the single fundamental property in which all physical phenomena occur, according to a new theory by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist.

• Scientists demonstrate unconditional exponential quantum scaling advantage using two 127-qubit computers

  Quantum computers have the potential to speed up computation, help design new medicines, break codes, and discover exotic new materials—but that's only when they are truly functional.

• Rewriting a century-old physics law on thermal radiation to unlock the potential of energy, sensing and more

  A research team from Penn State has broken a 165-year-old law of thermal radiation with unprecedented strength, setting the stage for more efficient energy harvesting, heat transfer and infrared sensing.

• Magically reducing errors in quantum computers: Researchers invent technique to decrease overhead

  For decades, quantum computers that perform calculations millions of times faster than conventional computers have remained a tantalizing yet distant goal. However, a new breakthrough in quantum physics may have just sped up the timeline.

• Phonon-mediated heat transport across materials visualized at the atomic level

  Gao Peng's research group at the International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, has developed a breakthrough method for visualizing interfacial phonon transport with sub-nanometer resolution. Leveraging fast electron inelastic scattering in electron microscopy, the team directly measured temperature fields and thermal resistance across interfaces, unveiling the microscopic mechanism of phonon-mediated heat transport at the nanoscale.

• Study offers new insights into first-principles calculations of hadron structure

  Researchers from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with collaborators from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in Brazil and Iowa State University, have theoretically explored the influence mechanism of quark-gluon interactions on the parton distribution functions (PDFs) within hadrons, providing new insights into first-principles calculations of hadron structure.

• True single-photon source boosts secure key rates in quantum key distribution systems

  Quantum key distribution (QKD), a cryptographic technique rooted in quantum physics principles, has shown significant potential for enhancing the security of communications. This technique enables the transmission of encryption keys using quantum states of photons or other particles, which cannot be copied or measured without altering them, making it significantly harder for malicious parties to intercept conversations between two parties while avoiding detection.

• Intercellular fluid flow, not just cell structure, governs how tissues respond to physical forces

  Water makes up around 60% of the human body. More than half of this water sloshes around inside the cells that make up organs and tissues. Much of the remaining water flows in the nooks and crannies between cells, much like seawater between grains of sand.

• Ultralow loss optical microresonators pave way for miniaturized, tunable photonic systems

  Aston University researchers have developed a new class of optical microresonators, miniature optical devices that strongly confine and enhance light in microscopic dimensions. They are essential components in a wide range of systems, including ultra-precise optical sensors and information processors.

• Permanent magnet configurations outperform classical arrangement to deliver strong and homogeneous fields

  Physicists Prof. Dr. Ingo Rehberg from the University of Bayreuth and Dr. Peter Blümler from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have developed and experimentally validated an innovative approach for generating homogeneous magnetic fields using permanent magnets.

• From spin glasses to quantum codes: Researchers develop optimal error correction algorithm

  Scientists have developed an exact approach to a key quantum error correction problem once believed to be unsolvable, and have shown that what appeared to be hardware-related errors may in fact be due to suboptimal decoding.

• Multicore fiber testbed demonstrates precise optical clock signal transmission over 25 km

  Researchers have shown, for the first time, that transmission of ultrastable optical signals from optical clocks across tens of kilometers of deployed multicore fiber is compatible with simultaneous transmission of telecommunications data.

• Scientists propose blueprint for 'universal translator' in quantum networks

  UBC researchers are proposing a solution to a key hurdle in quantum networking: a device that can "translate" microwave to optical signals and vice versa.

• Highly charged muonic ions observed in gas-phase experiment for first time

  An international team of researchers, including members from the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), has directly observed "highly charged muonic ions," a completely new class of exotic atomic systems, in a gas-phase experiment for the first time. The study was published online on June 16 in Physical Review Letters.

• Improved thermoelectrics: Scientists harness 'traffic jam of electrons' to boost heat-to-electricity conversion

  Electricity can be easily converted into heat—every electric cooker does it. But is the opposite also possible? Can heat be converted into electricity—directly, without a steam turbine or similar detours?

• Expanding the border of superheavy nuclei—new seaborgium isotope discovered

  An international research team led by GSI/FAIR, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) has succeeded in the production of a new seaborgium isotope. In the experiment conducted at the GSI/FAIR accelerator facilities, 22 nuclei of seaborgium-257 could be detected. The results were published in the journal Physical Review Letters and highlighted as an "Editor's Suggestion."

• 5D model accurately predicts nuclear fission in elements beyond uranium and plutonium

  A five-dimensional (5D) Langevin approach developed by an international team of researchers, including members from Science Tokyo, accurately reproduces complex fission fragment distributions and kinetic energies in medium-mass mercury isotopes (180Hg and 190Hg). The model successfully captures the unusual "double-humped" fragment mass distribution observed in mercury-180 and offers new insights into how nuclear shell effects influence fission dynamics—even at higher excitation energies than previously thought—advancing our understanding of fission in the sub-lead region.

• Improved laser frequency stabilization achieved with unprecedented long optical reference cavity

  Scientists at NPL recently published findings on laser frequency stabilization, demonstrating an unprecedented level of performance using an optical reference cavity. This advancement features a beyond state-of-the-art optical storage time and a novel approach to actively cancel spurious stabilization noise.

• Light-based computing with optical fibers shows potential for ultra-fast AI systems

  Imagine a computer that does not rely only on electronics but uses light to perform tasks faster and more efficiently. A collaboration between two research teams from Tampere University in Finland and Université Marie et Louis Pasteur in France have now demonstrated a novel way of processing information using light and optical fibers, opening up the possibility of building ultra-fast computers. The studies are published in Optics Letters and on the arXiv preprint server.

• Message in a bubble: Physics enables encoding of messages in ice

  Inspired by naturally occurring air bubbles in glaciers, researchers have developed a method to encode messages in ice.

• Scientists harness vacuum fluctuations to engineer quantum materials

  Vacuum is often thought of as empty, but in fact it is teeming with fleeting energy fluctuations—virtual photons popping in and out of existence that can interact with matter, giving rise to new, potentially useful properties.

• Atom tweezer arrays reveal how phase transitions unfold in mesoscopic systems

  As the number of particles in a physical system increases, its properties can change and different phase transitions (i.e., shifts into different phases of matter) can take place. Microscopic systems (i.e., containing only a few particles) and macroscopic ones (i.e., containing many particles) are thus typically very different, even if the types of particles they are made up of are the same.

• Scientists uncover magnetic-field control of ultrafast spin dynamics in 2D ferromagnets

  A research team led by Prof. Sheng Zhigao from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Prof. A.V. Kimel from Radboud University, has demonstrated that strong magnetic fields can effectively regulate laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization in a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnet.