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Quarks Influenced by Their Neighborhood

November 20, 2009

The quark structure inside protons and neutrons changes based on the local nuclear environment, according to electron accelerator experiments.

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Viewpoints

Power laws in chess

Sergei Maslov, November 16, 2009The popularity of various chess openings follows a power law distribution, but the exponent depends on the depth of the opening sequence. Read More »

Observation of directed percolation—a class of nonequilibrium phase transitions

Haye Hinrichsen, November 16, 2009Directed percolation, a class of nonequilibrium phase transitions as prominent as the Ising model in equilibrium statistical mechanics, is realized experimentally for the first time, after more than fifty years of research.

⁸⁴Sr—just right for forming a Bose-Einstein condensate

$$^{84}\textrm{Sr}$—just right for forming a Bose-Einstein condensate$ Tanya Zelevinsky, November 9, 2009Two separate teams have achieved the long sought after Bose-Einstein condensation of strontium. Read More »

There and back again: from magnets to superconductors

A. J. Schofield, November 9, 2009A theory of novel phase formation near quantum critical points suggests that large fluctuations lead to magnetic analogs of inhomogeneous superconductivity. Read More »

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Trends

Taking the wraps off cloaking

John Pendry, November 16, 2009Scientists and novelists have been intrigued for centuries by the possibility of hiding an object so completely that neither trace of the object nor of its cloak is to be found. Recent theoretical developments show that cloaking is, in principle, possible for electromagnetic waves and to a limited extent for other types of wave, such as acoustic waves. An energetic program of experimental research has shown some of the schemes to be realizable in practice. Read More »

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Editorials

Physics —one year out of the gate

September 14, 2009

More than a year ago, the American Physical Society launched Physics with the goal of having scientists explain and comment on the work of their peers, as published in the journals of the APS. This newest of the APS publications went online in beta mode on 14 July 2008 with a full complement of expert commentaries, followed by a bigger splash in September 2008 with email announcements to APS members, authors, and referees. Read More »

Synopses

A skein of plasma

November 16, 2009 [Synopsis on Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 215002 (2009)]

Plasma Physics

The magnetic field generated by a plasma can lack cylindrical symmetry even when the initial plasma state is perfectly symmetrical. Read More »

When magnetism unchains a break junction

November 16, 2009 [Synopsis on Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 217201 (2009)]

Magnetism Nanophysics

First-principles calculations explore how magnetic interactions impede the formation of atomically thin wires. Read More »

A way to distinguish quantum noise

November 16, 2009 [Synopsis on Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 210401 (2009)]

Quantum Information

Whether two quantum states can be distinguished over time provides a test to characterize noise from the environment. Read More »

Ranking scientists

November 11, 2009 [Synopsis on Phys. Rev. E 80, 056103 (2009)]

Interdisciplinary Physics

An analysis of the citation network leads to an alternative way to quantitatively assess the impact of a scientist’s work. Read More »

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