Browse Physics

Published August 31, 2009

Astrophysics Nuclear Physics Particles & Fields

The Moon might be stranger than we think.

Published August 31, 2009

Nuclear Physics

A laser spectroscopy technique that has helped resolve a puzzle about the structure of ⁵⁷Cu could prove useful in studying other exotic, short-lived nuclei.

Published August 31, 2009

Particles & Fields

New particles decaying to the heaviest elementary particles might reveal the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking.

Published August 24, 2009

Particles & Fields

Two collaborations at Fermilab observe the production of single top quarks.

Published August 24, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics

Patterns of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice can be engineered on a microscale by selectively removing atoms from individual sites.

Published August 24, 2009

Gravitation Mesoscopics

Can quantum electronic devices offer an experimental system that mimics the behavior of black holes?

Published August 17, 2009

Mesoscopics

In integer quantum Hall systems, do theory and experiment agree for the wrong reasons?

Published August 17, 2009

Nanophysics

Fullerenes enclosing a metallic complex are found to form an ordered array with preferred alignment on a copper surface.

Published August 10, 2009

Graphene

The mobility of charge carriers in epitaxial bilayer graphene may be limited by structural domains.

Published August 3, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics

An optical-lattice clock based on atoms with spin-1/2 nuclei could potentially challenge the current clock standard.

Published August 3, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics

Weakly bound three-body states have now been observed in mixtures of two different ultracold atoms.

Published August 3, 2009

Graphene Nonlinear Dynamics

Graphene is not just your everyday relativistic quantum playground; it may have ghostly chaotic features as well.

Published August 3, 2009

Interdisciplinary Physics

A different way of modeling networks allows an exact derivation of their properties.

Published July 27, 2009

Interdisciplinary Physics Nonlinear Dynamics

Can physicists still learn anything about molecular motion from the classical pendulum?

Published July 20, 2009

Statistical Mechanics

Statistical physicists have long known that brief reductions in entropy are possible. Now, entropy changes in two nonequilibrium systems have been calculated exactly.

Published July 13, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics Particles & Fields

Monopoles with a single magnetic charge could be simulated in Bose-Einstein condensates

Published July 13, 2009

Nonlinear Dynamics Optics

The fastest known random number generator based on a physical process comes from intensity fluctuations in the light from a chaotic laser.

Published July 6, 2009

Graphene Mesoscopics

Can a patterned semiconducting heterostructure yield a better “graphene”?

Published July 6, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics

Ultrafast laser measurements map out the electronic structure of a neutral molecule as it photoionizes and breaks apart, leading to new conclusions about the time it takes for dissociation to occur.

Published July 6, 2009

Materials Science Statistical Mechanics

A semi-automated method that incorporates physically realistic assumptions from the start, dramatically improves the efficiency of first principles calculations for describing complex materials.

Published June 29, 2009

Statistical Mechanics

In the theory of statistical information processing, what is the minimum amount of energy needed to make a measurement and then erase its memory?

Published June 29, 2009

Interdisciplinary Physics

A comparison between two social groups—urban gangs and the virtual “guilds” found in online role-playing games—suggests that they tend to follow similar patterns in how they form.

Published June 29, 2009

Soft Matter

The rapid evaporation of solvent during spin casting—a technique widely used in the manufacture of plastic parts—may prevent polymer films from reaching equilibrium.

Published June 25, 2009

Interdisciplinary Physics

Misconceptions about “force” and “motion” are often rooted in everyday experiences. Understanding this link may help teachers better communicate with physics students.

Published June 22, 2009

Metamaterials Optics

Bent light can do more than render objects invisible—it can make them appear as something else.