Browse Physics

Martin Wegener, Stefan Linden, Physics 2, 3 (2009) – Published January 12, 2009

Optics

Metamaterials can be designed to rotate light as it passes through them. If the effect is strong enough, it can lead to the material having a negative index of refraction and light bouncing around very differently than expected.

François Peeters, Physics 2, 4 (2009) – Published January 12, 2009

Mesoscopics

Crystalline structures have been observed in nanoislands of electrons floating above superfluid helium. The energy required to add or subtract an electron from these quantum-dot-like islands agrees well with theory.

Published January 12, 2009

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum graphs are convenient mathematical tools for describing complex molecules and networks of quantum wires. Scientists are addressing the question: When and how fast can a wave function spread out over the entire graph?

Published January 12, 2009

Particles & Fields

Branes are multidimensional objects that arise in the formulation of string theory. Finding more general ways to describe these objects mathematically often leads to new insights into string theory itself.

Gil Refael, Physics 2, 1 (2009) – Published January 5, 2009

Quantum Mechanics

The presence of disorder in a quantum many-body system may appear to make an already difficult problem nearly impossible to solve. However, scientists show that the details of the disorder often do not matter, allowing them to describe realistic systems from magnets to superconductors.

Karl van Bibber, Physics 2, 2 (2009) – Published January 5, 2009

Astrophysics Particles & Fields Cosmology

New upper limits on the spin-independent interaction of WIMPs and nucleons marks the latest volley in the worldwide effort to detect and identify particle dark matter.

Stuart D. Bale, Physics 1, 42 (2008) – Published December 22, 2008

Astrophysics Plasma Physics

New satellite measurements may help solve the puzzle of how the sun’s energy heats the corona and solar wind.

Charles Gould, Laurens W. Molenkamp, Physics 1, 43 (2008) – Published December 22, 2008

Spintronics

In the design of spintronic devices, magnetic semiconductors have the potential to be an “all in one material,” but they are usually ferromagnetic only at low temperatures. However, by growing an iron layer on top of a magnetic semiconductor it is possible to induce room-temperature ferromagnetism in a thin layer near the interface.

Published December 22, 2008

Cosmology Particles & Fields

Mounting evidence seems to rule out weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs ) as the source of a so-far unexplained signal in the DAMA/LIBRA experiments.

Published December 22, 2008

Magnetism

The unusual properties of a single-atom-thick layer of a ferromagnetic alloy deposited on platinum hint at new possibilities for the further miniaturization of recording devices.

Published December 22, 2008

Fluid Dynamics Nonlinear Dynamics

A magnetic field can control the speed with which waves move on the surface of a ferrofluid. Scientists take advantage of this capability to explore new regimes of wave turbulence.

Published December 22, 2008

Atomic & Molecular Physics

A new method for computing electron properties in many-electron molecules yields better results at lower computational cost.

Mark Sadgrove, Physics 1, 41 (2008) – Published December 15, 2008

Atomic & Molecular Physics

Disorder in a crystal tends to localize electrons and drive a transition from a metallic to an insulating state. The same localization can occur in cold atom gasses in a periodic optical trap, but since the trap is tunable it may be possible to explore this effect in multiple dimensions.

Published December 15, 2008

Nuclear Physics

The report of a successful experiment at the new radioactive ion trap at RIKEN paves the way for future measurements of more exotic nuclei, and tests some of the key methods needed to build future rare-isotope accelerators.

Published December 15, 2008

Atomic & Molecular Physics Optics

Lasers can make an opaque material transparent, but to determine how long this state survives, you have to shut off the lights.

Published December 11, 2008

Spintronics

The effects of torques caused by spin-polarized currents are often unwanted in magnetic nanostructures, but they can be diminished with the right design.

Alexandre Blais, Jay M. Gambetta, Physics 1, 39 (2008) – Published December 8, 2008

Quantum Information Optics

Preparing a harmonic oscillator in a state with a well-defined energy is a tricky business. With the new tools provided by cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics it is now possible to make these pure quantum states and watch how they evolve in time.

Zohar Nussinov, Physics 1, 40 (2008) – Published December 8, 2008

Superfluidity Quantum Mechanics

A new phase of matter called a superglass may be possible, as shown by an investigation of the quantum mechanical analog of a classical hard sphere glass.

Published December 8, 2008

Superconductivity

Scientists find that stripe order in cuprates coexists with an unusual two-dimensional superconductivity.

Published December 3, 2008

Biological Physics

Physicists present the mechanism of a DNA-based molecular motor that is fueled by a catalytic reaction and walks in one direction along a reusable track.

Vitor Cardoso, Physics 1, 38 (2008) – Published December 1, 2008

Fluid Dynamics

From the nucleus to black holes, the model of a spinning liquid drop can describe the physics of a large number of systems. With diamagnetic levitation, it is possible to accurately study the many shapes a rapidly rotating liquid drop can take and compare the results against theoretical predictions.

Published December 1, 2008

Fluid Dynamics

Turbulent states in a pipe do eventually decay, but you may have to wait for an extremely long time to prove it.

Published December 1, 2008

Magnetism

An unconventional muon spin rotation experiment can determine if the magnetism in a spin ice is static or dynamic.

Marcel Franz, Physics 1, 36 (2008) – Published November 24, 2008

Semiconductor Physics

The esoteric concept of “axions” was born thirty years ago to describe the strong interaction between quarks. It appears that the same physics—though in a much different context—applies to an unusual class of insulators.

Karl-Heinz Kampert, Physics 1, 37 (2008) – Published November 24, 2008

Astrophysics

Unusual localized excess fluxes of cosmic rays of unknown origin have been observed at an energy of 10 TeV. Several explanations are being considered, but none are convincing.