November 2009 Issue

Haye Hinrichsen, Physics 2, 96 (2009) – Published November 16, 2009

Statistical Mechanics Soft Matter

Directed 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.


Sergei Maslov, Physics 2, 97 (2009) – Published November 16, 2009

Statistical Mechanics Interdisciplinary Physics

The popularity of various chess openings follows a power law distribution, but the exponent depends on the depth of the opening sequence.

John Pendry, Physics 2, 95 (2009) – Published November 16, 2009

Optics Metamaterials

Scientists 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.

Published November 16, 2009

Quantum Information

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

Published November 16, 2009

Magnetism Nanophysics

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

Published November 11, 2009

Interdisciplinary Physics

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

A. J. Schofield, Physics 2, 93 (2009) – Published November 9, 2009

Magnetism Superconductivity

A theory of novel phase formation near quantum critical points suggests that large fluctuations lead to magnetic analogs of inhomogeneous superconductivity.

Tanya Zelevinsky, Physics 2, 94 (2009) – Published November 9, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics

Two separate teams have achieved the long sought after Bose-Einstein condensation of strontium.

Published November 9, 2009

Soft Matter

Below a critical thickness, liquid-crystal films will exhibit molecular ordering similar to that of spins in a helical magnet.

Shuang Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Physics 2, 91 (2009) – Published November 2, 2009

Optics Particles & Fields Metamaterials

Čerenkov radiation with the emission cone reversed has been observed in a metamaterial with negative refractive index.

John R. Kirtley, Francesco Tafuri, Physics 2, 92 (2009) – Published November 2, 2009

Mesoscopics Cosmology

Defects—in the form of vortices in superconductors or “strings” in the fabric of the universe—can reveal the state of a system at the time it was cooled.

Published November 2, 2009

Materials Science

When crystal formation is purely entropy driven, as is the case for superstructures of nanoparticles with hard-sphere interactions, new simulations that can run at finite temperature are needed.

Published November 2, 2009

Optics

An advance in attosecond pulse generation will make it easier to produce a single pulse.