Articles in 2020

Strong experimental evidence for the existence of the simplest type of anyons (particles that are neither bosons nor fermions) has emerged this year. The next step is to uncover more exotic types of anyons, such as Majorana fermions.

Quantum computing technologies are advancing, and the class of addressable problems is expanding. What market strategies are quantum computing companies and start-ups adopting?

The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in our understanding of equilibration, thermalization and prethermalization, due in large part to experimental breakthroughs in ultracold atomic gases. This Review discusses theoretical and experimental advances on these topics and the challenges ahead.

A paper in Physics of Fluids shows that the wedge-shaped cross-section of pine needles enhances their capacity to shed water.

A report from the UK’s Science Council-supported Technician Commitment highlights the role played by technical staff in minimizing the disruption to research caused by COVID-19.

The first quantum error-correcting code was devised by Peter Shor 25 years ago. Ever since there have been numerous advances on both the theoretical and experimental fronts, and quantum error correction turned out to have unexpected applications.

Physics in Africa is often overlooked. We explore the challenges facing African physicists and what their needs are as authors and readers.

Axion fields provide a unique way to understand large quantized electromagnetic responses in topological insulators and dynamics in Weyl semimetals. This Review discusses the theory of axion fields in condensed matter, their experimental realization and their application in next-generation devices.

The charge radius of the proton is controversial because measurements by different methods disagree. Recent results indicate that these measurements might be reconciled. In this Review, we discuss the experimental techniques used to measure the proton radius and describe the current status of the field as well as forthcoming experiments.

Designing new experiments in physics is a challenge for humans; therefore, computers have become a tool to expand scientists’ capabilities and to provide creative solutions. This Perspective article examines computer-inspired designs in quantum physics that led to laboratory experiments and inspired new scientific insights.

Holographic duality is an equivalence relation between a gravitational system and a quantum many-body system. The Review discusses various insights obtained from the duality into properties of strongly coupled matter, quantum many-body chaos and deep connections between quantum information and geometry.

The coupling of photons to material quasiparticles such as plasmons, phonons and excitons opens new possibilities in light–matter interactions. This Review presents a generalized view of such quasiparticles and the technique that describes their interactions with matter: macroscopic quantum electrodynamics.

Topological Majorana bound states have potential for encoding, manipulating and protecting quantum information in condensed-matter systems. This Review discusses emergence and characterization of Majorana bound states in realistic devices based on hybrid semiconducting nanowires and their connection to more conventional Andreev bound states.

Ferroelectric and ferroelastic domain walls are 2D topological defects with thicknesses approaching the unit cell level and emergent functional properties. This Review discusses the exotic polarization profiles that arise at domain walls and the fundamental mechanisms responsible for domain-wall conduction.

Ten African researchers discuss the varied challenges and opportunities faced by physicists across the continent.

2D materials host various collective excitations, which either mutate or cease to exist in the bulk. In this Review, we select the most striking properties of 2D plasmons, excitons, phonons and magnons, contrasting them with the bulk versions.

A Nature paper shows how vertical oscillations can be used to levitate a fluid and float a boat upside down.

The 5 years since the first detection of gravitational waves have witnessed the rise of multi-messenger astronomy, a field that expands our understanding of astrophysical processes and reshapes the way science is done.

Understanding the behaviour of materials at high pressures and temperatures is of great importance to planetary science and the physics of warm dense matter. This Review addresses the close connection between modelling the interiors of gaseous planets and the high-pressure physics of hydrogen and helium.