Volume 3 Issue 1, January 2021

As the construction of the Electron–Ion Collider (EIC) is starting, the EIC Project Director Jim Yeck shares his experience on the main ingredients for success of big science projects.

A paper in Nature Physics images magnetic vortices using X-ray ptychography and finds that they are stable under high magnetic fields.

A paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the ridges on finger pads promote grip by acting as a microfluidic array that maintains optimal moisture levels and by deforming when wet to block sweat pores.

A Nature paper reports on the conversion of microwave-frequency quantum excitations of a superconducting qubit into photons at optical telecommunication frequencies, a step closer to realizing a working quantum transducer.

Whereas high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates has been studied for 30 years, during the past year it has been reported in nickelates. This raises new questions for physicists and chemists about the mechanism of superconductivity.

Strong correlations may produce states of matter that do not have non-interacting counterparts, with new types of quantum criticality, superconductivity, and topological phases being recent highlights. This Review describes the physics underlying these correlated states and points to their potential for quantum applications.

Since the first measurement of the spin structure of the proton, there has been significant theoretical and experimental progress in understanding the origins of the proton spin. This Review discusses what we have learned so far, what is still missing and what to expect from the upcoming experiments.

Understanding light–matter interactions in layered materials is crucial for applications in photonics and optoelectronics. This Technical Review discusses the optical spectroscopy techniques to access details of the electronic band structure, crystal quality, crystal orientation and spin–valley polarization, including key aspects of practical set-ups to perform experiments for a broad range of applications.

Transitions between the topologically distinct vacuum sectors induce a chiral asymmetry in hot quark–gluon matter via a process analogous to the baryogenesis in the early Universe. This may soon be detected in heavy-ion collisions through the chiral magnetic effect.