Volume 3 Issue 9, September 2021

Many scientists consider peer review a crucial part of science, but are frustrated by its perceived failures. Historian of science Melinda Baldwin suggests we consider peer review’s historical development to better understand its present-day form.

Since the launch of arXiv 30 years ago, modes of information spread in society have changed dramatically — and not always for the better. Paul Ginsparg, who founded arXiv, discusses how academic experience with online preprints can still inform information sharing more generally.

Christie Chiu explains how superconducting quantum circuits can be used to simulate materials with and without real-life counterparts.

Thomas Chalopin explains how optical superlattices enhance quantum gas microscopy by enabling the preparation of low-temperature samples and the simulation of exotic models with single-site resolution.

Marija Drndić reflects on 20 years of solid-state nanopores.

A collaboration between art and science shows how to overcome the limits of traditional weaving techniques as reported in a recent article in Physical Review Letters.

The Higgs boson is central to our understanding of the structure of matter in high-energy particle physics: the origin of mass, stability of the vacuum and key issues in cosmology. Here we review recent progress in experiment and theory and the prospects for future discoveries.

The advent of commercial quantum devices has ushered in the era of near-term quantum computing. Variational quantum algorithms are promising candidates to make use of these devices for achieving a practical quantum advantage over classical computers.

Magnetic molecules have been widely proposed for different quantum technologies due to their bewildering quantum properties. This Review describes techniques of paramount importance for the characterization, understanding and, ultimately, manipulation of the electronic properties of these systems.

The Weyl orbit is a type of cyclotron orbit that appears in topological semimetals. This Perspective discusses the Weyl orbit in the context of the 3D quantum Hall effect and provides an outlook on new phenomena that can arise from these states.