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Condensates of excitons have been observed in the quantum Hall regime, but evidence for their existence at low magnetic fields remains controversial. Now evidence of coherence between optically pumped interlayer excitons in MoS₂ marks a step towards confirming exciton condensation at low magnetic fields.

Photoexcitation of quadrupolar dyes—key materials for various optoelectronic applications—induces an excited-state symmetry-breaking charge-transfer process with unknown microscopic origin. Now it has been shown that vibronic coupling to high-frequency backbone modes drives the initial ultrafast symmetry breaking before solvation, distinguishing fundamental intramolecular dynamics from solvent-induced charge localization.

Voltage sensors in hERG potassium channels regulate heartbeat, and their mutations can cause arrhythmias. Here, authors combine fluorescence lifetime imaging and computational modeling to reveal impaired sensor movements in disease, uncovering a detailed structural mechanism.

Here, the Authors show that up-conversion in CsPbBr3 nanocrystals arises from an interaction between soft lattice vibrations and excited states, with a specific phonon mode enabling coherent and highly efficient up conversion process.

Nanocrystals are desirable light sources for advanced display technologies. Here, the authors report on double-crowned 2D semiconductor nanoplatelets as light downconverters that offer both green and red emissions to achieve a wide color gamut.

The direct growth of large-area nanosheets of diverse phase-pure Ruddlesden–Popper perovskites enables the fabrication of arbitrary vertical heterostructures and multi-heterostructures of perovskites.

The authors find that highly ordered ferroelectric hybrid perovskite domains exhibit planar chirality that switches sign between adjacent domains, which manifest in a large dichroic ratio for circularly polarized second harmonic generation from the domain walls.

CrSBr is a van der Waals layered antiferromagnet. Unlike many other van der Waals magnetic materials it is air stable, and in addition hosts a rich array of magneto-optical responses. Here, Tabataba-Vakili et al demonstrate that the magnetic and optical response of CrSBr is sensitive to gating, allowing electrical control of the magneto-optical properties.

Excited state dynamics of alloyed quantum dots differ from that of binary quantum dots. Here, the authors use femtosecond spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to show that alloying tunes relaxation dynamics separately from traditional optical properties of quantum dots.

Silicon carbide is a polymorphic material with over 250 known crystal structures. Here the authors show that such polymorphism can be used as a degree of freedom for engineering optically addressable and coherently interacting spin states, including many with room-temperature quantum coherence.

A selective shielding strategy achieves the differentiation and quantification of distinct plasmonic photocatalytic mechanisms including hot carrier-driven photochemistry, resonant field-mediated energy transfers, and thermal contributions.

The efficiency of organic blends used for photovoltaic applications depends on their ability to convert photoexcited charges into free holes and electrons. It is now demonstrated that the lowermost energetic states formed at the donor/acceptor interface can reach conversion efficiencies close to 100%, and therefore do not behave as traps for charge carriers.

Unlike conventional lasers that require a uniform resonant cavity to operate, random lasers use a highly disordered gain medium in which scattering is dominant. Hokr et al. report Raman lasing from a bulk three-dimensional disordered medium whose intensity exceeds that of other random lasers by many orders of magnitude.

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures with type II band alignment have generated wide interest in device physics at the two-dimensional limit. Here, Rivera et al. observe interlayer excitons in vertically stacked MoSe2–WSe2 heterostructures and demonstrate tunability of the energy and luminescence.

The heat-sensitive ion channel TRPV1 is essential to temperature sensing in mammals and other animals. Here the authors find that the platypus form of TRPV1 does not desensitize, identify the mechanism underlying this property, and show that knock-in of this form of the receptor in mice leads to deficits in heat sensitivity.

Monolayer semiconductors reveal their crystal quality and valleytronic properties in two-dimensional polarimetric imaging.

Researchers demonstrate sub-picosecond steering of ultrafast incoherent emission from a light-emitting metasurface. The steering is achieved over a 70° range.

Single-photon emitters are required for quantum cryptography and computation and single-photon metrology. Here, Lohrmannet al. fabricate electrically driven, single-photon emitting diodes in silicon carbide with a fully polarized output, high emission rates and stability at room temperature.

Strong coupling at the limit of a single quantum emitter has not been reported. Here, Santhosh et al.show a transparency dip is observed in the scattering spectra of individual silver bowties with one to a few quantum dots, placing the plasmonic bowtie-quantum dot constructs close to the strong coupling regime.

An optical molecular imaging dye is described that is based on an interlocked squaraine rotaxane peroxide. These fluorescent and chemiluminescent dye molecules can be stored indefinitely at low temperature, but on warming to body temperature they undergo a unimolecular reaction, emitting near-infrared light that can pass through a living mouse.

Researchers demonstrate that PBDTT-DPP, a semiconducting polymer with a low bandgap of 1.44 eV, allows tandem polymer solar cells to reach power conversion efficiencies of around 8.6%.

In semiconductor nanocrystals, efficient carrier multiplication counteracts hot carrier thermalization, increasing the overall carrier generation yield. Here, de Weerd et al. observe a quantum yield of up to 98% in CsPbI₃ nanocrystals as a result of efficient carrier multiplication.

Immunogenicity of AAV vectors renders repeated AAV dosing ineffective. Here the authors show that coadministration of nanoparticle-encapsulated rapamycin overcomes AAV immunogenicity through Treg induction, enabling efficient AAV redosing in mice and nonhuman primates.

Methods for the analysis of metabolites in cells often require sample disruption and lack spatio-temporal resolution. Here, the authors show that Raman spectroscopy can directly detect fumarate in living cells and animal tissues ex vivo.

Inorganic pyrophosphate is a key molecule in many biological processes. Here, the authors develop an optical sensor that enables its ratiometric detection in the near infrared with functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Many phototransistors are multi-component systems with inorganic materials or involve faradaic processes that can be irreversible. Using a single photoactive polymer, Druet et al. report a reversible, water-compatible n-type photoelectrochemical transistor with potentiometric photodetection and current modulation.

The photoluminescence properties of carbon nanotubes are sensitive to molecular adsorption. By studying the response of a pair of single-wall carbon nanotubes, researchers have now shown that analytes of biological interest can be identified and measured in real-time within living cells.

The activation of dioxygen at metal centres, and subsequent functionalization of unactivated C‒H bonds, requires the generation of high-energy radical intermediates that often result in undesirable side reactions. Now an elusive oxygen-derived reactive iron(II)–radical intermediate is spectroscopically characterized as part of a strategy to stabilize phenoxyl radical cofactors during substrate oxidation reactions.

Photon Bose–Einstein condensation is observed in a semiconductor laser, where thermalization and condensation of photons occur using an InGaAs quantum well and an open microcavity. The distinction between regimes of photon Bose–Einstein condensation and conventional lasing are clearly identified.

Virgilio et al show that HIV Vpr promotes the degradation of the myeloid transcription factor, PU.1, to prevent the expression of PU.1-regulated antiviral factors that would otherwise target HIV Env and inhibit viral spread in macrophages.

Si color centers offer promising quantum technology applications, but their interaction with electric fields has not been explored. Here the authors report electrical manipulation of telecom emitters in Si by fabricating lateral diodes with an integrated ensemble of G centers in commercial Si on insulator wafer.

Characterizing surfaces by Raman spectroscopy is limited by the competition of surface and bulk Raman responses. Here the authors use nanoporous plasmonic membranes to enhance surface Raman signals while suppressing bulk contributions.

The helicity of light from a light-emitting diode can be electrically controlled by spin–orbit torque effects, enabling a seamless integration of magnetization dynamics with photonics.

Function-altering variants of immune-related genes cause rare autoimmune syndromes, whereas their contribution to common autoimmune diseases remains uncharacterized. Here the authors show that rare variants of lupus-associated genes are present in the majority of lupus patients and healthy controls, but only the variants found in lupus patients alter gene function.

Using longitudinal EEG data from 592 infants and toddlers, the authors identify age-dependent nonlinear changes in periodic alpha and beta peaks suggestive of distinct milestones in early brain maturation, including thalamocortical network development.

The quest to improve transparent conductors is a balance between increasing electrical conductivity and optical transparency. Here the authors demonstrate that both can be fulfilled by separating the optical and electrical conductivity directionality.

Menthol in mints elicits a coolness sensation by selective activation of TRPM8 ion channel. Here authors dock menthol to TRPM8 and systematically validate their menthol binding models with thermodynamic mutant cycle analysis in functional tests, and shed light on TRPM8 activation by menthol at the atomic level.