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Kohn’s theorem states that the electron cyclotron resonance is unaffected by many-body interactions in a static magnetic field. Yet, intense terahertz pulses do introduce Coulomb effects between electrons—holding promise for quantum control of electrons.

Accurate nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) is crucial for studying excited-state dynamics in solids but is computationally expensive. Here, authors use machine learning to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of NAMD simulations in solids.

Electrocatalytic co-reduction of CO₂ and nitrate to synthesize urea is a sustainable and promising option to the alternative conventional Bosch-Meiser. Here, the authors report a CeO_x-integrated diatomic electrocatalyst overcomes the traditional trade-off between urea yield and Faradaic efficiency.

Optically active defects in wide band gap materials are promising building block for room temperature quantum information processing. Here, the authors connect the experimental variance in the optical spectra, optical lifetimes and spectral stability of quantum emitters to the distance-dependent donor-acceptor pairs in the two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride.

Manipulating the physical properties of solid matter using only photons is a major challenge in materials science. Here, the authors present the photochemistry occurring in a single crystal of a Mo(III) cyanide complex which undergoes a reversible breaking and reformation of dative bonds and spin state change upon exposure to visible light.

The mechanism of the charge density wave in kagome metals is under intense debate. Here, by using a combination of diffuse scattering and inelastic x-ray scattering, the authors show that the charge density wave transition in (Cs,Rb)V₃Sb₅ is of the order-disorder type.

This study introduces a deep active optimization pipeline that effectively tackles high-dimensional, complex problems with limited data. The approach minimizes sample size and surpasses existing methods, achieving optimal solutions in up to 2,000 dimensions.

Targeted nanodrug delivery is crucial to treat respiratory diseases, but profiling the delivery and dynamics of nanoparticles (NPs) within the lung is a challenging task. Here, the authors present LungVis 1.0, an AI-driven 3D imaging ecosystem to profile inhaled substances in distinct lung regions while uncovering the role of tissue-resident macrophages in the fate of NPs.

Inelastic X-ray scattering studies of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.6 reveal strong electron-phonon coupling and an inhomogeneous state made up of charge-density-wave nanodomains, which may explain some anomalous properties of the pseudogap state.

Understanding nanoparticle catalysis is limited by complex structure–activity links. This study reveals that Pt corner sites on 1–1.5 nm particles drive activity via electronic effects, offering a rare quantitative insight into water gas shift catalytic performance.

Manipulation of the electron’s orbital contribution to transport experiments is important for potential orbitronics device applications. Now the long-range dynamic orbital response is shown to be controlled by the arrangement of atoms in ferromagnets.

Metal-tip-based electron sources are constrained by a trade-off between energy spread and pulse width. Here the authors report a carbon-nanotube-based electron source with a 0.3-eV energy spread and an electron pulse width of about 13 fs.

Phase-change materials show an unusual metal–insulator transition that is induced by disorder in the crystalline state. Numerical computations now show how the transition to the metallic state proceeds from the dissolution of electronic states situated at vacancy clusters to the formation of ordered vacancy layers.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is ideal to measure the electronic structure of materials, but its interpretation can be delicate. Here, by using a combination of density functional theory, one-step model of photoemission and soft x-ray ARPES, the authors reveal of the presence of electronic correlations in YNi₂B₂C.

Lamin A/C protects alveolar macrophages against nuclear envelope rupture and DNA damage, but it erodes during aging. Lack of lamin A/C leads to senescence and an aging signature, resulting in vulnerability to influenza virus and lung cancer growth.

Circularly polarized light couples to a valley charge in 2D materials, however novel electronic applications require direct coupling to valley current. Here the authors show that this can be achieved by few-cycle circularly polarized light, which allows for ultrafast generation and control of valley current.

Here authors demonstrate how a 2D hybrid perovskite melts and forms glass, uncovering atomic-scale structural and dynamic evolution across the crystal–liquid–glass transition. Local structural motifs are retained, advancing understanding of amorphous hybrid materials.

Methane-to-methanol conversion with O₂ has long been considered kinetically challenging. Here the authors report CuSeO_3-x as a new class of plasmonic semiconductors capable of harnessing low-energy near-infrared photons to achieve efficient conversion at 25 °C.

A novel non-thermal photomagnetic torque originating from spin–orbit coupling of non-equilibrium photocarriers excited by helicity-independent laser pulses is found in (Ga,Mn)As thin films. It differs fundamentally from optical spin–transfer torque. The possibility of studying spin–orbit torques on short timescales achievable by pump–probe magneto-optical measurements is demonstrated.

Hidden orders involve phase transitions without obvious order parameters, challenging experimental detection and conventional theories. This Review summarizes recent advances in modelling hidden-order phases in correlated insulators, highlighting the role of material-specific theories in the interpretation and prediction of the experimental signatures of hidden orders.

Semiconductor quantum dots that simultaneously support blue and yellow emission offer a route to realizing efficient white light-emitting diodes.

The apparent electronic confinement at nanographene boundaries in scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy is often misinterpreted. Here, the authors explain this phenomenon in terms of the decay of frontier orbitals and confinement at the edges of graphene nanoribbons and pores in nanoporous graphene.

Proximity effects in molecule/metal heterostructures offer a promising route to control magnetic properties. Here, the authors report a light-controlled proximity effect at a Co/C₆₀ interface, where laser-induced excitons in C₆₀ alter interfacial interactions, leading to a 60% quenching of the ferromagnetic resonance frequency of Co.

Better understanding of the fundamental bonding interactions at electrified metal–liquid interfaces is critical for improving the electrochemical reactions of fuel cells, but now traditional models are shown to be insufficient. Using experimental measurements of various electrocatalytic reactions on platinum and density functional theory it is shown that non-covalent interactions must be considered.

Photonic memristor arrays fabricated from hexagonal boron nitride/silicon heterostructures provide a scalable, silicon-compatible solution for artificial vision systems, featuring broad spectral reconfigurability and promising performance characteristics.

Magnetic stability of holmium atoms on a platinum(111) surface has recently been reported, raising prospects for atomic-scale spintronics, however contradictory results have since emerged. Here, Steinbrecher et al.find evidence for an invisibility of the holmium spin to scanning tunnelling spectroscopy techniques which challenges recent results.

A detailed analysis of inelastic neutron scattering data, including the evaluation of entanglement witnesses used in quantum information theory, supports the proposal that the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet KYbSe₂ is close to a spin-liquid phase.

Strong-field photoemission is the emission of electrons driven by a strong electric field of light. Here the authors demonstrate a highly non-linear strong-field photoemission, approaching the 40th power-law scaling, from carbon nanotubes, yielding a photoemission current with up to 100% carrier-envelope phase modulation depth.

Covalency is a fundamental concept in chemical bonding, but experimentally it is not possible to measure the degree of covalency of a particular bond. Here, the authors report a model to link the covalency of hydrogen bonds in water with the anisotropy of the magnetic shielding tensor in the proton NMR.

Diorganozinc reagents (ZnR₂, e.g. R = Et, Ph, C₆F₅) are widely used as Lewis acid catalysts or Lewis base reagents, however, descriptors for predicting the influence of the R substituent are scarce. Here, by using liquid-phase X-ray spectroscopy, the authors have identified the geometric structures of diorganozincs in weakly coordinating solvents and then established Zn-specific descriptors to quantify the properties of their underlying Lewis acidity/basicity.

Herbertsmithite is a kagome material presumed to host a spin liquid phase with fractionalized excitations. Here, Mazin et al.study the crystallographic and electronic properties of gallium-substituted herbertsmithite, finding that it has symmetry-protected Dirac points at the Fermi level.

Controlling orbital magnetic moments for applications can be difficult. Now local probes of a kagome material, TbV₆Sn₆, demonstrate how the spin Berry curvature can produce a large orbital Zeeman effect that can be tuned with a magnetic field.

Friedel oscillations are ripples in the electron density surrounding a charge impurity. Bouhassoune et al. now use first-principle calculations to show that Friedel oscillation surrounding an oxygen impurity in a ferromagnetic film can be engineered and amplified by choice of substrate and film thickness

Semilocal density functionals, while computationally efficient, do not account for non-local correlation. Here, the authors propose a machine-learning approach to DFT that leads to non-local and transferable functionals applicable to non-covalent, ionic and covalent interactions across system of different sizes.

The ubiquity of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) in chemical research typically arises from their potent stabilizing capabilities and role as innocent spectators to stabilize otherwise non-bottleable compounds and complexes. Here, the authors reveal how NHC coordination enables selective C(sp3)–H bond scission, unlocking well-defined tin macrocycles which contrast with the typical role of NHCs in stabilizing low-valent main group centres.

Epitaxial strain is a promising control knob to modulate Tc to enhance superconductivity. Here, the authors show that a metallic oxide RuO₂ can be turned superconducting through application of epitaxial strain in thin films grown on a (110)-oriented TiO₂ substrate.

Penning trap mass spectrometry is used to measure the electronic transition energy from a long-lived metastable state to the ground state in highly charged rhenium ions with a precision of 10⁻¹¹.