Browse Articles

Fractional Chern insulators, and their time-reversal analogs, fractional topological insulators, are realizations of topological order in flat-band electronic systems; while the former have been realized experimentally in twisted bilayer MoTe₂, the latter have remained more elusive. Here, using exact diagonalization calculations, the authors propose routes towards engineering fractional topological insulators in twisted bilayer MoTe₂ and other moiré materials.

Periodic driving of a dysprosium supersolid across its phase transition rapidly induces a robust self-similar turbulent cascade with universal power-law scaling at high momenta. This work establishes supersolids as a versatile platform for probing unconventional quantum turbulence and universal behavior in anisotropic long-range quantum fluids.

Pulsed quantum states of light are a prerequisite for many quantum technologies, yet, the precise characterisation required for applications poses a challenge. The authors propose a field-correlation measurement to reconstruct pulsed quantum states of light with Gaussian phase-space statistics and beyond, comprising many modes of the electromagnetic field.

Temporal metamaterials enable wave control through timevarying properties, but achieving broadband antireflection remains challenging. Here, the authors experimentally realize a “temporal taper” metamaterial that provides near-full-band antireflection, eliminating the need for spatial matching components and enabling agile impedance matching.

Although the generation of skyrmions in magnets by optical vortices has been predicted, the mechanism has remained unclear. Here, the authors resolve this by showing that the interplay of light’s angular momenta creates the chiral magnetic fields, while the light’s intensity governs the final number of skyrmions.

Symmetry breaking is often assumed to coincide with underlying exceptional points. The authors show that certain Jacobian-derived subsets instead occur as precursors, highlighting the need to identify the correct exceptional points when predicting specific symmetry-breaking transitions.

It is commonly believed that non-trivial complex spectral winding is necessary for the non-Hermitian skin effect. However, in this work, the authors show how this requirement can be circumvented through the interplay of non-reciprocal couplings and flat bands in a quasi-periodic setting.

Laser cooling is a powerful technique that enables precision measurements and quantum control, yet its implementation in molecules remains challenging due to their complex structures. Here, the authors apply 2D transverse laser cooling to a focused beam of cold barium monofluoride (138Ba19F) molecules to significantly increase beam brightness.

Oscillator Ising Machines and probabilistic bit platforms are emerging hardware approaches for solving hard computational problems, traditionally viewed as distinct non-von Neumann computing paradigms. This work demonstrates that by controlling the interplay between first- and second-harmonic injection, Oscillator Ising Machines can be configured to act as probabilistic samplers, extending their utility beyond combinatorial optimization to sampling-driven tasks.

The collective dynamics of active swarms such as bird flocks and fish schools emerge from the complex, and often competing, interaction involving alignment, cohesion and collision avoidance. The authors propose a minimal flocking model with vison-based steering interactions, revealing a unique transition from order to disorder reminiscent of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, which could enhance understanding of rapid flock responses in biological systems.

Far-from-equilibrium many-body quantum systems with complex non-local interactions are of significant fundamental and practical importance. Here the authors demonstrate how variational Monte Carlo in combination with compact tensor network parameterization of the density matrix enables accurate and scalable simulation of such open quantum systems.

Electron distributions exhibit velocity-space signatures indicative of the rapid energy released by magnetic reconnection explosions occurring in Earth’s magnetosphere and in plasmas throughout the universe. Here, the authors discover a smile-shaped signature in the electron gradient distribution associated with reconnection occurring at Earth’s dayside magnetopause boundary.

Understanding how entanglement spreads across realistic quantum networks, which are inevitably affected by environmental noise, is a key challenge. The authors show that a noisy network only appears to outperform an ideal one if it is supported by quantum memory, confirming that noise remains a critical barrier.

The superconducting diode effect (SDE) describes the non-reciprocal transport behavior of the superconducting current and while an established phenomenon the underlying mechanisms are still to be fully clarified. Here, the authors investigate the origins of the SDE in asymmetric multilayer heterostructures and the role vortex dynamics play as a function of layer thickness and stacking order.

Developing room-temperature magnetic semiconductors with robust, non-volatile electrical control remains a key challenge for energy-efficient spintronics. Here, first-principles calculations suggest that Ni-intercalated Cr₂NiSe₄, derived from bilayer CrSe₂, is a 2D bipolar magnetic semiconductor with a Curie temperature of 495 K, in which ferroelectric switching in Al₂Se₃-based heterostructures enables non-volatile control of carrier spin polarization and room-temperature device operation.

Quantum fractals offer a clean route to unconventional states between a metal and an insulator. In a disorder-free Sierpiński gasket lattice, the authors characterise the emergence of non-ergodic multifractal states, predict experimental signatures, and suggest pathways toward precise quantum control.

The physics of swimming at the mesoscale, where nonlinear and time-dependent fluid mechanics prevail, remains poorly understood. Here, the authors use a micropipette force sensor and deep neural network–based image analysis to reveal how Artemia enhances propulsion, establishing a universal force-based scaling law that informs future biomimetic meso-robot designs.

Assigning entities to teams for task completion under constraints is a complex combinatorial optimization challenge. Here, the authors introduce a novel algorithm using hypergraph-based search to optimize resilience and diffusion, demonstrating superior robustness to node removal attacks compared to traditional methods, with implications for diverse fields requiring resilient team configurations

In-plane confinement of phonon-polaritons (PhPs) in the mid-infrared is key for compact sensors and photonic devices, but such in-plane beam control in isotropic materials requires complex nanopatterning techniques. The authors propose a scalable way to shape PhPs in hBN using lithographically defined cavities, achieving in-plane confinement down to λ/70.

Simulating quantum field theories presents a host of computational challenges, including the large dimensionality of the problem and numerical obstacles such as the sign problem. The authors demonstrate a technique that is able to address these challenges, and show results for a lattice gauge theory which includes matter.