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The race to demonstrate quantum error correction often focuses on making ever-larger devices. A demonstration showing that splitting a surface-code logical qubit into two simpler repetition codes substantially reduces logical gate errors reminds us that advancing quantum computing does not hinge solely on scaling qubit numbers.
Spontaneous switching between active and inactive states in bacterial chemosensory arrays is shown to operate near a critical point. Through biologically controlled disorder, cells balance high signal gain with fast response.
Chiral phonons, quasiparticles of lattice vibrations arising from circular atomic motion, hold potential as carriers of angular momentum for next-generation technologies. Experiments show that they can generate orbital currents under thermal gradients.
Suspensions of colloidal hard spheres are excellent model systems for studying glass dynamics. Adding tracer particles enables a hydrodynamic approach for probing the glass transition.
Bacteria appear to be masters of chemotaxis, but it is unclear how well they process chemical information. A study now argues that cells squander most sensory information, making chemotaxis far less efficient than established physical limits allow.
The geometry of the zebrafish egg is shown to generate a gradient in cell size upon successive cell divisions. This gradient specifies stereotyped patterns of cell-cycle progression, zygotic genome activation and cell-fate specification.
Malaria parasites rapidly glide through host tissues in right-handed spirals. A tilted architecture and asymmetric forces power this chiral motion and help them to transition between different environments.
A fractal energy pattern known as the Hofstadter butterfly has now been observed separately for each spin in a two-dimensional semiconductor, revealing a cascade of magnetic transitions.
Controlling topological photonic quasiparticles is a prerequisite for their implementation in devices. Now, their precise manipulation has been demonstrated using synthetic gauge fields based on the manipulation of the material’s dielectric index.
Excitons are bound electron–hole pairs that are usually either tightly bound or spread across a material. Signatures of hybrid excitons that mix both characters have now been observed at organic–semiconductor interfaces.
The second law of thermodynamics says that entropy may only ever increase during the conversion of one physical state into another. Finding an analogous quantity to characterize the conversion of entangled quantum states has been a rollercoaster ride.
When driven by nonclassical light, photoemission from a needle tip reveals signatures of strong-field physics, opening up opportunities to control matter and to engineer the building blocks of quantum technologies.
A careful investigation of superconductivity in twisted trilayer graphene reveals a two-dome structure, which may be connected to intricate patterns of symmetry breaking in the underlying metallic state.
Photon sources used in quantum optics are limited in ways that free electron sources may not be. Now, accelerated electrons have been shown to generate non-classical light — this opens up possibilities for quantum experiments at the nanoscale.
Researchers have long sought a realization of a spin liquid in which quantum dynamics destroys classical magnetic order. Neutron-scattering experiments on zinc-barlowite have revealed universal behaviour that strengthens the case for a spin liquid.
Entanglement is a powerful resource for quantum technologies but real-world computation limits can drastically change what is achievable. Now research reveals that computational constraints reshape our understanding of entanglement manipulation.
Controlling polar skyrmions — topological textures of electric dipoles — is crucial for modern optoelectronic applications. Terahertz excitation is shown to govern ultrafast manipulation of polar skyrmions featuring signature vibrational modes.
