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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 29/09/2026

Using scramblon theory, researchers find that errors in chaotic quantum systems accumulate with different scalings, with coherent errors accumulating faster than incoherent ones. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/3TTlqDY

An illustration with five gray circles each filled with smaller orange or green circles intersected by black arrows. The two orange-filled gray circles are on the top and the three green-filled gray circles are on the bottom. An icon of a butterfly and its flight path divide the two halves of the image. The illustration depicts how two rounds of forward and backward evolution show increasing deviation from the initial state as errors are amplified by the quantum butterfly effect.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 29/09/2026

An X-ray diffractions analysis shows the charge-density-wave in FeGe couples to a first-order structural phase transition — results that have implications for lattice-charge coupling in kagome systems. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4hrYxze

A series of four molecular diagrams (a-d) displaying the structure of FeGe in the AFM state. The structure is portrayed as lattices and arrays of various atoms represented as colored circles of varying sizes: Fe (orange), Ge1 (teal), Ge2 (purple), and Ge1d (green). Red arrows depict magnetic moments, while dotted lines depict the resulting kagome lattices. Small black arrows next to the atoms indicate the Ge dimerization direction. Panels a and b depict the FeGe structure above TCDW, and panels c and d depict the FeGe structure below TCDW.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 29/09/2026

Using noise thermometry and a moiré heterostructure, scientists measure for the first time quantized heat transport in a Hofstadter butterfly, a finding that underscores the central role of topology in condensed matter. Learn more: go.aps.org/4danNbY

$Scientific illustration of the signature of the fractal Hofstadter butterfly in the measured electrical conductance of a graphene-hexagonal boron nitride heterostructure.$

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 28/09/2026

By entangling a single cesium atom and a photon for the first time, researchers establish the feasibility of cesium for atom-photon interfacing, paving the way for quantum networking and modular quantum information processing. Learn more: go.aps.org/4d6g5jg

A schematic of the experimental setup for trapping cesium and verifying its entanglement with a photon. It consists of an electron multiplying charged-couple device, two lenses with a magneto-optical trap between them, and either a beamsplitter for measuring the single-photon character of the source, or a polarizing beamsplitter in the case of atom-photon entanglement.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 28/09/2026

The @atlasexperiment.bsky.social at the Large Hadron Collider observed the lightest excited state of the bottom-charm meson for the first time. The new state can potentially inform future heavy quark-antiquark studies. Read more: go.aps.org/4dtv3A3 📷 CERN

A view of the ATLAS calorimeter as of Nov. 4, 2005. It looks like looking down a tunnel of electronics, with a round calorimeter at the end resembling an eye and eight cylinders — toroid magnets — coming out from the calorimeter toward the viewer. On either side of the image are six flights of stairs, and a person stands toward the bottom of the image for scale, appearing very small.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 28/09/2026

To simplify multiscale systems, scientists often average out fast variables and focus on slow ones. New work shows how this method neglects complex, narrow pathways, or “singular funnels,” and misrepresents systems’ resilience to perturbations. More: go.aps.org/3Tp3dxZ

A color gradient contour plot illustrating a singular basin with a singular funnel. On the right, a large region shaded with an orange-yellow color gradient represents the basin of attraction. It contains a thick black vertical curve labeled ɣc (periodic rotation). This region narrows in the lower half, passing a point on the left edge labeled e2 (saddle equilibrium). In the upper half, the region curves around a white space that contains a black point labeled e1 (stable equilibrium). To the left of this region, five very narrow, deep orange vertical strips extend across white space.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 26/09/2026

#OnTheCover of this week’s issue: A chain of m-NO2PhBNO molecules with the temperature-magnetic field phase diagram of a Haldane S=1 chain in the background. 🔗 go.aps.org/4ruYDeb

A chain of BoNO molecules, formed in a shape reminiscent of the image on Duncan Haldane's Nobel prize diploma, with a complete temperature-magnetic field phase diagram in the background.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 25/09/2026

Combined data from @atlasexperiment.bsky.social and @cmsexperiment.bsky.social at CERN have yielded the most precise measurements to date of Higgs boson pair production, setting strict limits on Higgs self-interactions that align closely with Standard Model predictions. go.aps.org/4d7WsHv

A plot labeled “ATLAS and CMS LHC Run 2, s = 13 TeV” shows expected and observed 95% confidence level upper limits on the total Higgs boson pair signal strength, 𝜇HH, for ATLAS, CMS, and the combination from both experiments. Each dataset shows a cyan horizontal rectangle within a larger orange horizontal rectangle, representing ±1σ and ±2σ, respectively. The CMS and ATLAS rectangles spread farther to the right than the combined rectangle. For CMS, ATLAS, and combined, the median expected limits on 𝜇HH obtained under the hypotheses of no Higgs boson pair signal (𝜇HHAsimov = 0) are 2.6, 2.4, and 1.7, respectively (represented by a vertical black dashed line), while the limits assuming the presence of the Standard Model signal (𝜇HHAsimov = 1) are 3.6, 3.5, and 2.8, respectively (represented by a vertical blue dashed line with a star). The observed limits for CMS, ATLAS, and combined are 2.5, 2.9, and 2.5, respectively (represented by a solid black line with a circle).

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 25/09/2026

Unconventional superconductors have desirable transition temperatures and superconducting properties, but are weak against disorder. A new study offers guiding principles and proposes engineered systems to achieve disorder-protected unconventional superconductivity. 🔗 go.aps.org/4yfrTIn

A schematic demonstrates an unconventional superconductor robust against disorder. Two purple spheres represent Cooper pair electrons scattering off an impurity represented by a black sphere on a square lattice. The lattice is separated into blue and orange regions, which are conventional and sign-changing, respectively. Arrows representing the scattering are smaller in the orange region than the blue region.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 25/09/2026

Using multiple resonators and their resonance harmonics, researchers find that changes in the electron spin resonance signal across the quantum critical point can provide a measurement of the g-factor of electrons. Learn more: go.aps.org/4ruVZVN

On the top is a graph of the overall phase diagram with extremely heavy Landau fermi liquid regimes showing antiferromagnetic order and metallic paramagnetism as well as the temperature line. Circles indicate the electron spin resonance resonance field for different microwave frequencies obtained by temperature-dependent electron spin resonance measurements. The pronounced evolution of these resonance fields as a function of temperature clearly differs for the different regimes and directly reflects the temperature-dependent g-factor. Below are exemplary electron spin resonance spectra for three resonance frequencies for three temperatures each. Key observations upon cooling are, shown from left to right, broadening and back-shift in the AFL phase, monotonous shift and narrowing in the quantum-critical regime, and temperature-independent resonance field in the PFL regime.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 24/09/2026

Scientists demonstrated a quantum algorithm for studying quantum thermodynamics at finite temperatures more efficiently within natively quantum hardware, which is important for fields ranging from high-energy physics to drug development. Learn more: go.aps.org/4hlwbXd

A schematic shows how the algorithm converts quantum dynamics into quantum thermodynamics. An input box on the left includes digital state preparation, time evolution, and generalized state measurement. The algorithm then enables the determination of free energy, thermal entropy, and heat capacity.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 23/09/2026

Scientists reveal the first known observation of time-reversal symmetry breaking in the type-I superconductor ytterbium diantimonide, pointing to the possibility of topological superconductivity in the system. Learn more: go.aps.org/4cVKWio

A schematic of a unit cell of ytterbium diantimonide, containing two teal spheres (yittrium), each connected to eight orange spheres (antimony).

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 23/09/2026

Odd-parity magnets universally harbor a hidden Zeeman field resulting from broken time-reversal symmetry, establishing these materials as an ideal, highly robust platform for realizing field-free topological superconductivity. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4ybyBin

On the left is an illustration of an odd parity magnet, shown as a dark orange rectangular layer, on top of an aquamarine layer labeled SC. On top of the orange layer is a blue dashed line rectangle with four orange spheres intersected by red arrows. To the right are two parabolic curves colored blue as the line descends from the left, white at the curve’s lowest point, then red as the line ascends to the right. The bottom curve has a squiggly yellow line that cuts horizontally through the curve. The left end of the squiggly line is covered by a blue sphere and sits next to a downward pointing blue arrow. The right end of the squiggly line is covered by a red sphere and sits next to an upward pointing red arrow.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 23/09/2026

Researchers uncovered the origin of a zero-energy Majorana mode in an iron-pnictide superconductor and identified charge ordering as a universal feature of correlated unconventional high-temperature superconductors. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/3UZhKRt

The crystal structure of the superconductor BFCA is shown on the left, with pink balls representing barium, blue representing arsenic, and red representing iron/cobalt. On the right, the scanning tunneling microscope technique is illustrated. A microscope tip, represented as a pink cone, scans over a BFCA layer, which looks like a blue sky with white clouds and red dotted lines around the clouds. The BFCA is on top of a strontium titanate substrate.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 22/09/2026

Researchers propose a system to identify exciton superfluids using spin-orbit-coupled semiconducting bilayers. It exhibits a nonreciprocal perfect Coulomb drag, a “coherent-exciton diode effect” that serves as a clear signature of exciton condensation. 🔗 go.aps.org/3TMXiTo

A schematic depiction of nonreciprocal perfect Coulomb drag. On a 2D plot, the x-axis is labeled Idrive and a horizontal line is located at the top of the y-axis, which is labeled Idrag/Idrive, or the drag ratio. A black circle is at the intersection point between the y-axis and the horizontal line, which represents a drag ratio of 1, corresponding to the perfect Coulomb drag. A rectangular area under the horizontal line is shaded gray. Above, two insets show illustrations of two different conditions in the Coulomb drag experiment, with a blue line on top representing the current, Idrive, and a red line on bottom representing the induced current Idrag in the bottom layer. Each layer has three dots. The inset to the left shows grey, bent arrows coming out of each dot at different angles and a large grey arrow pointing right. The inset to the right shows pairs of red and blue dots circled with grey ovals. Each of the three ovals contains a grey arrow pointing to the left.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 22/09/2026

For the first time, researchers used shot-noise measurements to measure the charge of Fractional quantum Hall effect states at an even filling factor of one-half, supporting potential future applications in quantum computing. 🔗 go.aps.org/4rv0Zd4

A schematic of the shot-noise measurement shows a DC current injected along the edge of a circuit, propagating through various circuit components before current fluctuations are measured at an amplifier contact.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 22/09/2026

Using a material called BoNO, a new Letter confirms the predictions of gapless phases in Haldane chains — 1D quantum magnets. The work establishes the system as a benchmark for quantum magnetism. Learn more: go.aps.org/4yUIAJ6

The phase diagram of a Haldane chain with temperature on the Y-axis and magnetic field on the X-axis. A flattened, upside-down parabola covers the Bose-Einstein condensate phase — the low-temperature area between two critical magnetic fields — the border of which marks a phase transition. Another parabolic shape starts and ends at the same spots on the magnetic field scale, but goes slightly higher in temperature, indicating the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase. A “V” shape originating at the two critical magnetic field points and bordering the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase shows quantum-critical regions. At high temperatures, the system is paramagnetic.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 21/09/2026

A quantum Hall trilayer with each layer at filling factor 1/3 and tuned solely by interlayer spacing can host an intermediate “anyon-exciton condensate” phase that could couple intrinsic topological order with gapless collective modes. Learn more: go.aps.org/4hHmi6L

$A 3D rendering of three stacked quantum Hall layers linked by a coherent anyon-exciton composite, with fractionalized quasiparticles following a curved path beside the layers.$

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 21/09/2026

A study reports the first-ever measurements of Kelvin-wave turbulence in the lab. As waves travelled along an air-water vortex core, they transferred energy to smaller scales — consistent with predictions for a turbulent energy cascade. Learn more: go.aps.org/3T0oVbr

A series of three side-by-side photos capture Kelvin wave turbulence along an air-water vortex filament. A 40-centimeter-long vortex set against a black backdrop is bounded on the bottom by a red tube and on the top by an immersed gray annulus, where the vortex is forced by gentle random horizontal oscillations — generating interacting Kelvin waves that transport energy along the filament.

A photo captures Kelvin wave turbulence along an air-water vortex filament. A 40-centimeter-long vortex set against a black backdrop is disturbed from the top, creating a wavy shape and swirling filaments along which interacting Kelvin waves transport energy.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 21/09/2026

A new study uncovers the origin of the narrow window of stability in oxygen-annealed high-temperature bilayer nickelate superconductors, offering practical engineering guidance to break the tradeoff between two competing mechanisms. Read the paper: go.aps.org/3TaAgpp

A schematic shows two layered nickelate crystal structures, one with a missing inner apical oxygen atom and one with an extra oxygen atom between the bilayers.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 18/09/2026

#OnTheCover of this week’s issue: An Illustration of an information transduction from a hidden chemical network through a partially observed fluctuating signal to a readout molecule in biological sensing. 🔗 go.aps.org/4yIu3jo 📷 Elisabetta Pasquale

Artistic illustration of information transduction in biological sensing. On the left, a circular diagram shows a network graph with a person riding a stationary bike, representing a hidden chemical network. A squiggly line leads to a standing figure using a magnifying glass to inspect a signal wave, representing a partially observed fluctuating signal. A dashed line points down to a seated figure writing on a notepad, symbolizing a readout molecule.

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Robert Garisto @robertgaristo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Job Opening: Associate Editor, @physrevlett.aps.org We seek a dynamic and personable individual with postdoctoral experience in Quantum Information Science and Technology to join our close-knit team of editors running the world’s leading physics journal aps.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a27...

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 17/09/2026

A new quantum memory device stores a heralded single photon for up to 180 microseconds — equivalent to a node distance of more than 30 kilometers — using an atomic frequency comb with spin rephasing. The results are a key step toward a quantum internet. 🔗 go.aps.org/4xtQEPK

Up-close, top-down view of the new quantum memory device. A coiled copper wire is mounted on a copper-colored metallic plate and surrounded by wiring, mesh, screws, and a gold-colored base.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 17/09/2026

A new wave turbulence regime in active matter has been found using numerical simulations. When in dense suspensions, active phoretic disks with physico-chemical hydrodynamic interactions remain caged and perform local vibrations. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4gWWg08

Animated gif showing a zoomed-in view of turbulence with negligible net displacement of disks, at Pe = 4.5 and φ = 0.5, with time τ running from 0 to 200. Multiple disks are depicted in a box and colored by the velocity component U x 15 (ranging from dark blue at -5, through red at 0, to green at 5). Arrows indicate their swimming directions, which are constantly changing. Black lines trace the trajectories of five selected disks, creating five localized roughly circular scribbles, indicating that the disks are vibrating locally, and remain within a caged region, rather than performing large-scale advection.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 16/09/2026

New research shows that increasing temperature, laser excitation, and magnetic fields accelerates magnetization dynamics in a weak ferromagnet. This spin-fluctuation effect could offer new routes to tunable, ultrafast spintronic devices. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4rlA97a

A 2D square plot depicts spin fluctuations accelerating demagnetization in CaRuO3/SrTiO3 superlattices as temperature rises. Yellow dashed, green dashed, and solid red curves begin at the bottom left origin and move rightward across a vertical dotted grey line representing the Curie temperature. The yellow line rises initially, peaks early, then slightly decreases. The green line rises steadily with power-law growth. The red line, labeled 𝚪, increases with steeper power-law growth. Beyond a double-slash axis break at the far right border, all three curves flatten into horizontal lines.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 16/09/2026

Researchers have discovered a double neutron star system with the lowest known total mass and the second-shortest — and decreasing due to gravitational waves — known orbital period, making it a strong candidate for studying relativistic effects. 🔗 go.aps.org/4xWM6m7

A still from a simulation of two colliding neutron stars shows two yellow circles surrounded by clouds of red over a black background. The red surroundings are merging into each other.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 16/09/2026

While standard Brownian models suggest deploying N agents reduces target search time logarithmically, a study finds that imposing a finite propagation speed causes the fastest-arrival time to decrease exponentially with agent number. 🔗 go.aps.org/4AekQkp

A 3D plot with N on the left x axis, ξ on the right x axis, and BN,ξ on the y axis that shows the crossover from intermediate scaling to exponential decay. A solid cyan line shows the researchers’ asymptotic large-ξ prediction 2ξ/(π ln N).

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 15/09/2026

Scientists propose a "knob" for creating giant, tunable, helical exciton dipoles, enabling the formation of biexcitons in twisted 2D materials. Their work could eventually help with generating entangled photon pairs for quantum information science. Read the paper: go.aps.org/3USk9xi

A purple displacement vector points from an electron to a hole at the center of a hexagonal lattice, and blue vector indicates the particles' upward momentum. Red arrows at each of the four corners of the image show the Berry curvature.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 15/09/2026

In ionic-liquid-gated quasi-2D materials, the disordered ionic potential from the frozen ionic liquid drives the system close to the Anderson transition and governs the formation of a gate-induced superconductivity dome. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4xPgU8c

A graph with doping (1014 e-/cm2) on the x axis and Tc(K) on the y axis. Orange squares are labeled MoS2 theory while open circles with an orange outline are labeled experiments. Blue squares are labeled MoSe2 theory while open circles with a blue outline are labeled experiments. It depicts the predicted superconducting critical temperature Tc as a function of doping with disorder+interaction corrections for single-side gated MoS2 and MoSe2.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 15/09/2026

Using polarization-resolved infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory, this study finds anomalous anisotropic charge dynamics in bulk 1T-TaS2, with interlayer dimerization stabilizing its low-temperature insulating state. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4hbcnWB

Schematic illustrations depict the sequence of nearly commensurate (right) and commensurate (left) phases with decreasing temperature. The left shows red stars with blue dots at each of their angles and in the middle next to one another in a way that fills a rectangular area. The right is also a rectangular area that is filled with blue dots. But stars only appear in groups in each of the four corners of the area and in the center.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 14/09/2026

New research shows second harmonic generation can detect altermagnetic signatures that were previously inaccessible using linear optical methods. The work can help researchers understand light-matter interactions within altermagnets. Learn more: go.aps.org/3VduHHc

Nine cobalt fluoride atoms are arranged with one at each corner of a cube and one in the cube’s center. The angular distribution of magnetization density in each atom looks like a red X-shape and a blue X-shape overlaid at a 90-degree angle, with red and blue representing up and down spin polarizations, respectively.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 14/09/2026

Researchers present a robust theory for “on-the-fly” inference of dissipation and information from stochastic trajectories, providing a mechanistic framework for real-time information processing in biological systems. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/46HHUuF

A simple scheme visualizes the chemical model. Each component is visualized as a different type of simple colored shape: signaling molecule (Z, blue circle), readout (X, blue circle), internal species H (orange circle with smaller interconnected red circles inside), R (blue rectangle), and E (blue oval-like shape). H, X, and Z are coupled together only through the intermediate fast complexes R and E, with connections denoted by black lines ending in small black circles.

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Physics Magazine @physicsmagazine.aps.org · 10/09/2026

A crystal with special geometric properties can emit light in any polarization just by tuning a laser with two light fields. The method uses quantum geometry and works on femtosecond timescales. Read the synopsis: go.aps.org/4xIHb85

Illustration of a faceted crystal illuminated by a two-color laser pulse (red and blue waveforms), emitting a helical purple light beam that represents tunable polarization, with red and yellow arrows indicating the crystal's internal symmetry axes.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 14/09/2026

A forward-looking Essay by Pascale Senellart envisions a future with devices that combine the precision of atomic physics with the scalability of semiconductor technology — a development that could transform quantum technologies, networks, and sensing. 🔗 go.aps.org/3T3kBIo

Diagram of a quantum dot network: orange spheres represent quantum dot spins in optical cavities, connected by dashed lines showing spin-spin entanglement, generating a 3D lattice of entangled photons (blue spheres) linked by wavy lines representing photonic entanglement links.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 13/09/2026

Using a simple conductance asymmetry metric, researchers disentangled coexisting spin, vibrational, and orbital excitations within a single cobaltocene molecule, potentially enabling new approaches for single-molecule quantum computing. Learn more: go.aps.org/4gZMf0F

A scientific schematic featuring a plot and 3D renderings of ball and stick chemical structures of cobaltocene. On the bottom left is a blue sphere with a black arrow through it that points up and to the right. On the top left is a red sphere with a black arrow through it that points down and to the left. In between them is a cobaltocene molecule. To the right is a blue curve depicting a differential conductance spectrum. Above and below the spectrum are green and red electron density lobes and atomic structures showing the vibrational and orbital excitations at different energy levels.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 12/09/2026

Researchers report the first measurements of quantum entanglement between two massive vector bosons at the electroweak scale. Using Higgs-boson decays at the LHC, they find strong evidence for entanglement between the spins of two Z bosons. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4yBoqUo

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 12/09/2026

Using ultrafast X-ray diffraction measurements and systematic atomistic simulations, researchers establish a unified model for the B1-B2 transition of shock-compressed KCl — results which could be generalized to other materials. Learn more: go.aps.org/4ywc67C

An illustration of the two generalized transition pathways, type-I on top and type-II on bottom, that lead to two generalized orientation relationships, OR1 and OR2, respectively, for the B1–B2 phase transition in KCl. The top half shows the type-I pathway with repeated {100}/⟨011⟩ slip of the ions on the {100} planes that lead to OR1. The bottom half shows the type-II pathway with {111}/⟨¯211⟩ slip of the ions on the {011} planes that lead to OR2. Arrows show the displacement directions of atoms.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 11/09/2026

#OnTheCover: A snapshot from a simulation of ice floes. The colors represent different transverse velocities. 🔗 go.aps.org/4xowLJL

Circle-packing simulation of ice floes of varying sizes tightly clustered together, each shaded blue, orange, or white to indicate different transverse velocities.

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Reposted by Physical Review Letters

Physics Magazine @physicsmagazine.aps.org · 09/09/2026

By crushing and heating ultrapure water between diamond anvils, scientists confirm a predicted hexagonal close-packed phase of superionic ice. The results could have implications for modelling ice giants like Uranus and Neptune. 🪐 Read the synopsis: go.aps.org/3VkKN1K

A scientific visualization featuring Uranus in blue at the center with dozens of gold lines that represent its magnetic field extending out and around the planet. The background is black.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 11/09/2026

Scientists have observed real-time entry of individual Abrikosov vortices in a coplanar superconducting resonator, presenting a practical route to study vortex states inside superconducting circuit-compatible devices. Read more: go.aps.org/4xQhEKo

The top of the figure displays a quantum diamond microscope (QDM) magnetic field map over a wide field of view in the neck region of the device presented in the paper, after field cooling in 113 μT. The map appears as a bright green rectangle, with various smaller blue regions at the left and right sides. The map is shaded according to a color scale bar at the top, with dark blue for the lowest values of B (μT) and bright yellow for the highest values. At the bottom of the figure are two smaller images of zoomed-in regions from the map, indicated on the larger by a red dashed outline box on the left and a black dashed outline box on the right.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 11/09/2026

In this new framework, hyperuniformity arises without conservation laws and without parameter fine-tuning, making the mechanism especially relevant for application to biological systems. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/3SA2OZe

Figure with two parts. The left part shows a two dimensional snapshot of the population dynamics model. Particles are marked by black dots. Resources are shown by color, with red indicating more resources and blue indicating less. The right part shows two graphs depicting the instantaneous flow of the internal dynamics for two particles. The first one is below the critical point and shows a parabola that is small and positioned above the X axis. The second one is above the critical point and shows a larger parabola that intersects the X axis.

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Reposted by Physical Review Letters

Physics Magazine @physicsmagazine.aps.org · 08/09/2026

A coordinated flock doesn't always stay coordinated. When two groups follow conflicting rules — one aligning, the other antialigning — the flock can spontaneously rotate. But beyond a certain size, that coherent motion breaks down into chaos. Read more: go.aps.org/4hf71Lc

Two-panel figure. The first is a swirling red-and-blue pattern showing chaotic motion in a simulated two-species flocking model. The second, a microscope image of starfish embryos with blue and red arrows indicating the differing movement directions of young versus old embryos.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 10/09/2026

As an outcome of electron hydrodynamics, electrons flowing as a viscous fluid are expected to form vortices. Now, researchers have directly detected electron vortices for the first time using a nanomechanical resonator. Read the Letter: go.aps.org/4r6AU3M

An illustration of a round electron cavity attached to a straight channel. As a result of an in-plane magnetic field, the electron cavity is slightly raised and there is an electron counter-flow at its free edge.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 10/09/2026

A new study models how ice floes collide and dissipate energy gained from surrounding wind. The work demonstrates a way to predict Arctic ice motion, potentially opening the door to better climate forecasting. Learn more: go.aps.org/4gKvfwG

An illustration of a cross section of the ocean containing ice floes, flat sheets of sea ice floating in polar regions. Wavy blue arrows above the floes show fluctuating winds. This causes the ice to move due to drift and wind fluctuations, as indicated by red arrows in various directions.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 10/09/2026

Surprising results show that the circular photogalvanic effect can produce terahertz emission in topological heterostructures, suggesting this phenomena could generate and adjust ultrafast currents in quantum materials. Read more: go.aps.org/3V6743j

At the top, panel (a) displays a schematic diagram of the THz emission spectroscopy setup. On the left are two coiled red and blue arrows, which represent LCP and RCP, respectively. In the middle is a rectangular solid split into three vertical material layers: PtTe2 (red, left), Cr5Te6 (blue, middle), and (0001)-AI2O3 (grey, right). At the right are overlapping blue and red wave-like lines, which represent the THz emission. Panel (b) shows a molecular, structural zoomed-in view of the heterostructure interface between the PtTe2 and Cr5Te6 layers in panel (a). In this model, Pt atoms are orange, Te atoms are blue, Cr atoms are yellow, and intercalated Cr atoms are red.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 09/09/2026

Researchers identify a novel, dense form of close-packed water ice that shows signatures of a superionic state at high pressures — a finding with implications for internal models of ice giants. Read more: go.aps.org/4xOsVuJ

A pressure-temperature diagram showing thermodynamic conditions of measurements in the paper, with pressure in GPa on the x-axis and temperature in K on the y-axis. Black circles denote measurements from run 1, and black triangles denote measurements from run 2. Filled and open symbols indicate the presence or absence, respectively, of hcp ice. Black solid and dashed lines represent the experimental and calculated melting curves, respectively, while a red line represents the bcc-fcc phase boundary. These lines divide the diagram into several sections, which are colored yellow, blue, and pinkish purple. The diagram also contains data points from another paper, shown as yellow squares.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 09/09/2026

By adding a screening layer to 2D electron systems, researchers show that the critical exponents that guide transitions between integer quantum Hall plateaus can be modified, opening the door to tuning quantum criticality. Read more: go.aps.org/3SSIlim

A schematic of the material shows multiple layers. At the top is a gallium arsenide cap, followed by aluminum gallium arsenide, and a gallium arsenide quantum well. At the center is the aluminum arsenide barrier, after which the layers repeat in mirrored order, ending with a gallium arsenide substrate. The middle three layers — the top gallium arsenide quantum well, the aluminum arsenide barrier, and the bottom quantum well — comprise the screening layer.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 09/09/2026

A new study visualizes how moiré patterns affect the electronic structure of twisted molybdenum ditelluride, opening the door to engineering correlated quantum phases. Read the paper: go.aps.org/3UGbyO1

The moiré pattern that emerges in twisted molybdenum ditelluride as seen by a lateral-force atomic force microscope looks like fuzzy, alternating stripes of purple and yellow.

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Reposted by Physical Review Letters

Physics Magazine @physicsmagazine.aps.org · 04/09/2026

Why do stars other than the sun rarely show coronal mass ejections? An experiment recreated stellar plasma ejections and found that strong magnetic fields can suppress them, offering evidence for a long-standing theory. 🔗 go.aps.org/4zXnQlc

Close-up image of the Sun's surface showing a coronal mass ejection: a long, dark filament of plasma arcing outward from a bright, glowing region, against the fiery orange and yellow textures of the solar atmosphere.

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Physical Review Letters @physrevlett.aps.org · 08/09/2026

Two new papers show that chiral order in 2D nonreciprocal flocking systems breaks down past a specific length scale of chiral rotation, giving rise to spatiotemporal chaos akin to turbulence at larger scales. 🔗 go.aps.org/4xJ6fvX 🔗 go.aps.org/3UKzDDi

Visualization of defect-driven chaos from a numerical simulation of a binary flocking mixture with nonreciprocal interaction from the paper “Breakdown of Emergent Chiral Order and Defect Chaos in Nonreciprocal Flocks.” Swirling patterns of deep red and blue against a white background show sweeping, wave-like and cloud-like textures of different scales resembling turbulent fluid motion.

Four red, blue, and black particle density snapshots from the paper, “Extensive Spatiotemporal Chaos in Nonreciprocal Flocking.” Ordered from upper left to lower right, the snapshots show chiral order breaking down through spiral-shaped defects into a chaotic state in a nonreciprocal flock. As chiral order breaks down, large, sweeping patterns start to form until they dominate the entire snapshot.

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