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Category: quantum physics – Page 12

Quantum fluid reveals hidden states that can be switched with a magnetic field

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are often described as a “fifth state of matter”: a quantum state in which many particles lose their individual identities and behave as one collective object. For more than 60 years, researchers have sought to create such condensates from excitons—electron-hole pairs—as a solid-state route to macroscopic quantum coherence, which is useful for quantum technologies. This has been difficult to realize in controllable semiconductor devices because optically generated excitons have very short lifetimes of around a billionth of a second, and BECs are normally attained with ultracold gases in a vacuum.

But now, a team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has observed a tunable BEC of excitons at high temperature in an atomically thin semiconductor. The findings, published in Nature, reveal not only that the excitons form a BEC but also that the condensate has an internal structure that can be switched by a magnetic field.

The work enables a new platform for studying quantum fluids in solid materials. (A quantum fluid is an exotic state of matter in which gases of electrons or other particles behave collectively like a fluid.) It also has implications for future quantum simulations, coherent optoelectronics in next-generation telecommunications and computing, and exciton-based devices enabling faster, more efficient computing.

Nano-optics: New mechanism for channeling light waves discovered in natural hyperbolic materials

Researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milan have demonstrated a new mechanism for directing light in a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material without conventional nanofabricated waveguides. The discovery opens new possibilities for integrated photonics, on-chip optical communication and future quantum technologies. The paper is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

When a stone is dropped into water, circular waves spread outward from the point of impact. Light behaves similarly: When emitted from a localized source, it naturally propagates as spherical or circular wavefronts within a material. While this isotropic propagation is a fundamental property of waves, it is often undesirable in photonic applications where light must be guided efficiently along predefined paths.

Conventional optical technologies overcome this challenge using waveguides. In optical fiber communications, for example, glass fibers confine laser light and transport it over long distances with minimal loss. Similarly, photonic integrated circuits rely on nanoscale waveguides fabricated through complex lithographic processes, including resist coating, lithography and etching. These fabrication steps are technologically demanding and contribute significantly to manufacturing costs.

Scientists Discover What Makes Hydrogen Go Quantum

The symmetry of vanadium’s crystal structure acts as a switch for hydrogen’s quantum behavior.

Inside a vanadium crystal, hydrogen can travel in two very different ways. It may move as a conventional particle that needs enough energy to jump between locations, or behave like a quantum wave that passes through barriers. Researchers have now identified the structural change that determines which route it takes.

The finding could matter as demand grows for materials that can safely store and transport hydrogen as a source of cleaner energy. Vanadium is a promising candidate because it absorbs hydrogen readily and allows the atoms to move through its crystal lattice, although the reason for their changing behavior had remained uncertain.

Scientists Reveal Hidden Structure of a Quantum Fluid

Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs) are often described as a “fifth state of matter”: a quantum state in which many particles lose their individual identities and behave as one collective object. For more than 60 years, researchers have sought to create such condensates from excitons — electron-hole pairs — as a solid-state route to macroscopic quantum coherence, which is useful for quantum technologies. This has been difficult to realize in controllable semiconductor devices because optically generated excitons have very short lifespans of around a billionth of a second, and BECs are normally attained with supercold gasses in a vacuum.

But now, a team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has observed a tunable BEC of excitons at high temperature in an atomically thin semiconductor. The findings, published in Nature, reveal not only that the excitons form a BEC, but also that the condensate has an internal structure that can be switched by a magnetic field.

Magnetic dopants help quantum dots use light for chemical reactions

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have demonstrated a new quantum-dot mechanism that could significantly expand the reach of light-driven chemistry. By introducing magnetic manganese dopants into semiconductor quantum dots, the team created an ultrafast spin-exchange pathway that captures hot-electron energy before it is lost as heat and uses it to drive chemical reduction.

The work, published in Nature Communications, provides a direct demonstration that magnetic dopants can enable efficient hot-electron reduction in quantum dots. Using methyl viologen as a model molecular acceptor, the researchers showed that manganese-doped quantum dots can transfer electrons significantly faster than undoped particles and can drive reduction even when conventional band-edge energetics are unfavorable.

“Our study shows that magnetic dopants can do much more than modify the optical properties of quantum dots,” says Victor Klimov, laboratory fellow at Los Alamos and principal investigator on the project. “They can capture hot-exciton energy on ultrafast time scales and redirect it into useful chemistry, which opens a fundamentally new route to high-energy photoreduction.”

AI, Quantum Computing, Nanotech Convergence Reshapes Innovation

Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nanotechnology are converging to reshape innovation — and organizations that understand how to harness them could gain a competitive edge.

That’s according to Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting International and one of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Experts, in a recent piece exploring how the technologies are transforming research and development while accelerating advances in healthcare, cybersecurity, defense and other industries.

Brooks highlights AI’s role in accelerating R&D, nanotechnology’s potential in wearables and sensors, and quantum computing’s ability to solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers.

Turning molecules into reliable electronic devices with a new fabrication platform

Molecules are among the smallest building blocks available for making next-generation devices. Their unique, customizable properties enable promising applications in emerging computing, sensing, optical and quantum technologies.

But integrating molecules into functional devices at scale remains a challenge. Traditional semiconductor manufacturing processes can damage small, fragile molecular materials. Now, MIT researchers have developed a scalable fabrication technique that incorporates delicate molecular materials into electronic devices on a chip without causing damage.

Their method extends the capabilities of standard semiconductor manufacturing processes to accommodate molecules. The researchers first prefabricate the device components using traditional processes. Then, they introduce the molecules and harness nanoscale surface forces to mechanically transform the fabricated device, which self-assembles without damaging the molecules.

New quantum encryption method prevents ciphertext from being cloned

Digital security currently relies on difficult equations to protect data. For example, when you use a credit card online, the information is locked inside a math problem that would take a modern computer thousands of years to solve. However, if someone builds a powerful enough computer, that security breaks.

To make systems safer, there is a major shift toward quantum security. This is where the unbreakable laws of quantum physics can be used to protect data instead.

Unusual metal oxide shows signs of magnetism under lattice strain in ultrathin layers

Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) is a metal oxide that commonly serves as an important metallic conductor, quantum material and industrial electrocatalyst. While there have been debates surrounding the magnetic properties of RuO2, it is generally thought to be nonmagnetic in its bulk form. But now, a new study, published in Science Advances, has found that very thin layers of RuO2 can become magnetic when its lattice is placed under strain.

RuO2 is known for its unusual magnetic properties, which have led some researchers to propose that it may be an altermagnet —a material with magnetic order but little or no overall magnetization. Most previous studies have examined bulk RuO2 crystals or thicker, relaxed films and have reported conflicting findings on magnetic order. Earlier studies linked RuO2 to magnetic order, unusual Hall effects and efficient spin-charge conversion, while later studies found no magnetic order in bulk or relaxed films.

While one study reported the absence of altermagnetic properties down to 5 nanometers of RuO2 thickness, a fully strained ultrathin regime below about 4 nanometers had not been directly studied with both momentum and spin resolution.

PRX Intelligence publishes its first papers

The American Physical Society’s newest highly selective, open access journal, PRX Intelligence, has published its inaugural papers. The studies demonstrate how artificial intelligence and machine learning methods can be used to advance scientific knowledge and capabilities across the physical sciences — from neural networks that streamline molecular simulations to data-driven learning schemes that accelerate quantum embedding workflows.

As AI and machine learning transform the physical sciences, PRX Intelligence is designed to provide a multidisciplinary platform for research pioneering the development and application of these approaches. Building on the foundation of Physical Review X, the journal publishes open access articles expected to have substantial and lasting impact. It welcomes studies that apply AI and machine learning across theory, simulation, and experimentation in physics and related fields — including computer science, mathematics, engineering, materials science, chemistry, biology, and earth and environmental sciences. Relevant topics include discovery and synthesis, physics-informed learning, data-driven approaches, machine learning pipelines for observational platforms, and more. Articles have flexible formats and lengths and may include research papers, perspectives, roadmaps, tutorials, and more.

PRX Intelligence will waive article publication charges for manuscripts submitted or transferred before Jan. 1, 2027. And like all other APS journals, it will always waive these charges for researchers in low-and middle-income countries. Sign up for email updates to keep up with the latest news from the journal.

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