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Molecular clock transitions tune out the noise in the hunt for new physics

Heavy polar molecules are some of the most sensitive tools physicists have for probing what lies beyond the Standard Model, the theory that describes the particles and forces we know about. But turning that sensitivity into precise, trustworthy measurements has long been held back by one stubborn problem: Stray electric and magnetic fields drown out the tiny signals researchers are actually looking for.

In new research published in Physical Review X, a team led by Yuiki Takahashi at the California Institute of Technology has found a way around this, engineering molecular states that can consistently tune out this electromagnetic noise.

Machine learning narrows search for additional particles in the Higgs boson family

What if the Higgs boson found in 2012 is not alone but is the only sibling we have encountered so far? Scientists at CERN discovered the particle that year, and it was a major discovery because it explained how other particles acquire mass. For a long time, scientists thought this was the final piece of the puzzle.

They have a framework called the Standard Model that describes the smallest particles in everything we see. This includes electrons in atoms and light particles called photons. However, this framework does not explain everything. It does not tell us about dark matter or why the universe has so much more matter than antimatter. It is like having a map that shows only half the world.

The discovery of the Higgs boson created new questions. Many physicists started wondering whether the Higgs we found is the only one of its kind. They began to ask whether there is a larger family of these particles hiding in the universe. If we find more members of this family, we might finally understand the parts of nature that the current framework misses.

Chocolate syrup-like fluid stores multiple interacting memories

Animals and electronic devices aren’t the only things with memory. Materials can retain memories of past deformations in their microscopic structure. A common example is a crease in a sheet of paper that has been folded then unfolded. Understanding this type of memory could benefit the design of materials that respond to changes in their environment in predictable ways.

It can also be a source of ideas about the various types of memory studied by neuroscientists, including how short-term and long-term memories interact and influence each other. Now, researchers at Penn State have shown that two different types of material memory can coexist in a simple mixture of small particles suspended in a viscous liquid. Like long-and short-term memories, these material memories interact and compete.

A paper describing the research was recently published and highlighted as an editors’ suggestion in the journal Physical Review Letters.

JWST captures rare glimpse of early black hole growing inside network of young galaxies

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have captured one of the clearest views yet of how an early supermassive black hole may grow within a network of young galaxies. The compact active galaxy, seen just a billion years after the Big Bang, lies beside a 12,000-parsec-long filament containing multiple galaxies that are expected to merge within a few hundred million years.

The findings, posted to the arXiv preprint server on July 6, suggest astronomers may be witnessing a short-lived phase in the evolution of rapidly growing black holes while also shedding light on how the first massive galaxies assembled in the early universe.

Programmable platform enables on-demand design of plant immune receptors against crop pathogens

Crop production faces threats from plant pathogens. Traditional disease-resistance breeding relies heavily on natural plant resistance genes that encode immune receptors adapted to particular pathogens. However, rapidly evolving pathogens frequently overcome these natural defenses, and the limited diversity of naturally occurring immune receptors makes it difficult to develop crops with durable resistance.

Now, a team led by Professor Gao Caixia at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a programmable platform for the on-demand design of synthetic plant immune receptors (SPIRs) that recognize proteins from diverse plant pathogens.

The study was published online in Science on July 23.

Simple circuit brings topological insulators closer to practical electrical measurement standards

Researchers at the University of Würzburg have succeeded in detecting exceptionally robust electrical transport in a topological insulator. This could lead to new metrological applications. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Metrology is the science of measurement. Its aim is to ensure that measurement results are comparable and reliable worldwide, for example, in industry or scientific experiments. So-called fundamental constants, or unchanging physical quantities such as the speed of light or Planck’s constant, play an increasingly important role in this context.

As their values are universal, i.e., independent of place and time, they enable the definition of highly stable units and ensure highly reproducible measurement results. Since 2019, the International System of Units, SI (short for Système international d’unités), has been based entirely on these constants.

Universal structure of exceptional points revealed in nonlinear light‑based systems

Exceptional points, or EPs for short, are among the phenomena of modern physics. These are special points or locations at which the properties of matter, space or time change. In a new theoretical study, researchers from the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) at Paderborn University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona, have shown that exceptional points in nonlinear systems follow a universal geometric order—something that was previously unclear. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Exceptional points are points in physical systems at which not only two eigenvalues but also the corresponding states merge. Such phenomena occur in so-called non-Hermitian systems, which are characterized, for example, by amplification, loss or interactions with their environment. They are the subject of intensive research in fields including optics, lasers, quantum systems and polariton condensates.

Until now, EPs have mainly been studied in linear systems. In such systems, they can often be described as isolated points in parameter space. However, many real physical systems are nonlinear: Their properties depend on the intensity, occupation or state of the system itself.

Quantum Newton’s cradle set to level up computing

Sending quantum information through a chain of qubits, like energy through a Newton’s cradle, could be the key to faster operations and take quantum computing to the next level.

The quantum Newton’s cradle design shows how a laser can be used to give a precisely designed kick of energy to a row of trapped ions, quickly preparing them for quantum calculations known as gates.

The superpower of the new algorithm is its ability to rapidly entangle any two ions in the row without affecting the ones in between: Like a Newton’s cradle, the energy travels through the ions, leaving them untouched.

Shaking atoms to bring black-hole quantum chaos into the lab

Physicists have discovered a surprisingly simple way to reproduce one of the most fascinating models in modern physics—linked to black holes, quantum chaos and exotic electronic materials—using ultracold atoms trapped in light.

Instead of trying to build a highly complex system from scratch, the researchers show that gently “shaking” a standard optical lattice can transform it into an accurate simulator of the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model, a theoretical model known for its extreme and unusual quantum behavior.

The findings are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

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