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Quantum Latin squares cannot solve Euler’s 36 officers problem without entanglement

Latin squares are arrangements of symbols in a grid in which every symbol appears exactly once in each row and column. These symbol arrangements, which were first studied more than three centuries ago, are now widely used to optimize experimental designs and develop secure cryptographic systems, puzzles or other complex combinatorial structures.

In 1782, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler devised a renowned mathematical problem based on Latin squares, known as the 36 officers problem. This problem entails arranging 36 officers from six regiments and six ranks in a 6-by-6 square grid, ensuring that every row and column contains one officer from each regiment and each rank.

In the centuries after Euler introduced this problem, mathematicians showed that it could not be solved using classical approaches. More recently, theorists introduced quantum versions of this problem, replacing the individual symbols in ordinary Latin squares with mathematical descriptions of possible quantum system states.

Controlling the rotation direction of light without complex new materials

A new pathway has opened for controlling the rotation direction of light simply by changing how molecules are arranged, without having to synthesize complex new materials. Circularly polarized light is a special form of light that travels while rotating like a pinwheel to the left or right. Because different rotation directions can carry different information, it is drawing attention as a key light source for next-generation displays, optical communications and security technologies.

KAIST researchers have developed a platform technology that arranges symmetric molecules into “microscopic pinwheels,” enabling circularly polarized light with a desired rotation direction. The research results were published in the Nature Communications.

Hybrid energy system: One roof for electricity, heating and cooling

Photovoltaic panels generate electricity, solar thermal collectors provide heat, while cooling is usually supplied by air conditioning systems that themselves consume electricity. As a result, buildings require different technologies competing for the limited space available on roofs and facades.

A solution developed by a team led by Dr. Gan Huang at KIT’s Institute of Microstructure Technology, by contrast, simultaneously provides cooling, electricity and heating from a single surface. This hybrid PDRC-solar system combines photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies with passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC). The researchers see applications wherever cooling and energy are required simultaneously.

The study is published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

Scientists Steer Infrared Light Through an “Invisible” Waveguide

The discovery could advance integrated photonics, on-chip optical signal transmission, and future quantum technologies.

A nanoscale gold antenna placed on a crystal can send infrared light along one narrow route, even though no physical waveguide has been carved into the material.

Researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milan demonstrated this mechanism in a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material. The result could support integrated photonics, optical communication on chips, and future quantum technologies.

Electrons Mysteriously Slow to a Crawl Inside This Magnetic Material

Inside an unusual magnetic material, electrons are doing something physicists did not expect: slowing to a near crawl while moving together in quantum lockstep.

A team at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) found that electrons in Fe5GeTe2 can enter a charge-ordered state where they move collectively, remain quantum coherent, and travel far more slowly than expected.

The result could force scientists to rethink how magnetism works in this material. It may also offer a new way to store information by switching between distinct electronic and magnetic states.

“Entirely Surprising” — Scientists Have Found a Martian Meteorite Unlike Any Known Before

A meteorite found in Algeria has opened a rare window into nearly 2 billion years of Mars’ history that had largely been missing from the geological record.

Researchers at Boston College have determined that Northwest Africa (NWA) 13,441, a rock blasted from Mars before eventually reaching Earth, crystallized about 1.273 billion years ago. Its age places it squarely within a huge gap in the known record of shergottites, the most common type of Martian igneous meteorite. Even more unexpectedly, its chemistry points to a deep Martian source unlike any previously identified in this group.

“The characteristics of this meteorite were entirely surprising,” said Ethan Baxter, a Boston College professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and founder of the university’s Center for Isotope Geochemistry. “No other Martian meteorite like this has an age of 1.27 billion years.”

The Modern Attack Chain: Rethinking Google Workspace Security in the Age of AI

Google Workspace attacks do not always begin with phishing. Stolen OAuth tokens can provide another path into Gmail, Drive, and connected systems. Material Security explains why organizations need defenses that cover the entire Workspace attack chain.

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