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Could meditation reveal an SU(3) symmetry shared by the observer and the universe?

You sit down to meditate. A conversation returns, then thoughts. You bring your attention back to the breath. Sometimes, after many such returns, the effort eases. Thoughts lose their urgency, while awareness remains clear. Less occupies the mind, yet the moment still feels whole.

We are interested in what makes that wholeness possible. Even an ordinary moment brings together vision, memory, bodily sensation and attention. Their contents change constantly, but they belong to one experience. What physical organization allows the brain to hold them together, and what happens to that organization when experience itself appears to stop?

In our paper, “A Coherence–Dissipation Framework for Brain Dynamics and Consciousness,” published in the journal Entropy, we approach these questions through the quantum phenomenon of superconductivity, symmetry and the balance between coherence and dissipation. We propose a mathematical structure that could be sought in neural recordings, with meditation offering a setting in which to study how the relationship between activity and experience changes.

‘Carpet’ growth method yields long-sought 2D quantum material

For decades, physicists have sought a practical two-dimensional topological insulator: an ultrathin material whose interior blocks electricity but whose edges conduct it. In ordinary wires, electrons constantly bounce off imperfections, losing energy. But along the edges of a 2D topological insulator, electrons with opposite spins travel in opposite directions, like cars in one-way lanes, so they rarely scatter and lose energy.

Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have shown that ultrathin films of bismuth telluride are such a material. The work, published in ACS Nano, used a new approach to produce a uniform-thickness bismuth telluride film and confirm theoretical predictions about the material’s properties.

“In a strict scientific sense, we are the first to demonstrate conclusive spectroscopic evidence that this is indeed a 2D topological insulator,” said Shuolong Yang, assistant professor of molecular engineering at UChicago PME and senior author of the new work. “When people created these films in the past, they were all mixed up with one, two, three or four layers, and the topological electronic properties weren’t resolved.”

Faster molecular simulations identify promising diamond defects for quantum computers and sensors

A faster way of finding the best diamond-based materials for quantum computers has been developed by a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The new approach has already identified promising materials for practical quantum sensors and computers that could one day transform scientific research as a whole. The research was recently published in the journal ACS Central Science and has already garnered attention from other experts in the field.

Many types of materials are currently being considered for use in quantum technology, but most can only hold a stable quantum state when chilled to extreme temperatures. Diamond-based materials, however, offer promising alternatives because they are functional at room temperature. This is just one way that PPPL continues to advance strategic national priorities, such as creating the technology of the future.

Quantum technology is critical because the sensors would be more sensitive and accurate than anything currently available, and quantum computers would be able to handle highly complex problems far faster than any traditional supercomputer on Earth today.

New topological microscope tip reveals evidence of 2D altermagnetism

Researchers have fashioned a layered topological material into a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip that senses spin-related electronic states at atomic resolution.

The research team, led by Chen Xianhui and Wang Zhenyu from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with Xiang Bin from USTC, Liu Junwei from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and other collaborators, used this probe to obtain converging evidence for two-dimensional d-wave altermagnetic order on the surface of KV₂Se₂O.

The study was published online in Nature on Oct. 13.

Scientists Build a World-First DNA Computer That Runs Without Continuous Power

Reusable for up to 25 different calculations, a DNA computer points toward possible uses in energy-efficient computing and long-term data storage.

A DNA computer has added 10 and 3 in 30 seconds, using interacting strands in water instead of a silicon chip. Developed by researchers at Maynooth University (MU), the system can also multiply and divide without a continuous electricity supply.

The work, published in Nature, presents a first-of-its-kind system described as one of the most complex and fastest molecular computers yet reported.