Articles in 2010

The ability to generate entangled photon pairs from a quantum dot critically depends on the size of the fine-structure splitting of its exciton states. A demonstration of the ability to tune this splitting with an electric field represents a promising step in the use of quantum dots to generate entangled photon pairs on demand.

A study of Mn-doped InAs quantum wells reveals unexpected metastable behaviour of magnetotransport phenomena at sub-kelvin temperatures, in structures that show at the same time the quantum Hall effect in high magnetic fields. These findings bridge the physics of two-dimensional carrier systems with phenomena specific to magnetically doped semiconductors.

A major goal in the fields of ultracold quantum gases and quantum simulations is measuring the phase diagram of strongly interacting many-body systems. This has now been achieved in an optical-lattice-based quantum simulator. The simulation is validated through an ab initio comparison with large-scale numerical quantum Monte Carlo simulations.

Nature Physics is five years old. So we're celebrating, with a bumper issue and an online special.

It is possible to noiselessly amplify a quantum state by first deliberately increasing its noise. This paradoxical result may have important applications in quantum communication and metrology.

Cells are the building blocks of life. Ideas traditionally applied to physical problems are now helping to unravel their complex mysteries.

Cell biophysics sheds some new light on cancer by approaching this complex problem from a materials science perspective.

Is the brain on the edge of criticality? Understanding the inner workings of the brain is a task made difficult by the number of elements involved: a hundred billion neurons and a hundred trillion synapses. Viewing the brain in terms of collective dynamics is one approach now yielding some insight.

A protein’s shape is crucial for fulfilling its function within a cell. This Review discusses how molecular dynamics simulations have given us insight into the processes that turn a linear chain of amino acids into a unique three-dimensional protein.

Viruses are protected by a protein shell known as a capsid. The mechanical properties of capsids have been the focus of intense experimental and theoretical investigation with the hope that a better understanding will open the door to new medical treatments and applications in biotechnology.

The energy potentials created by laser light can trap atoms. An analogous effect that traps electrons in solid-state systems is now proposed. The electron traps are created in quantum wells and wires in the presence of quasiparticles composed of two electrons and a hole. The idea could lead to advances in ultrafast optical and new optoelectronic devices.

A noisy environment is used to study the dynamics of a four-trapped-ion entangled state. The study shows that entanglement properties such as distillability and separability can be altered by controlling the degree of dephasing. The results provide an important insight into the nature of multiparticle entanglement.

Loading only single atoms into an optical trap with an efficiency in excess of 80% has now been achieved by manipulating the collisions between pairs of atoms. Such a process has previously been limited to about 50% efficiency. The technique will aid the development of neutral-atom-based quantum logic gates.

Atomic transitions afford a convenient way of storing quantum bits. However, there are few ground-state transitions suitable for use with light at telecommunication wavelengths. Now, researchers show that ensembles of cold rubidium atoms not only make good quantum memories, but can also noiselessly convert the emitted photons into and out of the telecoms band.

Quantum mechanics predicts that measurements on spatially separated particles can yield non-local correlations. This is well established but defies intuition about space and time. The concept of 'steering' might help us to understand quantum non-locality better.