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To first approximation, the dispersion relation around the Fermi energy of single-layer graphene is linear, making its charge carriers behave like massless relativistic subatomic particles. More careful inspection of its low-energy band structure suggests the picture is more complex, extending the analogy even further.
Phase information can be obtained from inelastically scattered X-rays by combining parametric down-conversion with tunable quantum interference. This is a step towards putting this nonlinear phenomenon to a practical use in the X-ray regime: investigating the optical response of chemical bonds at their electron-volt and subnanometre scales.
Extensive numerical simulations provide evidence that the thermodynamic behaviour of supercooled silicon is similar to that proposed for supercooled water: a line of liquid–liquid transitions that ends at a critical point. In the case of silicon, however, the critical point occurs at negative pressures.
Refined techniques to mix cold antiprotons and positrons in a magnetic bottle show that antihydrogen atoms can be trapped for 15 minutes — an improvement of four orders of magnitude over previous experiments.
Evidence is growing that quantum coherence plays a role in photosynthesis. Better understanding of this process might help us design more efficient solar cells to harness the Sun's energy.
Direct measurements of the energy dissipated by quantum turbulence clearly demonstrate that the scaling of the long-time decay of the energy dissipation in the quasiclassical regime of turbulence differs from that in the ultraquantum regime.
'Standard' qubits have been implemented in diverse physical systems. Now, so-called topological qubits are coming into the limelight, and could potentially be used for decoherence-free quantum computing. Coupling these two types of qubit might enable devices that exploit the virtues of both.
Noise filters based on so-called dynamical decoupling pulse sequences can suppress decoherence in quantum systems. Turning this idea on its head now provides a new technique for studying the noise itself.
The observation of quantum phenomena usually requires utmost control and isolation of a quantum system from its noisy environment. A study now shows how even a spontaneously emitted photon may force an atom into a coherent quantum state.
A century ago, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity. And yet, despite the conventional superconductors being understood, the list of unconventional superconductors is growing — for which unconventional theories may be required.
The alignment of the nuclear spins in parahydrogen can be transferred to other molecules, where it enhances NMR signals by several orders of magnitude. This approach enables NMR even in the absence of magnetic fields, and offers unprecedented opportunities in physics, chemistry, biology and medicine.
Single colour centres in diamond have already proved their merit for sensing magnetic fields with high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Now they have been shown to be effective atomic-scale probes of electric fields, too.
Spectroscopic techniques typically probe the interaction between matter and electromagnetic fields. An experiment now demonstrates that transitions between quantum states of neutrons can be brought about by mechanically vibrating a mirror, an approach that may lead to sensitive tests of gravity laws.
Intense femtosecond pulses of infrared light can manipulate molecules. It is now shown that such control even extends to making different molecular eigenstates interfere with each other in a way never considered before — a potential tool for optically engineered chemical reactions and for ultrafast information encoding and manipulation.
