Top 25 Physics Articles of 2022

Top 25 Articles

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  Precise atom manipulation through deep reinforcement learning

  Engineering quantum states requires precise manipulations at the atomic level. Here, the authors use deep reinforcement learning to manipulate Ag adatoms on Ag surfaces, which combined with path planning algorithms enables autonomous atomic assembly.

  • I-Ju Chen
  • Markus Aapro
  • Adam S. Foster

  ArticleOpen Access5 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Coherent interaction-free detection of microwave pulses with a superconducting circuit

  Interaction-free measurements typically use repeated interrogations of an object that suppress the coherent evolution of the system. Dogra et al. demonstrate in a superconducting circuit a novel protocol that employs coherent repeated interrogations, and show that it yields a higher detection probability.

  • Shruti Dogra
  • John J. McCord
  • Gheorghe Sorin Paraoanu

  ArticleOpen Access7 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Unimon qubit

  While transmon is the most widely used superconducting qubit, the search for alternative qubit designs with improved characteristic is ongoing. Hyyppä et al. demonstrate a novel superconducting qubit, the unimon, that combines high anharmonicity and protection against low-frequency charge noise and flux noise.

  • Eric Hyyppä
  • Suman Kundu
  • Mikko Möttönen

  ArticleOpen Access12 Nov 2022 Nature Communications
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  Nonlinear two-level dynamics of quantum time crystals

  Recent work has reported a realization of a time crystal in the form of the Bose-Einstein condensate of magnons in superfluid ³He. Here, the authors study the dynamics of a pair of such quantum time crystals and show that it closely resembles the evolution of a two-level system, modified by nonlinear feedback.

  • S. Autti
  • P. J. Heikkinen
  • V. B. Eltsov

  ArticleOpen Access2 Jun 2022 Nature Communications
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  Extending resolution within a single imaging frame

  The presented Mean-Shift Super Resolution (MSSR) algorithm can extend spatial resolution within a single microscopy image. Its applicability extends across a wide range of experimental and instrumental configurations and it is compatible with other super-resolution microscopy approaches.

  • Esley Torres-García
  • Raúl Pinto-Cámara
  • Adán Guerrero

  ArticleOpen Access2 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Detecting and quantifying liquid–liquid phase separation in living cells by model-free calibrated half-bleaching

  It is currently debated how to reliably distinguish liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) from other mechanisms. Here the authors report model-free calibrated half-FRAP (MOCHA-FRAP) to probe the barrier at the condensate interface that is responsible for preferential internal mixing in LLPS.

  • Fernando Muzzopappa
  • Johan Hummert
  • Fabian Erdel

  ArticleOpen Access16 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Ultra-low loss quantum photonic circuits integrated with single quantum emitters

  Applications of ultra-low-loss photonic circuitry in quantum photonics, in particular including triggered single photon sources, are rare. Here, the authors show how InAs quantum dot single photon sources can be integrated onto wafer-scale, CMOS compatible ultra-low loss silicon nitride photonic circuits.

  • Ashish Chanana
  • Hugo Larocque
  • Marcelo Davanco

  ArticleOpen Access12 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Nanometer-scale photon confinement in topology-optimized dielectric cavities

  Here, the authors integrate measured fabrication constraints in topology optimization to design a highly optimized dielectric nanocavity. The theoretically predicted confinement of light below the diffraction limit is confirmed by near- and far-field spectroscopy.

  • Marcus Albrechtsen
  • Babak Vosoughi Lahijani
  • Søren Stobbe

  ArticleOpen Access21 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  An epitaxial graphene platform for zero-energy edge state nanoelectronics

  Here, the authors show robust edge state transport in patterned nanoribbon networks produced on epigraphene—graphene that is epitaxially grown on non-polar faces of SiC wafers. The edge state forms a zero-energy, one-dimensional ballistic network with dissipationless nodes at ribbon–ribbon junctions.

  • Vladimir S. Prudkovskiy
  • Yiran Hu
  • Walt A. de Heer

  ArticleOpen Access19 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Atomic transistors based on seamless lateral metal-semiconductor junctions with a sub-1-nm transfer length

  Edge-to-edge metal-semiconductor junctions have the potential to improve the performance of 2D transistors. Here, the authors report a synthetic strategy to fabricate monolayer MoS₂-PtTe₂ heterojunction arrays with sub-1-nm transfer length and enhanced carrier injection compared to vertical 3D metallic contacts.

  • Seunguk Song
  • Aram Yoon
  • Soon-Yong Kwon

  ArticleOpen Access22 Aug 2022 Nature Communications
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  2D materials for future heterogeneous electronics

  Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials have remained an active field of research in science and engineering for over fifteen years. Here, the authors investigate why the transition from laboratories to fabrication plants appears to lag behind expectations, and summarize the main challenges and opportunities that have thus far prevented the commercialisation of these materials.

  • Max C. Lemme
  • Deji Akinwande
  • Christoph Stampfer

  CommentOpen Access16 Mar 2022 Nature Communications

• Publishing 2D materials research towards industrialisation

  Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials have been at the core of intense research and development for over fifteen years, however the market penetration of products based on this technology has lagged behind expectations. At Nature Communications we wish to support research providing insights into the path towards the industrialisation of 2D materials. We introduce a Collection that encapsulates the recent progress and outstanding challenges faced by research on atomically thin materials, and we focus, in particular, on the potential of 2D technologies for future impact at the commercial level.

  EditorialOpen Access13 Apr 2022 Nature Communications
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  Multi-scale organization in communicating active matter

  The communication in active systems plays an important role in their self-organization, yet the detail is not fully understood. Here, Ziepke et al. show the formation of complex structures at multiple scales amongst interactive agents that locally process information transmitted by chemical signals.

  • Alexander Ziepke
  • Ivan Maryshev
  • Erwin Frey

  ArticleOpen Access7 Nov 2022 Nature Communications
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  Giant ferroelectric polarization in a bilayer graphene heterostructure

  Interfacial ferroelectricity may emerge in moiré superlattices. Here, the authors find that the polarized charge is much larger than the capacity of the moiré miniband and the associated anomalous screening exists outside the band.

  • Ruirui Niu
  • Zhuoxian Li
  • Jianming Lu

  ArticleOpen Access21 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  Monolithically integrated, broadband, high-efficiency silicon nitride-on-silicon waveguide photodetectors in a visible-light integrated photonics platform

  Efficient and broadband visible-light photodetectors will bring great advantages in applications such as biosensing and quantum information. Here the authors develop a photodetector with high quantum efficiency across broad wavelength range suitable for monolithic integration in photonics circuits.

  • Yiding Lin
  • Zheng Yong
  • Joyce K. S. Poon

  ArticleOpen Access26 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  Electrically driven reprogrammable phase-change metasurface reaching 80% efficiency

  The authors demonstrate an efficient platform for electrically driven reconfigurable metasurfaces by using Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ to realize non-volatile, reversible, multilevel, and fast optical modulation and wavefront engineering in the near-infrared spectral range.

  • Sajjad Abdollahramezani
  • Omid Hemmatyar
  • Ali Adibi

  ArticleOpen Access30 Mar 2022 Nature Communications
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  Structural basis of RNA polymerase II transcription on the chromatosome containing linker histone H1

  The mechanism by which RNAPII transcribes the DNA in the chromatosome with H1 has remained enigmatic. Here the authors present the cryo-EM structures of the RNAPII-chromatosome complexes, and explain how RNAPII is regulated by H1 in chromatin.

  • Rina Hirano
  • Haruhiko Ehara
  • Hitoshi Kurumizaka

  ArticleOpen Access26 Nov 2022 Nature Communications
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  Observation of room temperature excitons in an atomically thin topological insulator

  Here, the authors report the observation of room temperature excitons in a single layer of bismuth atoms epitaxially grown on a SiC substrate - a material of non-trivial global topology - with excitonic and topological physics deriving from the very same electronic structure.

  • Marcin Syperek
  • Raul Stühler
  • Christian Schneider

  ArticleOpen Access23 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  Shaping contactless radiation forces through anomalous acoustic scattering

  Here, the authors demonstrate that acoustic waves can actuate and guide large objects based on subwavelength meta-patterns on their surface.

  • Matthew Stein
  • Sam Keller
  • Ognjen Ilic

  ArticleOpen Access1 Nov 2022 Nature Communications
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  Integrated Pockels laser

  On-Chip integration of laser systems led to impressive development in many field of application like LIDAR or AR/VR to cite a few. Here the authors harness Pockels effect in an integrated semiconductor platform achieving fast on-chip configurability of a narrow linewidth laser.

  • Mingxiao Li
  • Lin Chang
  • Qiang Lin

  ArticleOpen Access12 Sep 2022 Nature Communications
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  Above-room-temperature strong intrinsic ferromagnetism in 2D van der Waals Fe₃GaTe₂ with large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

  In isotropic two dimensional systems, long range ferromagnetic order is supressed by thermal fluctuations, and it is due to magnetic anisotropy that van der Waals magnetic materials can have ferromagnetic ordering at finite temperatures. Usually this magnetic anisotropy is relatively small, but in this manuscript Zhang et al make a two dimensional van der Waals material with exceptionally large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and ferromagnetic ordering that exits up to 350 K.

  • Gaojie Zhang
  • Fei Guo
  • Haixin Chang

  ArticleOpen Access29 Aug 2022 Nature Communications
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  Optically trapped room temperature polariton condensate in an organic semiconductor

  The authors demonstrate on-the-fly reconfigurable optical trapping of organic polariton condensates which are delocalised over a macroscopic distance from the excitation region, holding great potential for future work on polaritonic lattice physics.

  • Mengjie Wei
  • Wouter Verstraelen
  • Hamid Ohadi

  ArticleOpen Access23 Nov 2022 Nature Communications
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  Dual-gated single-molecule field-effect transistors beyond Moore’s law

  Conventional silicon-based transistors, which sit at the heart of every computer, are fast approaching the limit of miniaturisation. Here, Meng et al demonstrate a field-effect transistor composed of a single rutheniumdiarylethene molecule with large on/off ratio.

  • Linan Meng
  • Na Xin
  • Xuefeng Guo

  ArticleOpen Access17 Mar 2022 Nature Communications
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  Glassy thermal conductivity in Cs₃Bi₂I₆Cl₃ single crystal

  The investigation of thermal conductivity is crucial to the success of many modern technologies. Here the authors have reported an unusual glass-like thermal conductivity in a single crystal of layered halide perovskite, Cs₃Bi₂I₆Cl₃.

  • Paribesh Acharyya
  • Tanmoy Ghosh
  • Kanishka Biswas

  ArticleOpen Access27 Aug 2022 Nature Communications
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  Isotropic reconstruction for electron tomography with deep learning

  Cryogenic electron tomography suffers from anisotropic resolution due to the missing-wedge problem. Here, the authors present IsoNet, a neural network that learn the feature representation from similar structures in the tomogram and recover the missing information for isotropic tomogram reconstruction.

  • Yun-Tao Liu
  • Heng Zhang
  • Z. Hong Zhou

  ArticleOpen Access29 Oct 2022 Nature Communications