High-order Van Hove singularities (hoVHSs) with power-law divergences in the density-of-states are drawing current interest mainly in context of two-dimensional (2D) twisted moiré materials. Using cuprate high-Tc superconductors as an example, here the authors illustrate complications that can arise in bulk materials in defining hoVHSs and the need to extend the definition of hoVHSs to include flat-band materials.

Self-motile active matter particles form a motility-induced phase separation (MIPS) state for high density and activity. By introducing an infection that causes particles to become nonmotile, MIPS clustering can arise outside the MIPS regime and exhibits time-dependent patterning from MIPS to a wetting phase and a fragmented state.

Boundary time crystals are gaining attention due to their distinctive features like persistent oscillations at the thermodynamic limit. This work shows that the boundary time crystal phase transition can be exploited for quantum-enhanced sensitivity, which bridges many-body physics and quantum metrology and hence triggers broad interest in the condensed matter and quantum technology communities.

Coulomb Explosion imaging is a promising technique to study the ultrafast nuclear dynamics which underpin molecular photochemistry. By initiating Coulomb explosion through soft X-ray ionization, the authors are able to image ultrafast nuclear dynamics of a prototypical photoreaction.

Driving a quantum material from trivial to non-trivial topological phase can be engineered, for instance, by an applied external field but understanding the physics of the transition can be complex. Here, the authors report a pressure-induced topological phase transition from a semiconductor to a Weyl semimetal phase in 2D Te, and investigate the underlying dynamics using a range of magneto-transport techniques.

The authors present a series of correlated insulating states of twisted bilayer graphene that is detected using an atomic force microscope tip. An additional experiment demonstrates the coupling of a mechanical oscillator to a quantum device.

The sign of switching currents in supercurrent diodes depends on their flow direction, however effective strategies to control it in single platforms with large efficiency are missing. The authors realise a supercurrent diode in superconducting weak links that is tunable both in amplitude and sign of switching current by an out of-plane magnetic field in a regime without magnetic screening.

Highly-directional hyperbolic surface plasmons are widely exploited in optoelectronic devices, but obtaining the same performance in simpler platforms over metahyperbolic surfaces has technological advantages for integration. The authors predict that RuOCl₂ monolayers exhibit low-loss hyperbolic responses across the THz to UV spectral range.

The recent discovery of superconductivity in the nickelates provides another angle to investigate this phenomenon in the high-T_c cuprates and hopefully help solve the mechanism of their unconventional superconductivity. Here, the authors report an increase in T_c for Pr_0.8Sr_0.2NiO₂ where strain from the underlying LSAT substrate plays a possible role, supporting simulations also reveal the contributing role Ni and O orbitals hybridisation play in the unconventional pairing.

Changes in the underlying dynamics of an observed system manifest as deformation in the underlying attractor in phase space. We propose a method to construct a discretised network representation of the attractor and demonstrate its applicability in identifying dynamical change points in various theoretical and real systems.

Coherent microwave-to-optical conversion is crucial for networking physically separated quantum devices. This paper demonstrates coherent conversion of microwaves to a wide, tuneable optical frequency range using room-temperature Rb atoms, supporting frequency division multiplexing and coherent frequency channel control.

This paper theoretically predicts near-unity efficiency in converting a guided mode to free space radiation via a deep-subwavelength metallic hole. This phenomenon is enabled by a topologically protected one-way waveguide mode, where reciprocity is broken through an external magnetic field at terahertz frequencies.

Non-orthogonal quantum states cannot be perfectly distinguished - a fact of central importance in quantum mechanics, from both a fundamental and practical viewpoint. The authors introduce an approach to this problem, using entangled measurements to distinguish quantum states better than what is possible with direct measurements.