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High harmonic spectroscopy is a femtosecond laser technique that reveals details of valence electron orbital wavefunctions in gas-phase molecules. It makes it possible to image molecular orbitals and for unimolecular chemical reactions to be followed with femtosecond resolution.
Cosmological hydrodynamics simulations reveal the possible formation of supermassive stars within metal-free primordial gas haloes. These stars are thought to be the origin of supermassive black holes.
The exact mechanisms involved in ultrafast demagnetization have long been debated. A new study published in Nature uncovers the role played in this process by the angular momentum transfer to the lattice, which is faster than previously thought.
Magnetic topological insulators enable the investigation of the interplay between magnetism and topological electronic states. This Review summarizes the basic notions of magnetic topological insulators and the progress in the experimental realization of exotic topological phenomena.
High spatial coherence of laser illumination is not always desirable, because it can cause adverse artefacts such as speckle noise. This Technical Review describes unconventional lasers that have inherently low and/or tunable spatial coherence.
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility is upgrading to become the first high-energy fourth generation synchrotron. It will be a test bed for new technologies and will provide users with unprecedented measurement capabilities.
As Nature Reviews Physics takes its first step, publishing its first issue, we outline the journal’s scope, aims and dreams for the future. We call on readers, authors and referees to join us on our journey.
Two Nature Photonics papers report on microresonator laser frequency combs that enable spectrometer calibration with a precision high enough to potentially spot Earth-like planets in exo-planet searches.
Two robotic missions, one from China and one from India, will explore the southern lunar hemisphere, sending back a wealth of information about the surface and composition of the Moon, and perhaps even more.
Physics keeps changing and so do classification and subject indexing. Arthur Smith recalls the final updates to the Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) and the development of the Physics Subject Headings (PhySH), and ponders future directions.
The first papers based on the second data release from the Gaia space observatory are now published and they are already changing our understanding of the evolution of the Milky Way.
Modern theoretical physics is indivisible. Ideas flow freely and fruitfully across traditional boundaries separating materials physics, fundamental physics and cosmology. How did this state of affairs come to be? What are its outstanding results? Is there more to come? Frank Wilczek discusses the synergy between the different fields of physics.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest particle accelerator in the world. But, after 10 years of operation, it’s time to think about the next steps. With one approved upgrade — the High-Luminosity LHC — and design studies for possible future colliders on the table, intense efforts are being directed to the development of new technologies.
This Review describes advances in the statistical physics of complex networks and provides a reference for the state of the art in theoretical network modelling and applications to real-world systems for pattern detection and network reconstruction.
An analysis of the number of physicists and their career paths reveals the changing landscape of the physics subdisciplines, highlighting the connections between different fields and the effects of large collaborations.
Light–matter coupling with strength comparable to the bare transition frequencies of the system is called ultrastrong. This Review surveys how experiments have realized ultrastrong coupling in the past decade, the new phenomena predicted in this regime and the applications it enables.
Entanglement is often considered the defining feature separating classical physics from quantum physics and provides the basis for many quantum technologies. This Review discusses recent progress in the challenging task of conclusively proving that a physical system features entanglement, surveying detection and certification methods.
Mechanobiology describes how biological systems respond to mechanical stimuli. This Review surveys basic principles, advantages and limitations of applying and combining atomic force microscopy-based modalities with complementary techniques to characterize the morphology, mechanical properties and functional response of complex biological systems to mechanical cues.
