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In generic quantum many-body systems, initial configurations far from equilibrium are expected to undergo general thermalization. An experiment with ultracold atoms now shows evidence of a class of spin-helix states that evade such behaviour.
The standard quantum limit bounds the precision of quantum measurements. Now, a protocol based on time-reversal operations with cold atoms overcomes that limit and achieves the greatest phase sensitivity improvement in any full Ramsey interferometer.
The impact of legal metrology often remains unnoticed in our everyday lives. Pavel Klenovsky, Marc Wouters and Wilfried de Waal instruct us in trade and legal regulations.
Emerging quantum technologies pose new measurement challenges, but also offer previously unknown measurement solutions. National metrology institutes are playing a leading role in this fast evolving world.
Originally suggested for the detection of gravitational waves, resonantly vibrating metal beams have been used in a recent laboratory experiment to measure Newton’s constant of gravitation and to verify Newton’s gravitational law.
Measurements of the gravitational interaction between two parallel beams vibrating in bending motion enable the quantitative investigation of dynamic gravitation in the hertz regime and allow the determination of the gravitational constant.
As we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, CERN’s Director-General at that time reminisces about the years leading up to this milestone.
The first step of biofilm formation is a transition from a single layer of bacteria to multiple layers. Now, there is evidence that this transition is determined by the phenotypic noise associated with cell geometry and growth rate.
Continuously changing the coupling between a magnetic impurity and a superconductor allows the observation of the reversal of supercurrent flow at the atomic scale.
Thermal fluctuations associated with higher temperatures normally destroy long-range order, but in some circumstances they can stabilize new ordered phases. This ‘order by disorder’ phenomenon has now been observed in the magnetic phases of neodymium.
Topological states characterized by Chern numbers are usually considered to be the global properties of a material. Now a spatial patchwork of different Chern insulator states is imaged in twisted bilayer graphene.
Experiments at the Joint European Torus tokamak show improved thermal ion confinement in the presence of highly energetic ions and Alfvénic instabilities in the plasma.
