Articles in 2018

In spite of its wide technological use, the response of silicon to rapid compression remains poorly understood. By means of an X-ray diffraction method based on a free-electron laser, the process for laser-driven dynamic shock compression is now elucidated in this system.

A rigid particle moving along a soft wall feels a repulsive force that can reduce its drag. Evidence now suggests that for thin enough walls the particle can be displaced appreciably—a finding that may have implications for biological membranes.

A theoretical and numerical approach, validated by experiments at the KSTAR facility, shows how magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in tokamak plasmas can be efficiently controlled by a small relaxation of the confining field into a 3D configuration.

The realization of a two-dimensional quadrupole topological insulator—featuring gapless corner states but an otherwise insulating bulk and edge—establishes electrical circuits as a versatile platform for implementing topological band structures.

Quantum fluctuations in space and time can now be directly imaged using a scanning superconducting quantum interference device. The technique allows access to the local dynamics of a system close to a quantum phase transition.

The phase transition between a superconductor and insulator is examined in a new type of heterostructure. A metallic regime is found, which disappears in a magnetic field, giving fresh insight to a paradigmatic quantum phase transition.

A highly precise measurement of an optical transition in the helium atom has been obtained using state-of-the-art techniques. The result provides a stringent test of QED theory at low energy levels with tools of atomic physics.

The physical conditions that support a geometric interpretation of spacetime, such as the equivalence between rest and inertial mass, are shown not to be necessarily valid in the quantum regime, and a quantum formulation is provided.

The Kerr and Faraday effects enable routing of light in an applied magnetic field. Now a new class of magneto-optical phenomena is proposed and demonstrated in which light emission is controlled perpendicular to the external magnetic field.

Inspired to methods developed for the study of complex systems, a framework for predicting gross domestic product growth outperforms the accuracy of the five-year forecast of the International Monetary Fund.

The study of the band structure and crystal symmetry of the semimetal bismuth indicates that this material is a higher-order topological insulator hosting robust one-dimensional metallic states on the hinges of the crystal.

Electrical transport measurements reveal that Co₃Sn₂S₂ is probably a magnetic Weyl semimetal, and hosts the highest simultaneous anomalous Hall conductivity and anomalous Hall angle. This is driven by the strong Berry curvature near the Weyl points.

The authors study intermolecular Coulomb decay that occurs in a sample of THF and water in a reaction microscope employing triple-coincidence measurements of two ions and one electron. They find that ICD is a previously unconsidered effect between water and other organic molecules that are hydrogen-bonded, with ICD outpacing proton transfer.

A generalized Mott-insulating state is found theoretically starting from a holographic model. The state has features in common with the conventional variety, and upon doping shares striking similarities with the stripe phases found in cuprates.

A mechanical-mediated quantum-compatible microwave–optical converter achieves high efficiency through a feed-forward protocol that harnesses correlations in the output noise.

Certification of high-dimensional entanglement is required for improved quantum communication protocols, and is now shown to be achievable in an efficient manner by measuring quantum states twice in two different bases.

A violation of Lorentz symmetry would represent a fundamental departure from the physics of the standard model. Searching for anomalous neutrino oscillations, the IceCube collaboration reports no violation, and puts stringent bounds on its existence.

A phase transition between metallic and insulating states is observed to simultaneously happen in two ways at once. The bulk of the sample shows an instantaneous jump in the conductivity, while 1D domain walls show a slow switching into a metallic state.

Quantum Hall states are observed in monolayer graphene at even-denominator fractional filling of the lowest Landau level. This is linked to transitions in the spin and valley structure of the ground state.

Natural surfaces better their synthetic counterparts at coping with biofouling. A characterization of topography-induced delamination reveals a mechanism whereby elastic energy drives the crack propagation that facilitates surface renewal.