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The demonstration of an optical clock in which individual atoms are confined in a three-dimensional optical lattice moves us closer to the atomic clockmaker's dream: tens of thousands of isolated atoms that work in parallel.
An adapted scanning electron microscope allows the non-destructive measurement and manipulation of Bose–Einstein condensates. The single-atom sensitivity that this technique promises could soon become indispensable in the study of quantum degenerate atomic gases.
Entanglement is precious, allowing us to perform all kinds of quantum tricks. But it is easily buried under technical noise. Two experiments show how to distil the 'good parts' from a data stream and recover high-quality entanglement.
Polar diatomic molecules, consisting of potassium and rubidium, have been created with density and temperature close to the regime of quantum degeneracy.
Nerve cells have the ability to self-organize into strongly interacting networks, even when grown in a Petri dish. Controlling the geometry of such cell cultures might be all that is needed to set up neuronal computing devices.
Theories of the spin Hall effect suggest that spin currents generated by electric fields accumulate spin polarization at the sample edges. Now an experiment has observed this conversion in real time.
The theory of quantum entanglement shares a number of analogies with the laws of thermodynamics, but still there are some differences. New results reveal a more complete thermodynamic structure behind entanglement.
Detailed investigation of a single atomic spin on a surface reveals that its Kondo interaction with the substrate electrons depends strongly on the spin's relative orientation.
For nearly two decades physicists have been learning to incorporate spin into conventional electronics. Now they may be one step closer to devices that use only flow of spins, but not of charges.
A fresh take on perturbation theory allows quantum-mechanical interactions to be simplified, while preserving low-energy properties, and deepens understanding of the complexity of quantum systems.
As with most things in life, some disorder can cause unexpected new phenomena. But when it comes to disorder-induced Anderson localization of light in a photonic crystal, simulations suggest that moderation may be the best policy.
Superconducting quantum interference devices, or SQUIDs, are usually used as high-sensitivity magnetic-field detectors. Embedding bar resonators into them could enable this sensitivity to be exploited for displacement measurements at the quantum limit.
Recent work on Bose–Einstein condensation of short-lived 'quasiparticles' in solid-state systems opens up the new field of non-equilibrium condensates.
