Reviews & Analysis

Two observational studies published in Nature Physics provided early evidence for the mechanisms of magnetic reconnection in three dimensions and in a turbulent medium.

Electric fields can controllably break the inversion symmetry of bilayer graphene, which can be harnessed to generate pure valley currents.

Deep-sea sediments reveal the production sites of the heaviest chemical elements in the Universe to be neutron star mergers — rare events that eject large amounts of mass — and not core-collapse supernovae.

Ultracold-atom experiments enable more flexibility in the study of quantum transport phenomena that are otherwise difficult to probe in solid-state systems. A survey of recent advances highlights the challenges and opportunities of this approach.

Single-molecule techniques have long given us insight into the motion and interactions of individual molecules. But simulations now show that the dynamics inside single proteins is not as simple as we thought — and that proteins are forever changing.

Negative refraction can produce optical Veselago lenses with a resolution that is not diffraction-limited. Similar lenses can also be made for electrons, with negative refraction of Dirac fermions now shown in graphene.

In 2009, two papers provided the first unambiguous examples of three-dimensional topological insulators — bulk insulators boasting metallic surface states with massless Dirac electrons. These now form just one of many classes of topological materials.

A nonlinear Compton scattering experiment with X-ray photons using an X-ray free-electron laser exhibits an unexpected frequency shift — hinting at the breakdown of standard approximations.

The internal structure of cells is organized into compartments, many of which lack a confining membrane and instead resemble viscous liquid droplets. Evidence is mounting that these compartments form via spontaneous phase transitions.

The rotational motion of liquids can induce a flow of electron spins, and could enable ultra-small spin-hydrodynamic generators that operate with liquid metals.

Anharmonicity is a property of lattice vibrations governing how they interact and how well they conduct heat. Experiments on tin selenide, the most efficient thermoelectric material known, now provide a link between anharmonicity and electronic orbitals.

An experiment with cold atoms confined in an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic potential confirms the long-predicted non-damping oscillations of the breathing mode.

When Nature Physics celebrated 20 years of high-temperature superconductors, numerical approaches were on the periphery. Since then, new ideas implemented in new algorithms are leading to new insights.

An analysis of Web of Science data spanning more than 100 years reveals the rapid growth and increasing multidisciplinarity of physics — as well its internal map of subdisciplines.

Disorder in arrays of evanescently coupled waveguides turns out to have unexpected consequences on the photon number statistics of coherent light.

Cells exploit chemical waves to map the space around them, but their dynamics is difficult to replicate. Using a set of genes to generate a travelling front of protein concentration outside a living cell constitutes a remarkable achievement.

A thermometer for atomic Bose–Einstein condensates and a new way of cooling below the critical temperature will help the exploration of the coldest states of matter.