Volume 12 Issue 9, September 2016

The experimental observation of superconductivity that breaks spin-rotation symmetry in copper-doped Bi₂Se₃ provides a qualitatively distinct kind of unconventional superconducting behaviour — one that brings the importance of the spin–orbit interaction to the fore.

Going around an exceptional point in a full circle can be a non-adiabatic, asymmetric process. This surprising prediction is now confirmed by two separate experiments.

Insights from the emerging field of branched flow are directing us towards a way of anticipating the effects of tsunamis. A framework linking bathymetric fluctuations to wave physics marks a promising step forward.

An ultracold gas trapped in a symmetric double-well potential should populate both wells equally; however, the gas spontaneously localizes in one well when the interaction between atoms reaches a critical value, thus breaking parity symmetry.

Overlaying two transparent phase masks in a light beam results in a far-field achromatic intensity pattern. This effect lies at the basis of a polychromatic far-field interferometer for use in X-ray phase-contrast imaging without absorption gratings.

The discovery of a superconducting temperature of roughly 200 K in hydrogen sulfide has attracted widespread attention. Now, the crystal structure of this system is elucidated experimentally.

Materials with low magnetic damping are important for a range of applications but are typically insulating, which limits their use. Thanks to a unique feature of the band structure, similar levels of damping can now be achieved in a metallic alloy.

A system in equilibrium takes a finite time to relax to a new equilibrium following a sudden change of a control parameter—impeding progress in device miniaturization. Now, a strategy succeeds in reducing this time for an open classical system.

Observing magnetic reconnection directly is generally difficult, but looking at the reconnection between erupting solar filaments and nearby coronal loops uncovers many fine details with unprecedented clarity.

A series of ⁷⁷Se nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on the electron-doped topological insulator Cu_0.3Bi₂Se₃ reveal a spontaneous breaking of the rotational spin symmetry below its superconducting transition temperature.

The detection of spin–orbit torques in a non-centrosymmetric magnetic Heusler alloy at room temperature could guide the search for materials whose magnetism can efficiently be manipulated using electrical currents.

A light-induced spin voltage is demonstrated that arises from a spin-dependent excitation and diffusion of photo-excited electrons near heavy-metal/magnetic-insulator interfaces.

The interaction of two magnetic moments on a metallic surface is usually understood as a competition between an indirect surface-mediated exchange interaction and the Kondo effect. Now, a different mechanism, involving chemical interactions driving a quantum phase transition, is reported.

Certain proteins are capable of self-replicating, including those associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Simulations now pinpoint the adsorption of monomeric proteins onto protein fibril surfaces as the mechanism responsible for self-replication.

While we sleep, our neuronal networks sustain slow oscillations that are remarkably regular. Experiments on the cerebral cortex suggest that these oscillations optimize regularity in spite of synaptic noise—revealing a regime of stochastic coherence.

The bit is a proper unit of measurement and should be recognized as such, argues Iulia Georgescu.