Phase transitions and critical phenomena articles from across Nature Portfolio

The predicted dissipative quantum phase transition in a Josephson junction coupled to resistive environment has been examined in recent experiments. In a heat transport experiment, Subero et al. show that the junction acts as an inductor at high frequencies, while DC charge transport confirms insulating behaviour.

The authors report a controllable third-order cusp singularity in the phase-tracked closed-loop oscillation of two coupled mechanical modes. This finding addresses the challenge of constructing and controlling higher-order singularities.

Liu et al. theoretically study maximally-twisted homo-bilayers, such as 45^∘-twisted bilayer cuprates and 30^∘-twisted bilayer graphene. Through renormalization group and Monte-Carlo calculations, the authors reveal the presence of charge-4e superconductivity and chiral-metal phases in the phase diagram.

Quantum effects due to zero-point phonon vibrations are well-explored in bulk ferroelectrics, but little is known about them in ultra-thin films. Luo et al. report atomistic simulations of ultra-thin ferroelectrics, showing that, unlike in bulk, quantum fluctuations stabilize topological structures.

sp³ amorphous carbon exhibits exceptional mechanical, thermal, and optical properties, but cannot be synthesized using traditional processes. Here authors report a nearly pure sp³−hybridized amorphous carbon synthesized from C₇₀ which shows more short/medium-range order and enhanced thermal conductivity compared to C₆₀.

Kenneth Wilson worked on the renormalization group during the Cold War, when communication between scientists in the Soviet Union and in the West was restricted. Nevertheless, Soviet physicists had a strong influence on Wilson’s work.

Historically, most renormalization group studies have been performed for equilibrium systems. Here, I give a personal reflection on the unexpected outcome of studying non-equilibrium flocking using renormalization methods.

Renormalization began as a tool to eliminate divergences in quantum electrodynamics, but it is now the basis of our understanding of physics at different energy scales. Here, I review its evolution with an eye towards physics beyond the Wilsonian paradigm.

The simulation of open quantum many-body systems is one of the hardest tasks in computational physics. Now, quantum computers are close to answering crucial questions for such systems in a regime that classical computers cannot reach.

Currently, a general framework explaining the fundamental dynamic transitions from solid to fluid of mechanically probed soft materials is lacking. Now, a unifying van der Waals-like model is proposed that describes the dynamic solid–liquid transition in the rheology of these materials.

Hubbard excitons are elusive quasiparticles that are predicted to form in strongly correlated insulators. Detecting their internal structure and dynamics clarifies the involvement of spin fluctuations in their binding and recombination processes.