Featured in Physics Editors' Suggestion

Classical Prethermal Phases of Matter

Andrea Pizzi, Andreas Nunnenkamp, and Johannes Knolle

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 140602 (2021) – Published 27 September 2021

Viewpoint: A Classical View of Quantum Time Crystals

Numerical studies indicate that certain types of time crystals might be described using classical physics—a result that could vastly simplify the theoretical description of these systems.

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Floquet Phases of Matter via Classical Prethermalization

Bingtian Ye, Francisco Machado, and Norman Y. Yao

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 140603 (2021) – Published 27 September 2021

Viewpoint: A Classical View of Quantum Time Crystals

Numerical studies indicate that certain types of time crystals might be described using classical physics—a result that could vastly simplify the theoretical description of these systems.

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Multiscale Microtubule Dynamics in Active Nematics

Linnea M. Lemma, Michael M. Norton, Alexandra M. Tayar, Stephen J. DeCamp, S. Ali Aghvami, Seth Fraden, Michael F. Hagan, and Zvonimir Dogic

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 148001 (2021) – Published 27 September 2021

The motion of individual active microtubules in a dense system can deviate significantly from the average, defying coarse-grained characterization.

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Single-Molecule Vacuum Rabi Splitting: Four-Wave Mixing and Optical Switching at the Single-Photon Level

André Pscherer, Manuel Meierhofer, Daqing Wang, Hrishikesh Kelkar, Diego Martín-Cano, Tobias Utikal, Stephan Götzinger, and Vahid Sandoghdar

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 133603 (2021) – Published 24 September 2021

Focus: Turning On a Light Beam with a Single Molecule

A single molecule can turn a beam of photons on or off, a potentially useful function for a quantum computer.

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Quantum Hypothesis Testing for Exoplanet Detection

Zixin Huang and Cosmo Lupo

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 130502 (2021) – Published 23 September 2021

Synopsis: Finding Exoplanets with Quantum Imaging

Treating stars and planets as quantum objects could make it easier for astronomers to directly image exoplanets.

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Measurement of Spin Chern Numbers in Quantum Simulated Topological Insulators

Qing-Xian Lv, Yan-Xiong Du, Zhen-Tao Liang, Hong-Zhi Liu, Jia-Hao Liang, Lin-Qing Chen, Li-Ming Zhou, Shan-Chao Zhang, Dan-Wei Zhang, Bao-Quan Ai, Hui Yan, and Shi-Liang Zhu

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 136802 (2021) – Published 23 September 2021

Synopsis: A Hallmark of Topological Insulators is Measured in Atoms

Using ultracold atoms, researchers measure the number of chiral edge states in a system with time-reversal symmetry.

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Nonlinear Dynamics in a Synthetic Momentum-State Lattice

Fangzhao Alex An, Bhuvanesh Sundar, Junpeng Hou, Xi-Wang Luo, Eric J. Meier, Chuanwei Zhang, Kaden R. A. Hazzard, and Bryce Gadway

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 130401 (2021) – Published 22 September 2021

Interaction effects are observed in a synthetic lattice of coupled atomic momentum states.

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Spatially Modulated Superfluid State in Two-Dimensional ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ Films

Jaewon Choi, Alexey A. Zadorozhko, Jeakyung Choi, and Eunseong Kim

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 135301 (2021) – Published 21 September 2021

Synopsis: Seeking Supersolidity in Helium Layers

A scheme that proves the superfluidity of a layer of helium-4 on graphite holds promise for demonstrating that the layer may also be a supersolid.

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Direct Evidence of a Dual Cascade in Gravitational Wave Turbulence

Sébastien Galtier and Sergey V. Nazarenko

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 131101 (2021) – Published 20 September 2021

Direct numerical simulations show that weak gravitational wave turbulence can emerge from an initial excitation of the spacetime metric with a dual cascade of energy and wave action.

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Training Variational Quantum Algorithms Is NP-Hard

Lennart Bittel and Martin Kliesch

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 120502 (2021) – Published 17 September 2021

The existence of persistent local minima can render the training of variational quantum algorithms infeasible.

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Chirality-Induced Spin Polarization over Macroscopic Distances in Chiral Disilicide Crystals

Kohei Shiota, Akito Inui, Yuta Hosaka, Ryoga Amano, Yoshichika Ōnuki, Masato Hedo, Takao Nakama, Daichi Hirobe, Jun-ichiro Ohe, Jun-ichiro Kishine, Hiroshi M. Yamamoto, Hiroaki Shishido, and Yoshihiko Togawa

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 126602 (2021) – Published 14 September 2021

Synopsis: Long-Range Spin Currents with Chiral Crystals

Chiral crystals can produce spin-polarized currents that propagate over tens of microns—a promising feature for application in spintronics devices.

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Emergent Fine Structure Constant of Quantum Spin Ice Is Large

Salvatore D. Pace, Siddhardh C. Morampudi, Roderich Moessner, and Chris R. Laumann

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 117205 (2021) – Published 9 September 2021

Synopsis: Fine Structure Constant Goes Big in Spin Ices

Inside a quantum spin ice, the constant that defines electromagnetic interactions is 10 times larger than normal, according to calculations.

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Anomalous Diffusion and Lévy Walks Distinguish Active from Inertial Turbulence

Siddhartha Mukherjee, Rahul K. Singh, Martin James, and Samriddhi Sankar Ray

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 118001 (2021) – Published 9 September 2021

Synopsis: Bacteria That Shove Harder, Move Further

Simulations show that the harder bacteria in a swarm push against one another, the more likely they are to go on long “walks.”

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Defect Saturation in a Rapidly Quenched Bose Gas

Junhong Goo, Younghoon Lim, and Y. Shin

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 115701 (2021) – Published 8 September 2021

Deviations in the defect saturation in a weakly interacting Bose gas suggest that the effect goes beyond the description provided by the Kibble–Zurek mechanism.

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Suppressing the Kibble-Zurek Mechanism by a Symmetry-Violating Bias

J. Rysti, J. T. Mäkinen, S. Autti, T. Kamppinen, G. E. Volovik, and V. B. Eltsov

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 115702 (2021) – Published 8 September 2021

Viewpoint: Controlling the Phase Transition in Superfluid Helium-3

Researchers demonstrate that they can suppress the formation of defects that appear in superfluid helium-3 when it undergoes a continuous phase transition, allowing them to influence the form of the system’s final phase.

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Observation of the Mass Difference between Neutral Charm-Meson Eigenstates

R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration)

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 111801 (2021) – Published 7 September 2021

Viewpoint: Unraveling D-Meson Mixing

The observation of neutral D mesons oscillating into their antiparticle partners provides constraints on new heavy particles that can’t be directly produced by high-energy colliders.

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Onset of Glacier Tables

Marceau Hénot, Nicolas Plihon, and Nicolas Taberlet

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 108501 (2021) – Published 3 September 2021

Focus: How Glaciers Set a Table

Laboratory experiments reveal the melting process that generates a commonly seen ice feature called a glacier table.

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Quantum Simulation of the Bosonic Creutz Ladder with a Parametric Cavity

Jimmy S. C. Hung, J. H. Busnaina, C. W. Sandbo Chang, A. M. Vadiraj, I. Nsanzineza, E. Solano, H. Alaeian, E. Rico, and C. M. Wilson

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 100503 (2021) – Published 2 September 2021

Synopsis: Simulating Quantum Particles on a Lattice

A new quantum simulator uses microwave photons in a superconducting cavity to simulate particles in a lattice similar to those found in superconductors or atomic nuclei.

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Fourfold Differential Photoelectron Circular Dichroism

K. Fehre et al.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 103201 (2021) – Published 2 September 2021

Photoelectron circular dichroism is used to develop a sensitive tool to detect chirality in randomly oriented molecules.

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Minimum Leidenfrost Temperature on Smooth Surfaces

Dana Harvey, Joshua Méndez Harper, and Justin C. Burton

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 104501 (2021) – Published 1 September 2021

Synopsis: The Minimum Temperature for Levitating Droplets

For water on hot surfaces, the Leidenfrost effect endures at temperatures much lower than those needed for onset, regardless of surface or fluid properties.

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Buckling-Fracture Transition and the Geometrical Charge of a Crack

Yael Klein and Eran Sharon

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 105501 (2021) – Published 1 September 2021

Viewpoint: A Unifying View of Thin-Plate Fracture

A new theoretical framework simultaneously describes the bending and the fracturing of thin plates, offering a way to tackle complex cracking problems that involve both modes of mechanical deformation.

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Smooth Triaxial Weaving with Naturally Curved Ribbons

Changyeob Baek, Alison G. Martin, Samuel Poincloux, Tian Chen, and Pedro M. Reis

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 104301 (2021) – Published 31 August 2021

Synopsis: The Geometry of Basket Weaving

Researchers teamed up with an artist to tweak a popular basket-weaving approach, finding a way to weave ribbons to produce any curvature desired.

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Featured in Physics Editors' Suggestion 1 citation

Collective-Mode Enhanced Matter-Wave Optics

Christian Deppner, Waldemar Herr, Merle Cornelius, Peter Stromberger, Tammo Sternke, Christoph Grzeschik, Alexander Grote, Jan Rudolph, Sven Herrmann, Markus Krutzik, André Wenzlawski, Robin Corgier, Eric Charron, David Guéry-Odelin, Naceur Gaaloul, Claus Lämmerzahl, Achim Peters, Patrick Windpassinger, and Ernst M. Rasel

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 100401 (2021) – Published 30 August 2021

Viewpoint: 3D Collimation of Matter Waves

An innovative matter-wave lens exploiting atomic interactions is able to slow the expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in three dimensions, thus reaching unprecedented ultralow temperatures.

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Universal Statistics of Waves in a Random Time-Varying Medium

R. Carminati, H. Chen, R. Pierrat, and B. Shapiro

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 094101 (2021) – Published 27 August 2021

A general model for wave propagation in a random time-dependent medium demonstrates the existence of universal statistical distributions of the wave energy.

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Anapole Meta-Atoms: Nonradiating Electric and Magnetic Sources

Esmaeel Zanganeh, Andrey Evlyukhin, Andrey Miroshnichenko, Mingzhao Song, Elizaveta Nenasheva, and Polina Kapitanova

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 096804 (2021) – Published 27 August 2021

A single ultrahigh permittivity dielectric hollow disk excited by electric or magnetic pointlike dipole antennae can act as an electric or magnetic nonradiating source.

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