Nature Reviews Physics

The Australian Institute of Physics

Our August issue: 💡GaN-based light-emitting diodes 🛣️Universal bounds on entropy production from fluctuating coarse-grained trajectories 🔬Ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution THz scanning tunnelling microscopy ☢️Radioactive molecules as laboratories of fundamental physics www.nature.com/natrevphys/v...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

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13 Aug

📸 Can you capture physics in a single frame? The AIP Beauty of Physics Photo Competition is open Australia-wide to photographers, scientists and students. 🏆 Prizes for Grand, University & School winners 📅 Closes 30 Sept Enter: aip.org.au/event-6751326

nature.comWhat’s wrong with this intuition - Nature Reviews PhysicsThis month, we reflect on the role of intuition — both physical and mathematical — in furthering our understanding of physics.

Our August editorial reflects on the role of intuition — both physical and mathematical — in physics, inspired by 2 Comments in the issue 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s42...

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nature.comThe importance of imagery in quantum mechanics - Nature Reviews Physics100 years on from Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger’s dispute on how to conceptualize quantum mechanics, Arthur I. Miller reflects on the subtleties of visualization in physics.

The importance of imagery in quantum mechanics 100 years on from Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger’s dispute on how to conceptualize quantum mechanics, Arthur I. Miller reflects on the subtleties of visualization in physics www.nature.com/articles/s42...

PS: If you wonder what editors do all day... Finding the names of the women in this photo so we could put them in the caption took some digging, but it's all in a day's work ⛏️ PPS: Erwin Schrödinger is doing nothing here to beat the allegations about physicist dress sense

nature.comWhat’s wrong with this intuition - Nature Reviews PhysicsThis month, we reflect on the role of intuition — both physical and mathematical — in furthering our understanding of physics.

Our August editorial reflects on the role of intuition — both physical and mathematical — in physics, inspired by 2 Comments in the issue 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comWas Schrödinger ever a determinist? - Nature Reviews PhysicsErwin Schrödinger is often portrayed as a reactionary who resisted the indeterminism introduced by quantum mechanics, but on closer inspection his views on determinism prove to be more complex and mor...

Was Schrödinger ever a determinist? Erwin Schrödinger is often portrayed as a reactionary who resisted the indeterminism introduced by quantum mechanics, but actually his views on determinism were more complex and more radical, as Flavio Del SantoNicolas Gisin argue www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comArtificial intelligence for representing and characterizing quantum systems - Nature Reviews PhysicsThe application of artificial intelligence to quantum information science has emerged as a frontier of research. This Technical Review summarizes how AI techniques, including machine learning, deep le...

31 July

Artificial intelligence for representing and characterizing quantum systems by Yuxuan Du, Yan Zhu, Yuan-Hang Zhang, Min-Hsiu Hsieh, Patrick Rebentrost, Weibo Gao, Yi-Zhuang You, Jens Eisert, Giulio Chiribella, Dacheng Tao, Barry C. Sanders & Ya-Dong Wu www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comGraphene FET microfluidic platform for electrochemical molecular fingerprinting - Nature Reviews PhysicsRoanne Aves describes a platform to integrate graphene-FET based microfluidic modules into one experimental workflow.

28 July

Tools of the Trade: Graphene FET microfluidic platform for electrochemical molecular fingerprinting www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comThe work that holds physics together - Nature Reviews PhysicsIn 1834, Mary Somerville’s On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences argued that astronomy, physics and mathematics belonged together. Saad Bhamla asks why this kind of synthesis tends to disappear in...

28 July

In 1834, Mary Somerville’s On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences argued that astronomy, physics and mathematics belonged together. Saad Bhamla asks why this kind of synthesis tends to disappear into the subjects it organizes ⚛️🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comUniversal bounds on entropy production from fluctuating coarse-grained trajectories - Nature Reviews PhysicsEntropy production quantifies non-equilibrium behaviour but is hard to measure in fluctuating, partially observed systems. This Review discusses stochastic thermodynamics approaches that infer model-f...

21 July

Udo Seifert surveys recent advances in thermodynamic inference that yield lower bounds on entropy production based on measurements of coarse-grained observables www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comNon-idealities in artificial synapses - Nature Reviews PhysicsArtificial synapses based on non-volatile memory exhibit non-ideal effects that can limit the performance of neuromorphic systems. This Review discusses their origins, mitigation strategies and opport...

Non-idealities in artificial synapses Shafin Bin Hamid, Jean Anne C Incorvia & Samuel Liu classify the effects that deviate from the ideal synapse model and discuss cases that leverage deviations from the ideal towards specific applications www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comEmergence of Fermi-liquid and BCS physics in overdoped cuprates - Nature Reviews PhysicsVarious observed behaviours of overdoped cuprates are inconsistent with a weak-coupling, Fermi-liquid-based Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer description. This Perspective argues that these behaviours are con...

B J Ramshaw & Steven A Kivelson critically assess the validity of a weak-coupling approach to the overdoped cuprates and argue there is a regime where a BCS-like approach is warranted, provided the various forms of disorder are accounted for www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comUniversities need transparent quantum hardware - Nature Reviews PhysicsStudents need to experience quantum hardware beyond cloud access to learn how an ideal circuit becomes a physical measurement. Universities should therefore procure teachable systems, not showroom mac...

Comment: Universities need transparent quantum hardware Alex Krasnok, Arif Sarwat, William Anderson Jr. & Andres Gil argue that quantum computing students need hardware literacy, so universities should procure systems that offer pedagogical visibility www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comUltrahigh spatiotemporal resolution terahertz scanning tunnelling microscopy - Nature Reviews PhysicsTerahertz scanning tunnelling microscopy integrates picosecond pulses with atomic resolution, enabling detailed analysis of electron dynamics and molecular motions. This Technical Review outlines meth...

Ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution terahertz scanning tunnelling microscopy Jiayu Xu, Yunpeng Xia, Qiuyan Lin, Shijing Tan, Bing Wang & Jia-Xin Yin review the principles, methodologies and applications www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comThe unreasonable usefulness of black holes - Nature Reviews PhysicsUbiquitous in popular culture, black holes were once highly debated and remain an intellectually active research area with applications in volcano monitoring and bone growth.

Our July editorial: The unreasonable usefulness of black holes www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Check out our July issue! 🌊Transitions of the Atlantic Ocean circulation ⚫Black-hole thermodynamics 🌀Vortices and solitons in polariton superfluids and condensates 🧲⚡Cross-probing van der Waals multiferroics 🎂40 years of AFM ➕Comments and Tools of the Trade www.nature.com/natrevphys/v...

nature.comRadioactive molecules as laboratories of fundamental physics - Nature Reviews PhysicsRadioactive molecules containing octupole-deformed nuclei offer a promising platform for measuring fundamental symmetry violations and searching for new physics. This Perspective discusses how advance...

24 June

In this Perspective, A Jadbabaie, S Ebadi, R F Garcia Ruiz, N R Hutzler, A M Jayich & J T Singh discuss how experiments with radioactive molecules are part of the search for physics beyond the standard model www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comAtomic force microscopy from nanoscale imaging to holistic exploration - Nature Reviews PhysicsForty years after its invention, atomic force microscopy has evolved from a simple surface imaging tool into one of the most versatile measurement platforms in nanoscience. This Comment traces the key...

18 June

2026 marks 40 years of the atomic force microscope! 🎂🎉⚛️ We're celebrating with a pair of articles: In the first, David Alsteens, Ernst Meyer, Daniel J. Müller & Christoph Gerber trace the key innovations... www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comForty years of atomic force microscopy - Nature Reviews PhysicsAtomic force microscopy (AFM), first published in 1986, is now a workhorse of laboratories in physics and beyond. In this Viewpoint, seven scientists describe the variety of ways they use the techniqu...

18 June

... and in the second, seven scientists describe the variety of ways they use the technique and discuss how they’d like to see it develop in the future www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comDo the benefits of fundamental physics research outweigh its wider societal costs? - Nature Reviews PhysicsDeciding whether a big science project is sustainable is a complex multi-dimensional problem, but there are tools from economics that can help with decision making.

Do the benefits of fundamental physics research outweigh its wider societal costs? Deciding whether a big science project is sustainable is a complex multi-dimensional problem, but there are tools from economics that can help, argues Johannes Gutleber www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comTalking quantum with a 9-year-old - Nature Reviews PhysicsKatia Moskvitch shares her experience of launching a quantum computing podcast with her child.

Katia Moskvitch shares her experience of launching a quantum computing podcast with her child www.nature.com/articles/s42...

9 June

How is it June already⁉️ ✨Reconfigurable & programmable integrated topological photonics ✨Transparent conducting electrodes for perovskite–Si tandem solar cells ✨Chaotic photonics in microresonators ✨Physics & chemistry perspectives on 3 unsolved problems in glasses www.nature.com/natrevphys/v...

Exploring decolonizing the curriculum using Six Thinking Hats Matthew Mears, Bianca Sala & Zoey Wyllie argue that a formal approach can provide psychological safety to help think about how to decolonize the physics curriculum, and share their experiences of doing so www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comTalking quantum with a 9-year-old - Nature Reviews PhysicsKatia Moskvitch shares her experience of launching a quantum computing podcast with her child.

Katia Moskvitch shares her experience of launching a quantum computing podcast with her child www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comTransparent conducting electrodes for perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells - Nature Reviews PhysicsTransparent conducting electrodes are a key performance and sustainability bottleneck in high-efficiency perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells. This Review examines how optical, electrical and interfa...

Transparent conducting electrodes for perovskite–silicon tandem solar cells Ruy S Bonilla & colleagues emphasize that transparent conducting electrodes cannot be understood independently of the tandem-cell architecture www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comTransitions of the Atlantic Ocean circulation - Nature Reviews PhysicsThe multistable dynamics of the Atlantic Ocean circulation pose a central problem in climate physics, because instabilities of the flows can have large climate impacts. This Review uses a dynamical sy...

Transitions of the Atlantic Ocean circulation Henk A. Dijkstra Bernd Krauskopf, Reyk Börner & René M. van Westen consider the stability and transition behaviour of the AMOC from a dynamical systems point of view www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comChaotic photonics in microresonators - Nature Reviews PhysicsChaos in photonics is not always a nuisance but often a source of innovation. This Review surveys chaotic microcavity photonics across materials and architectures, highlighting opportunities to harnes...

Chaotic photonics in microresonators Xuefeng Jiang, Yun-Feng Xiao, Andrea Alù & colleagues offer a perspective on the intersection of microcavity photonics and chaotic systems across multiple material platforms and system architectures www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comCross-probing van der Waals multiferroics - Nature Reviews Physics2D van der Waals multiferroics, with their coupled magnetic and electric orders and their reduced dimensionality, offer great opportunities for low-power magnetoelectric devices. This Review moves bey...

Cross-probing van der Waals multiferroics Bo Peng (彭波), Kian Ping Loh, Je-Geun Park, Hongtao Yuan (袁洪涛) & Longjiang Deng (邓龙江) & co examine the current landscape of 2D multiferroic materials, with an emphasis on experimental methods rather than material taxonomy www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comVortices and solitons in polariton superfluids and condensates - Nature Reviews PhysicsPolaritons can be optically driven into nonlinear states such as vortices and solitons, with properties like quantized phase jumps and stable shapes, that enable applications in information processing...

Vortices and solitons in polariton superfluids and condensates Xuekai Ma & colleagues discuss the formation and control dynamics of polariton vortices and solitons, with a focus on spinor polaritons in which vortices with a half-integer topological charge can arise www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comBlack-hole thermodynamics - Nature Reviews PhysicsThe study of black-hole thermodynamics — now 50 years old — has led to deep insights into fundamental physics, but it has also created fresh paradoxes and puzzles. This Review assesses what has been l...

Black-hole thermodynamics Robert B. Mann explores how after 50 years, black-hole thermodynamics still offers much to learn about the relationship between gravitation and quantum physics www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comGlobal science in a changing world - Nature Reviews PhysicsA closer look at past and present shows how trust underpins the international scientific endeavour.

14 May

“Science is based on trust, whereas isolationism is based on suspicion”: our May editorial takes a closer look at past and present to see how trust underpins the international scientific endeavour 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s42...

@natureportfolio.nature.com

12 May

Our Reviews in May: ⚪Physics of sphere packings 🌀nterpreting coherence in wall turbulence 🌡️Material insights on electronic transport of charge and heat from first principles 🧲Laser-produced plasmas as probes of astrophysical magnetic fields 😍cover by Susanne Harris www.nature.com/natrevphys/v...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

Nature Portfolio

11 May

A Perspective in Nature Reviews Physics reviews recent progress in relation to three old yet unsolved problems on supercooled liquids and glasses, emphasizing the different approaches and focuses of physics and chemistry. 🔒

go.nature.comPhysics and chemistry perspectives on three unsolved problems in glass science - Nature Reviews PhysicsThis Perspective reviews recent progress in relation to three old yet unsolved problems on supercooled liquids and glasses, emphasizing the different approach and focus of physics and chemistry.

nature.comInterpreting coherence in wall turbulence - Nature Reviews PhysicsAlthough no universally accepted definition exists, coherent structures are key organized features of wall-bounded turbulent flows. This Review clarifies competing CS interpretations and highligh...

22 Apr

Daniele Massaro & Fazle Hussain on interpreting coherence in wall turbulence www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comReconfigurable and programmable integrated topological photonics - Nature Reviews PhysicsTopological photonic chips can be controlled globally, across the lattice, and locally, at the level of individual sites. This Review discusses these programmable and reconfigurable technologies for t...

22 Apr

Anqi Ma, Tianxiang Dai, Guangzhen Li, Luqi Yuan, José Capmany, Zhigang Chen, Qihuang Gong & Jianwei Wang on reconfigurable and programmable integrated topological photonics www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comMaterial insights on electronic transport of charge and heat from first principles - Nature Reviews PhysicsRecent advances in first-principles computation are enabling quantitative predictions of electronic transport properties in materials. This Review explores the material insights and chemical intuition...

22 Apr

Jiawei Zhou & Gang Chen on material insights on electronic transport of charge and heat from first principles www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comRealization of 2D metals and emergent quantum phenomena - Nature Reviews Physics2D materials are appealing for emergent phenomena and applications, but despite the realization of many 2D layered crystals, 2D metals remain hard to realize because of their non-layered nat...

14 Apr

2D metals remain hard to realize because of their non-layered nature. In the past year, a van der Waals squeezing method has been developed for the production of diverse 2D metals at Å-scale thickness, revealing exceptional quantum transport, reports Luojun Du (杜罗军) www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comLaser-produced plasmas as probes of astrophysical magnetic fields - Nature Reviews PhysicsMagnetic fields affect astrophysical processes throughout the Universe. This Review explores how the generation, amplification and transport of astrophysical magnetic fields can be investigated in ter...

14 Apr

Jiayong Zhong & Jie Zhang outline the processes that govern the generation, amplification and transport of astrophysical magnetic fields and describe experiments using intense laser-produced plasmas that can test existing models and provide further insight www.nature.com/articles/s42...

In this Comment, historian Danian Hu shares the stories of early 20th century Chinese physicists and discusses the reciprocal US–China relationship that enabled their work www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comnature.com

nature.comPolitical isolationism can drive domestic capability but undermines global scientific progress - Nature Reviews PhysicsAs the USA cuts research ties with China, historian Dazhou Wang looks back at a similar scientific rupture in the 1960s and argues that although China was able to make progress despite its isolation, collaboration remains better for science.

As the USA cuts research ties with China, historian Dazhou Wang looks back at a similar scientific rupture in the 1960s and argues that although China was able to make progress despite its isolation, collaboration remains better for science www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comPhysics versus games - Nature Reviews PhysicsThis April, we ask whether physics in computer games might beat the real thing.

In case you missed our April editorial: we ask whether physics in computer games might beat the real thing www.nature.com/articles/s42...

nature.comHow libraries classified physics preprints before arXiv and set the stage for distinguishing insiders from outsiders - Nature Reviews PhysicsIn a world with ever-growing scientific literature, meaningful classifications are vital to keep on top of the latest results. In this Comment, historian and sociologist Phillip Roth traces the history of preprint classification in physics.

In a Comment in our April issue, @preprintculture.bsky.social looks at how the way preprints get handled was invented in a few libraries, and the classification systems helped create the strong boundary that separates insiders from outsiders in the field www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Our April issue is live! 🩺Upconverting nanoparticles for biomedical applications 📊Metrics for spin-based computing 📏Quantum geometry and the hidden scales in materials 🦄Sub-diffraction confinement in dielectrics with narwhal wavefunctions www.nature.com/natrevphys/v...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted

nature.comPhysics versus games - Nature Reviews PhysicsThis April, we ask whether physics in computer games might beat the real thing.

1 Apr

Our April editorial is out, and we're asking the question other journals don't dare to ask: could physics in computer games beat the real thing? www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Nature Reviews Physics reposted