: Physics Articles
Editorial: Light on darkDark energy is a prime target in the proposed US astronomy programme. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp633-633 |
Editorial: Nicola Cabibbo 1935?2010Significant work in particle physics bears his name, but the list of Nobel winners does not. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp633-633 |
News and Views: Solar physics: Solar flares add upSolar flares are the most energetic events in our Solar System, but relatively little is known about their contribution to the total energy the Earth receives from the Sun. The detection of a moderate solar flare in the total solar irradiance suggests their impact on the variability of the Sun's output could be larger than expected. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp637-638 |
News and Views: Symmetry breaking transitions: Dynamics of broken symmetryBroken symmetry is central to understanding the properties and behaviour of many solid-state systems, but the speed with which they occur makes them difficult to study. Using a state-of-the-art ultrafast pump?probe technique, a new study reveals in unprecedented detail the rich variety of phenomena that arise during a symmetry breaking transition. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp639-640 |
News and Views: Quantum information: Coping with uncertaintyA revisiting of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in the light of modern quantum information theory yields a formulation that takes into account the reduction in uncertainty from the point of view of a quantum observer. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp640-641 |
News and Views: Statistical physics: Physicists get socialThe community of statistical physicists meets every three years on a different continent at the series of STATPHYS conferences to define the state-of-the-art in the field and to outline its possible evolution. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp641-640 |
News and Views: Quantum gases: The cold reality of exclusionReal-space visualizations of the Pauli exclusion principle in clouds of cold fermions show quantum mechanics at work, and suggest a new tool for measuring nanokelvin temperatures. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp643-644 |
Letter: The uncertainty principle in the presence of quantum memoryThe Heisenberg uncertainty principle bounds the uncertainties about the outcomes of two incompatible measurements on a quantum particle. This bound, however, changes if a memory device is involved that stores quantum information. New work now extends the uncertainty principle to include the case of quantum memories, and should provide a guide for quantum information applications. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp659-662 |
Letter: Quantum non-demolition detection of single microwave photons in a circuitQuantum non-demolition (QND) measurements interrogate a quantum state without disturbing it. A QND scheme that uses a superconducting circuit to investigate microwave photons trapped in a cavity is now shown. The measurement answers the question: are there exactly N photons in the cavity? Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp663-667 |
Letter: Excited-state spin coherence of a single nitrogen?vacancy centre in diamondSingle nitrogen?vacancy centres in diamond are a prime candidate for implementing scalable quantum information processing at room temperature. Work so far has been focused on using the ground state of these defects, but an experimental study now suggests that the excited state is a promising route to fast gate operation. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp668-672 |
Letter: Instability of a quantum spin liquid in an organic triangular-lattice antiferromagnetExperimental data suggest that EtMe3Sb[Pd(dmit)2]2, an organic system with a two-dimensional triangular lattice, undergoes a low-temperature phase transition that is not accompanied by classical antiferromagnetic ordering, hinting towards a hitherto unknown quantum state of matter. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp673-676 |
Letter: A disordered insulator in an optical latticeBosons in an optical lattice are used to simulate the Bose?Hubbard model. If the lattice is disordered, a Bose glass is predicted to exist. Transport measurements in such a lattice provide evidence for a disorder-driven superfluid?insulator transition into a Bose-glass state. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp677-680 |
Letter: Coherent dynamics of macroscopic electronic order through a symmetry breaking transitionThe speed with which symmetry breaking transitions occur in the solid state makes them difficult to study in the time domain. State-of-the-art pump?probe measurements of the dynamics of charge-density waves in terbium telluride enable the evolution of the symmetry breaking charge-order transition of this system to be studied with unprecedented temporal resolution. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp681-684 |
Letter: Phase transitions in confined water nanofilmsPhase transitions in water are normally classified as first or second order. But in confined quasi-one-dimensional films of water, simulations show that the solid?liquid transition can take place by means of a first-order transition or a continuous one without a distinction between solid and liquid. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp685-689 |
Letter: The effect of flares on total solar irradianceAlthough solar flares are the most energetic events that occur in our Solar System, very little is known about their contribution to the total energy the Earth receives from the Sun. The identification of a measurable signal from a moderate-sized solar flare in total solar irradiance data suggests their impact on the variability of the Sun?s output could be larger than expected. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp690-692 |
Letter: Scaling of tropical-cyclone dissipationOwing to incomplete data, it is difficult to establish tropical cyclone behaviour over long timescales. However, by considering the total released energy of individual cyclones, it is possible to establish changes of cyclone energy and their connection to climate change. Nature Physics, vol. 6 #9, pp693-696 |
