Optical imaging and metrology techniques are key tools for research rooted in biology, medicine and nanotechnology. While these techniques have recently become increasingly advanced, the resolutions they achieve are still significantly lower than those attained by...
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Could dark photon dark matter be directly detected using radio telescopes?
Dark matter, matter in the universe that does not emit, absorb or reflect light, cannot be directly detected using conventional telescopes or other imaging technologies. Astrophysicists have thus been trying to identify alternative methods to detect dark matter for...
Team demonstrates quantum advantage on optimization problems with a 5,000-qubit programmable spin glass
Over the past decades, researchers and companies worldwide have been trying to develop increasingly advanced quantum computers. The key objective of their efforts is to create systems that will outperform classical computers on specific tasks, which is also known as...
A spontaneous topological Hall effect driven by a non-coplanar antiferromagnetic order in van der Waals materials
Ferromagnets are materials that become magnetized and remain so while they are exposed to an external magnetic field. In these materials, electric currents typically induce a so-called transverse Hall voltage (i.e., a voltage resulting from the deflection of...
The realization of a continuous time crystal based on a photonic metamaterial
A time crystal, as originally proposed in 2012, is a new state of matter in which the particles are in continuous oscillatory motion. Time crystals break time-translation symmetry. Discrete time crystals do so by oscillating under the influence of a periodic external...
A highly performing device for polariton-based coherent microwave emission and amplification
When light strongly interacts with matter, it can produce unique quasi-particles called polaritons, which are half light and half matter. In recent decades, physicists explored the realization of polaritons in optical cavities and their value for the development of...
A model system of topological superconductivity mediated by skyrmionic magnons
Topological superconductors are superconducting materials with unique characteristics, including the appearance of so-called in-gap Majorana states. These bound states can serve as qubits, making topological superconductors particularly promising for the creation of...
A highly precise terahertz molecular clock
In recent years, many physicists worldwide have introduced atomic clocks, systems to measure the passing of time that are based on quantum states of atoms. These clocks can have numerous valuable applications, for instance in the development of satellite and...
Could quantum fluctuations in the early universe enhance the creation of massive galaxy clusters?
Astrophysicists have been trying to understand the formation of cosmological objects and phenomena in the universe for decades. Past theoretical studies suggest that quantum fluctuations in the early universe, known as primordial quantum diffusion, could have given...
A general theory to realize bilayer stacking ferroelectricity
Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectrics, planar materials that have a spontaneous and reversible electric polarization, are extremely rare and yet could be extremely advantageous for the development of new nanoelectronics. Due to their ferroelectric properties and thin...