Nature Physics

Integrate physics education research by fixing departmental structures

2026-09-17

Nadji Belkheiri, Alexander M. Gabovich, Volodymyr Kuznetsov

Weakly interacting spinons and tightly bound triplons in the frustrated quantum spin-Peierls chain

2026-09-16

Pyeongjae Park, Bo Xiao, Karolina Górnicka, Andrew F. May, Jiaqiang Yan, Ryoichi Kajimoto, Mitsutaka Nakamura, Matthew B. Stone, Gábor B. Halász, Andrew D. Christianson

A combination of one-dimensional magnetic frustration and three-dimensional lattice distortions causes the quantum magnet CuGeO3 to form a dimerized state. Now the authors demonstrate how this interplay affects fractionalized quasiparticles of CuGeO3.

Mechanisms of spatial pattern transition in motile bacterial collectives

2026-09-15

Jean-Baptiste Saulnier, Michèle Romanos, Jonathan Schrohe, Clémence Cuzin, Vincent Calvez, Tâm Mignot

Myxococcus xanthus is a bacterial predator that can transition between swarming and rippling behaviours. It is now shown that this transition occurs owing to a combination of local cellular alignment and cell reversal.

Microrotors make waves

2026-09-14

Martin Brandenbourger

Thousands of 3D-printed microscopic rotors spontaneously synchronize their motion when assembled into a lattice. Counterintuitively, small imperfections among individual motors drive the propagation of waves across such artificial active matter.

Criticality from competition

2026-09-14

Luisa Eck

Conformal field theories describe universal physics at quantum critical points, but it is hard to find microscopic models that realize particular field theories. Studying competing boundary conditions of topological phases provides a systematic way to build such models.

Generation of a high-intensity, superthermal muonium beam for gravity and laser spectroscopy experiments

2026-09-14

J. Zhang, A. Antognini, M. Bartkowiak, D. Goeldi, K. Kirch, A. Knecht, D. Taqqu, R. Waddy, F. Wauters, P. Wegmann, A. Soter

A high-intensity, superthermal beam is generated by extracting muonium from a thin layer of superfluid helium. This beam can be used for tests of gravity and laser spectroscopy.

An intense superthermal muonium beam

2026-09-14

Jian Tang, Shihan Zhao

Conventional sources of muonium — a bound state of a positively charged muon and an electron — produce diffuse thermal beams. Now an intense, superthermal muonium beam with a velocity distribution far narrower than existing sources has been achieved.

Electrification mechanisms in sliding liquid and frozen drops

2026-09-14

Rutvik Lathia, Benjamin Leibauer, Aaron D. Ratschow, Werner Steffen, Hans-Jürgen Butt

When sliding along an insulating surface, liquid drops become charged. Experiments with self-ionizing and non-polar liquids on different substrates suggest the competition of at least two underlying mechanisms.

Dynamics of supracellular keratin bundling and nuclear uncaging in stretched epithelia

2026-07-27

Tom Golde

Nature Physics, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03371-8 Keratin intermediate filaments form a cage around the nucleus to protect it from stress. Now it is shown that under large deformations the filaments bundle and ultimately release the nucleus from its cage.]]>

Phonon focusing at room temperature

2026-07-23

Man Li

Nature Physics, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03335-y Wave-like heat flow— known as phonon focusing—has now been shown at room temperature. The long-lived phonon waves and transport that depends on crystal orientation offer opportunities for directional heat control in future technologies.]]>

A magnetic impurity sets off ripples in a kagome superconductor

2026-07-22

Barun Ghosh

Nature Physics, Published online: 22 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03372-7 The role of magnetic impurities in shaping superconductivity and electronic order in kagome metals remains unresolved. Now, a study reveals anisotropic Kondo resonances intertwined with the superconducting gap in a magnetically doped kagome superconductor.]]>

From electronic clovers to emergent quantum matter

2026-07-22

Eduardo H. da Silva Neto

Nature Physics, Published online: 22 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03374-5 The first holes doped into a cuprate create atomic-scale electronic states that combine into larger motifs, offering a bottom-up view of the emergence of charge order and superconducting phenomena.]]>

A thin route to order

2026-07-13

Mark Buchanan

Nature Physics, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03367-4 A thin route to order]]>

Stuck under water

2026-07-13

Bart Verberck

Nature Physics, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03385-2 Stuck under water]]>

An anticlockwise walk

2026-07-13

Elizaveta Dubrovina

Nature Physics, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03386-1 An anticlockwise walk]]>

Emergence of Fermi’s golden rule in a quantum many-body system

2026-07-09

Jianyi Chen

Nature Physics, Published online: 09 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03316-1 Spectroscopy of quantum many-body systems often relies on Fermi’s golden rule, but its regime of validity is unclear. Now measurements in a strongly interacting Fermi gas map the probe dynamics and identify where the rule holds and breaks down.]]>

Bose–Einstein condensate of ultracold sodium–rubidium molecules with tunable dipolar interactions

2026-07-09

Zhaopeng Shi

Nature Physics, Published online: 09 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03362-9 Condensing ultracold polar molecules requires efficient cooling despite collisional losses. Now sodium–rubidium molecules have been brought to condensation and tuned into a self-bound droplet through control of their dipolar interactions.]]>

Visualization of the Zhang–Rice singlet, electronic molecules and Cooper pair formation in a cuprate superconductor

2026-07-07

Shusen Ye

Nature Physics, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03375-4 How individual doped holes turn into superconducting Cooper pairs as doping increases in unconventional superconductors is still not well understood. Now, this process is observed in a paradigmatic cuprate compound.]]>

Topological textures in polar materials

2026-07-07

Zijian Hong

Nature Physics, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03344-x Ferroelectric materials can host robust and diverse polarization textures. This Review examines their formation mechanisms, responses to external stimuli and potential applications in next-generation electronic devices.]]>

Altermagnetic spintronics

2026-07-06

T. Jungwirth

Nature Physics, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03337-w Altermagnetism, a recently identified unconventional magnetic order, might enable fast and efficient spin-based devices. This Review explores its interplay with ferroelectric and superconducting systems and its promise for scalable spintronics.]]>

Tangled up in spin

2026-07-01

Meigan Aronson

Nature Physics, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03364-7 Neutron scattering measurements on a strongly correlated metal show hints of quantum entanglement in the strange metal state.]]>

Real-space imaging of the electron-pair density hole in molecular Auger–Meitner decay

2026-06-30

Mats Simmermacher

Nature Physics, Published online: 30 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03363-8 Localized core vacancies in molecules decay via an Auger–Meitner cascade to form diffuse valence holes. X-ray scattering is now used to measure the change in the electron-pair density, resolving the spatial redistribution of electrons.]]>

Surface d -orbital order in an intermetallic compound

2026-06-29

Zhanyang Hao

Nature Physics, Published online: 29 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03359-4 Whether orbital order can exist with a clear band-structure fingerprint in correlated materials has remained unresolved. Now an orbital order from rare earth 5d electrons without structural or magnetic order is seen in an intermetallic compound.]]>

A minimal in vitro assay for cell intercalation highlights the importance of interfacial tension and migratory forces

2026-06-26

Artur Ruppel

Nature Physics, Published online: 26 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03311-6 Cell intercalation is an exchange of cell neighbours. Now it is shown in a minimal system of four cells that intercalation is driven by junction tension and migratory forces.]]>

Floquet topological state induced by light-driven band inversion in SnTe

2026-06-25

F. Chassot

Nature Physics, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03341-0 Floquet engineering could, in principle, induce a topological phase in semiconductors, but clear evidence has been lacking. Now it is shown in SnTe that femtosecond light pulses briefly create a topological state that is absent at equilibrium.]]>

The relative effectiveness of active learning methods

2026-06-23

Nam-Hwa Kang

Nature Physics, Published online: 23 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03330-3 In recent years, many active learning methods have entered introductory physics classrooms, but their comparative effectiveness is unclear. Now a multi-institutional study examines the relative impact of four well-established active learning methods.]]>

Creases as information bottlenecks in active elastic sheets

2026-06-22

Charlotte M. Brannon

Nature Physics, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03332-1 The aneural animal Trichoplax adhaerens undergoes folding and unfolding. Now it is shown that there is a feedback loop between crease geometry and the collective motion of the animal’s cilia.]]>

The physical consequences of sperm gigantism

2026-06-22

Jasmin Imran Alsous

Nature Physics, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03305-4 Fruit fly sperm is substantially longer than the sac in which it is stored. It is now shown that reciprocal pushing between thousands of sperm maintains them in a motile and unentangled state in the sac.]]>

Structural origin of line-tension reversal in nanoscale wetting of water

2026-06-19

Mohd Moid

Nature Physics, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03299-z The microscopic origin of line tension—the excess free energy per unit length at a solid–liquid–gas boundary—is not well understood. Simulations of water nanodroplets now show that structural transitions affect line tension and therefore wetting.]]>

Microscopic signatures of an imaginary charge density wave in a kagome metal

2026-06-17

S. Suetsugu

Nature Physics, Published online: 17 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03339-8 Whether imaginary charge density waves and their associated loop currents exist has remained an open question. Now signatures of this state have been observed in kagome metal CsV3Sb5, revealing spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking.]]>