recent physics research papers

First proof that “plunging regions” exist around black holes in space

An international team led by researchers at Oxford University Physics  have proved Einstein was correct about a key prediction concerning black holes. Using X-ray data to test Einstein’s theory of gravity, their study gives the first observational proof that a “plunging-region” exists around black holes: an area where matter stops circling the hole and instead falls straight in.  Furthermore, the team found that this region exerts some of the strongest gravitational forces yet identified in the galaxy. The findings have been published in Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society .

Einstein’s theory predicted that this final plunge would exist, but this is the first time we have been able to demonstrate it happening. Think of it like a river turning into a waterfall – hitherto, we have been looking at the river. This is our first sight of the waterfall. Lead author Dr Andrew Mummery , Oxford University Physics.

The new findings are part of wide-ranging investigations into outstanding mysteries around black holes by astrophysicists at Oxford University Physics. This study focused on smaller black holes relatively close to Earth, using X-ray data gathered from NASA’s space-based Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)  and Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescopes. Later this year, a second Oxford team hopes to move closer to recording the first videos of larger, more distant black holes as part of a European initiative.  

Unlike in Newton’s theory of gravity, Einstein’s theory states that sufficiently close to a black hole it is impossible for particles to safely follow circular orbits. Instead they rapidly “plunge” toward the black hole at close to the speed of light. The Oxford study assessed this region in depth for the first-time, using X-ray data to gain a better understanding of the force generated by black holes.

‘This is the first look at how plasma, peeled from the outer edge of a star, undergoes its final fall into the centre of a black hole, a process happening in a system around ten thousand light years away,’ said Dr Andrew Mummery , of Oxford University Physics, who led the study. ‘What is really exciting is that there are many black holes in the galaxy, and we now have a powerful new technique for using them to study the strongest known gravitational fields.’

‘Einstein’s theory predicted that this final plunge would exist, but this is the first time we have been able to demonstrate it happening,’ Dr Mummery continued. ‘Think of it like a river turning into a waterfall – hitherto, we have been looking at the river. This is our first sight of the waterfall.’

‘We believe this represents an exciting new development in the study of black holes, allowing us to investigate this final area around them. Only then can we fully understand the gravitational force,’ Mummery added. ‘This final plunge of plasma happens at the very edge of a black hole and shows matter responding to gravity in its strongest possible form.’

Debate between astrophysicists has been underway for many decades as to whether the so-called plunging region would be detectable. The Oxford team has spent the last couple of years developing models for it and, in the study just published, demonstrate its first confirmed detection found using X-ray telescopes and data from the International Space Station.  

Whilst this study focuses on small black holes closer to Earth, a second study team from Oxford University Physics is part of a European initiative to build a new telescope, The Africa Millimetre Telescope , which would greatly enhance our ability to make direct images of black holes. Over 10 million Euro funding has already been secured, part of which will support several first PhDs in astrophysics for The University of Namibia, working closely with the Oxford Physics University team.

The new telescope is expected to enable observation, and filming, for the first time of large black holes at the centre of our own galaxy, as well as far beyond. As with the small black holes, large black holes are expected to have a so-called “event horizon”, dragging material from space toward their centre in a spiral as the black hole rotates. These represent almost unimaginable sources of energy and the team hope to observe – and film - them rotating for the first time.

The study “Continuum emission from within the plunging region of black hole discs” has been published in Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society .

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Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems

Strongly interacting systems play an important role in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Stochastic methods such as Monte Carlo simulations are a proven method for investigating such systems. However, these methods reach their limits when so-called sign oscillations occur. This problem has now been solved by an international team of researchers from Germany, Turkey, the USA, China, South Korea and France using the new method of wavefunction matching. As an example, the masses and radii of all nuclei up to mass number 50 were calculated using this method. The results agree with the measurements, the researchers now report in the journal " Nature ."

All matter on Earth consists of tiny particles known as atoms. Each atom contains even smaller particles: protons, neutrons and electrons. Each of these particles follows the rules of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics forms the basis of quantum many-body theory, which describes systems with many particles, such as atomic nuclei.

One class of methods used by nuclear physicists to study atomic nuclei is the ab initio approach. It describes complex systems by starting from a description of their elementary components and their interactions. In the case of nuclear physics, the elementary components are protons and neutrons. Some key questions that ab initio calculations can help answer are the binding energies and properties of atomic nuclei and the link between nuclear structure and the underlying interactions between protons and neutrons.

However, these ab initio methods have difficulties in performing reliable calculations for systems with complex interactions. One of these methods is quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Here, quantities are calculated using random or stochastic processes. Although quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be efficient and powerful, they have a significant weakness: the sign problem. It arises in processes with positive and negative weights, which cancel each other. This cancellation leads to inaccurate final predictions.

A new approach, known as wavefunction matching, is intended to help solve such calculation problems for ab initio methods. "This problem is solved by the new method of wavefunction matching by mapping the complicated problem in a first approximation to a simple model system that does not have such sign oscillations and then treating the differences in perturbation theory," says Prof. Ulf-G. Meißner from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn and from the Institute of Nuclear Physics and the Center for Advanced Simulation and Analytics at Forschungszentrum Jülich. "As an example, the masses and radii of all nuclei up to mass number 50 were calculated -- and the results agree with the measurements," reports Meißner, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Areas "Modeling" and "Matter" at the University of Bonn.

"In quantum many-body theory, we are often faced with the situation that we can perform calculations using a simple approximate interaction, but realistic high-fidelity interactions cause severe computational problems," says Dean Lee, Professor of Physics from the Facility for Rare Istope Beams and Department of Physics and Astronomy (FRIB) at Michigan State University and head of the Department of Theoretical Nuclear Sciences.

Wavefunction matching solves this problem by removing the short-distance part of the high-fidelity interaction and replacing it with the short-distance part of an easily calculable interaction. This transformation is done in a way that preserves all the important properties of the original realistic interaction. Since the new wavefunctions are similar to those of the easily computable interaction, the researchers can now perform calculations with the easily computable interaction and apply a standard procedure for handling small corrections -- called perturbation theory.

The research team applied this new method to lattice quantum Monte Carlo simulations for light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter and nuclear matter. Using precise ab initio calculations, the results closely matched real-world data on nuclear properties such as size, structure and binding energy. Calculations that were once impossible due to the sign problem can now be performed with wavefunction matching.

While the research team focused exclusively on quantum Monte Carlo simulations, wavefunction matching should be useful for many different ab initio approaches. "This method can be used in both classical computing and quantum computing, for example to better predict the properties of so-called topological materials, which are important for quantum computing," says Meißner.

The first author is Prof. Dr. Serdar Elhatisari, who worked for two years as a Fellow in Prof. Meißner's ERC Advanced Grant EXOTIC. According to Meißner, a large part of the work was carried out during this time. Part of the computing time on supercomputers at Forschungszentrum Jülich was provided by the IAS-4 institute, which Meißner heads.

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Materials provided by University of Bonn . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Serdar Elhatisari, Lukas Bovermann, Yuan-Zhuo Ma, Evgeny Epelbaum, Dillon Frame, Fabian Hildenbrand, Myungkuk Kim, Youngman Kim, Hermann Krebs, Timo A. Lähde, Dean Lee, Ning Li, Bing-Nan Lu, Ulf-G. Meißner, Gautam Rupak, Shihang Shen, Young-Ho Song, Gianluca Stellin. Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems . Nature , 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07422-z

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Collection  12 March 2023

Top 100 in Physics - 2022

This collection highlights our most downloaded* physics papers published in 2022. Featuring authors from around the world, these papers showcase valuable research from an international community.

You can also view the top papers across various subject areas here .

*Data obtained from SN Insights, which is based on Digital Science's Dimensions. 

Distribution of water phase near the poles of the Moon from gravity aspects

• Gunther Kletetschka
• Jaroslav Klokočník
• Kurosh Karimi

Quantum computing formulation of some classical Hadamard matrix searching methods and its implementation on a quantum computer

• Andriyan Bayu Suksmono
• Yuichiro Minato

Neutron imaging of an operational dilution refrigerator

• C. R. Lawson
• A. T. Jones
• O. Kirichek

Quantum imaging with a photon counting camera

• Osian Wolley
• Thomas Gregory
• Miles Padgett

Graphene–oxide interface for optoelectronic synapse application

• Ricardo Martinez-Martinez
• Molla Manjurul Islam

Quantum teleportation with one classical bit

• Abhishek Parakh

Laser-induced thermal source for cold atoms

• Chung Chuan Hsu
• David Wilkowski

Highly sensitive and selective detection of dopamine with boron and sulfur co-doped graphene quantum dots

• Manisha Chatterjee
• Prathul Nath
• Soumitra Satapathi

3D visualization of microwave electric and magnetic fields by using a metasurface-based indicator

• Zhirayr Baghdasaryan
• Arsen Babajanyan

In-situ twistable bilayer graphene

Robustness of large-area suspended graphene under interaction with intense laser

• Y. Kuramitsu

Simultaneous realization of polarization conversion for reflected and transmitted waves with bi-functional metasurface

• Xiaojun Huang

Ultrahigh efficient spin orbit torque magnetization switching in fully sputtered topological insulator and ferromagnet multilayers

• Nguyen Huynh Duy Khang
• Pham Nam Hai

A global network model of abiotic phosphorus cycling on Earth through time

• Marcos Jusino-Maldonado
• Rafael Rianço-Silva
• H. James Cleaves II

Molecular diameters of rarefied gases

Experimental observations of the effects of intermolecular Van der Waals force on entropy

• Matthew David Marko

Biofinder detects biological remains in Green River fish fossils from Eocene epoch at video speed

• Anupam K. Misra
• Sonia J. Rowley
• Christopher P. McKay

A novel metamaterial-based antenna for on-chip applications for the 72.5–81 GHz frequency range

• Karen N. Olan-Nuñez
• Roberto S. Murphy-Arteaga

Magnetisation switching dynamics induced by combination of spin transfer torque and spin orbit torque

• Jessada Chureemart
• Phanwadee Chureemart

Exocomets size distribution in the \(\beta\) Pictoris planetary system

• Alain Lecavelier des Etangs
• Alfred Vidal-Madjar

Sub-second temporal magnetic field microscopy using quantum defects in diamond

• Madhur Parashar
• Anuj Bathla
• Kasturi Saha

Unity yield of deterministically positioned quantum dot single photon sources

• Patrick Laferrière
• Edith Yeung

Novel electron microscopic staining method using traditional dye, hematoxylin

• Hiroyuki Sasaki
• Hisako Arai
• Takeshi Matsui

Chemistry beyond the Hartree–Fock energy via quantum computed moments

• Michael A. Jones
• Harish J. Vallury
• Lloyd C. L. Hollenberg

Comparisons between the circular restricted three-body and bi-circular four body problems for transfers between the two smaller primaries

• Allan Kardec de Almeida Junior
• Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado

Solar power generation intermittency and aggregation

• Xiao-Ping Zhang
• Michael Sterling

Switchable ultra-broadband terahertz wave absorption with VO 2 -based metasurface

Roles of resonant muonic molecule in new kinetics model and muon catalyzed fusion in compressed gas

• Takuma Yamashita
• Yasushi Kino
• Motoyasu Sato

Entangled states shaping with CV states of definite parity

• Dmitry A. Kuts
• Sergey A. Podoshvedov

A lightweight magnetically shielded room with active shielding

• Niall Holmes
• Richard Bowtell

Quantum correlations beyond entanglement in a classical-channel model of gravity

• Federico Roccati
• Benedetto Militello
• Francesco Ciccarello

Effective hole conductivity in nitrogen-doped CVD-graphene by singlet oxygen treatment under photoactivation conditions

• Giuseppe Valerio Bianco
• Alberto Sacchetti
• Giovanni Bruno

Implementation of quantum compression on IBM quantum computers

• Matej Pivoluska
• Martin Plesch

Distinguish between typical non-Hermitian quantum systems by entropy dynamics

Analysis of three-dimensional chromatin packing domains by chromatin scanning transmission electron microscopy (ChromSTEM)

• Vasundhara Agrawal
• Vadim Backman

Nonequilibrium band occupation and optical response of gold after ultrafast XUV excitation

• Pascal D. Ndione
• Sebastian T. Weber
• Baerbel Rethfeld

Tracking blobs in the turbulent edge plasma of a tokamak fusion device

• Woonghee Han
• Randall A. Pietersen

Role of Majorana fermions in high-harmonic generation from Kitaev chain

• Adhip Pattanayak
• Sumiran Pujari
• Gopal Dixit

Observations about utilitarian coherence in the avian compass

• Luke D. Smith
• Jean Deviers
• Daniel R. Kattnig

Experimental evolution of active Brownian grains driven by quantum effects in superfluid helium

• Oleg F. Petrov
• Roman E. Boltnev
• Mikhail M. Vasiliev

Design and optimization of three-dimensional composite multilayer cylindrical pentamode metamaterials for controlling low frequency acoustic waves

• Chengxin Cai

The flow of the Berry curvature vector field

• Ondřej Stejskal
• Martin Veis
• Jaroslav Hamrle

Solar radio emission as a disturbance of radiomobile networks

• Giuliano Muratore
• Teresa Giannini
• Davide Micheli

Coherent surface-to-bulk vibrational coupling in the 2D topologically trivial insulator Bi 2 Se 3 monitored by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy

• Yuri D. Glinka
• Tingchao He
• Xiao Wei Sun

Effect of extended defects on photoluminescence of gallium oxide and aluminum gallium oxide epitaxial films

• Jacqueline Cooke
• Praneeth Ranga
• Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez

Pairwise quantum criteria and teleportation in a spin square complex

• Fadwa Benabdallah
• Saeed Haddadi
• Nerses Ananikian

Radiative pattern of intralayer and interlayer excitons in two-dimensional WS 2 /WSe 2 heterostructure

• Mohammed Adel Aly
• Arash Rahimi-Iman

Dual-comb cavity ring-down spectroscopy

• Daniel Lisak
• Dominik Charczun
• Piotr Masłowski

Experimental characterization of \({\text {H}}_2\) /water multiphase flow in heterogeneous sandstone rock at the core scale relevant for underground hydrogen storage (UHS)

• Maartje Boon
• Hadi Hajibeygi

Spin-polarized imaging of the antiferromagnetic structure and field-tunable bound states in kagome magnet FeSn

• Ilija Zeljkovic

Dynamics of quantum droplets in an external harmonic confinement

• Maitri R. Pathak

Highly accurate machine learning prediction of crystal point groups for ternary materials from chemical formula

• Abdulmohsen Alsaui
• Saad M. Alqahtani
• Fahhad H. Alharbi

Clinical data classification with noisy intermediate scale quantum computers

• C. Brandner

Prediction of topological Dirac semimetal in Ca-based Zintl layered compounds CaM 2 X 2 (M = Zn or Cd; X = N, P, As, Sb, or Bi)

• Liang-Ying Feng
• Rovi Angelo B. Villaos
• Feng-Chuan Chuang

Laser-based ultrasound interrogation of surface and sub-surface features in advanced manufacturing materials

• Kathryn Jinae Harke
• Nicholas Calta
• David Stobbe

Topological magnon modes on honeycomb lattice with coupling textures

• Toshikaze Kariyado

Unusually large exciton binding energy in multilayered 2H-MoTe 2

• Jin Cheol Park
• Young Hee Lee

Conformal properties of hyperinvariant tensor networks

• Matthew Steinberg
• Javier Prior

Accurate magnetic field imaging using nanodiamond quantum sensors enhanced by machine learning

• Moeta Tsukamoto
• Kensuke Kobayashi

Reservoir computing with dielectric relaxation at an electrode–ionic liquid interface

• Sang-Gyu Koh
• Hisashi Shima
• Kentaro Kinoshita

Unique evidence of fluid alteration in the Kakowa (L6) ordinary chondrite

• I. P. Baziotis
• P. D. Asimow

Glycine amino acid transformation under impacts by small solar system bodies, simulated via high-pressure torsion method

• Kaveh Edalati
• Ikuo Taniguchi
• Augusto Ducati Luchessi

Gap coupled symmetric split ring resonator based near zero index ENG metamaterial for gain improvement of monopole antenna

• Md. Moniruzzaman
• Mohammad Tariqul Islam
• Md. Shabiul Islam

Experimental research on surface acoustic wave microfluidic atomization for drug delivery

• Qing-Yun Huang
• Jun-Long Han

Realizing quasi-monochromatic switchable thermal emission from electro-optically induced topological phase transitions

• Nitish Kumar Gupta
• Sapireddy Srinivasu
• S. Anantha Ramakrishna

High-charge electron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator driven by a CO 2 laser

• Enrico Brunetti
• R. Neil Campbell
• Dino A. Jaroszynski

Polarization based discrete variables quantum key distribution via conjugated homodyne detection

• Mariana F. Ramos
• Armando N. Pinto
• Nuno A. Silva

A comparative study of an Yb-doped fiber gain-managed nonlinear amplifier seeded by femtosecond fiber lasers

• Dorota Tomaszewska-Rolla
• Robert Lindberg
• Grzegorz Soboń

Constrained quantum optimization for extractive summarization on a trapped-ion quantum computer

• Pradeep Niroula
• Ruslan Shaydulin
• Marco Pistoia

Review of some existing QML frameworks and novel hybrid classical–quantum neural networks realising binary classification for the noisy datasets

• N. Schetakis
• D. Aghamalyan
• M. Boguslavsky

LZS-1, Lanzarote (Canary Island, Spain) lunar (Apollo 14) basaltic soil simulant

• Fernando Alberquilla
• Jesús Martínez-Frías
• Rosario Lunar

Polarization insensitive symmetrical structured double negative (DNG) metamaterial absorber for Ku-band sensing applications

• Mohammad Lutful Hakim
• Touhidul Alam

Miscibility of rock and ice in the interiors of water worlds

• Tanja Kovačević
• Felipe González-Cataldo
• Burkhard Militzer

Octet lattice-based plate for elastic wave control

• Giulia Aguzzi
• Constantinos Kanellopoulos
• Andrea Colombi

Relativistic motions of spin-zero quantum oscillator field in a global monopole space-time with external potential and AB-effect

• Faizuddin Ahmed

Effects of symmetry breaking of the structurally-disordered Hamiltonian ensembles on the anisotropic decoherence of qubits

• Hong-Bin Chen

Weak antilocalization, spin–orbit interaction, and phase coherence length of a Dirac semimetal Bi 0.97 Sb 0.03

• Yusuff Adeyemi Salawu
• Jae Hyun Yun
• Heon-Jung Kim

Preceding propagation of turbulence pulses at avalanche events in a magnetically confined plasma

• N. Kenmochi

Semiconductor nanowire metamaterial for broadband near-unity absorption

• Burak Tekcan
• Brad van Kasteren
• Michael E. Reimer

Large magnetocapacitance beyond 420% in epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions with an MgAl 2 O 4 barrier

• Hiroaki Sukegawa
• Hideo Kaiju

Massive metamaterial system-loaded MIMO antenna array for 5G base stations

• Samir Salem Al-Bawri
• Haitham Alsaif

Dry pick-and-flip assembly of van der Waals heterostructures for microfocus angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

• Satoru Masubuchi
• Masato Sakano
• Tomoki Machida

Quantum correlated heat engine in XY chain with Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions

• S. Ahadpour
• F. Mirmasoudi

Temperature and interlayer coupling induced thermal transport across graphene/2D-SiC van der Waals heterostructure

• Md. Sherajul Islam
• Jeongwon Park

Dynamics of laser-induced tunable focusing in silicon

• Nadav Shabairou
• Maor Tiferet
• Moshe Sinvani

Bespoke magnetic field design for a magnetically shielded cold atom interferometer

• P. J. Hobson
• M. Holynski

Error rate reduction of single-qubit gates via noise-aware decomposition into native gates

• Thomas J. Maldonado
• Johannes Flick
• Alexey Galda

Transmutation of long-lived fission products in an advanced nuclear energy system

Specific absorption rate reduction for sub-6 frequency range using polarization dependent metamaterial with high effective medium ratio

• Tayaallen Ramachandran
• Mohammad Rashed Iqbal Faruque

Laser cluster interaction in ambient magnetic fields for accelerating electrons in two stages without external injection

• Kalyani Swain
• Sagar Sekhar Mahalik
• Mrityunjay Kundu

Contamination analysis of Arctic ice samples as planetary field analogs and implications for future life-detection missions to Europa and Enceladus

• Lígia F. Coelho
• Marie-Amélie Blais
• João Canário

Dynamics of ultrafast phase transitions in MgF 2 triggered by laser-induced THz coherent phonons

• Evgenii Mareev
• Fedor Potemkin

Visualizing the unusual spectral weight transfer in DyBa 2 Cu 3 O 7–δ thin film

• Kazuhiro Fujita

A digital twin for 64 Cu production with cyclotron and solid target system

• Lorenzo Isolan
• Mario Malinconico
• Marco Sumini

Massive-mode polarization entangled biphoton frequency comb

• Tomohiro Yamazaki
• Rikizo Ikuta
• Takashi Yamamoto

Dynamic compression of water to conditions in ice giant interiors

• A. E. Gleason
• D. R. Rittman

Intrinsic topological magnons in arrays of magnetic dipoles

• Paula Mellado

A new type of half-metallic fully compensated ferrimagnet

• S. Semboshi
• R. Y. Umetsu

Radiochemical analysis of the drain water sampled at the exhaust stack shared by Units 1 and 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

• Asako Shimada
• Yoshinori Taniguchi
• Yu Maruyama

Minimal and maximal lengths of quantum gravity from non-hermitian position-dependent noncommutativity

• Latévi M. Lawson

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Caroline Cohen et al 2015 New J. Phys. 17 063001

The conical shape of a shuttlecock allows it to flip on impact. As a light and extended particle, it flies with a pure drag trajectory. We first study the flip phenomenon and the dynamics of the flight and then discuss the implications on the game. Lastly, a possible classification of different shots is proposed.

Ran Finkelstein et al 2023 New J. Phys. 25 035001

This tutorial introduces the theoretical and experimental basics of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in thermal alkali vapors. We first give a brief phenomenological description of EIT in simple three-level systems of stationary atoms and derive analytical expressions for optical absorption and dispersion under EIT conditions. Then we focus on how the thermal motion of atoms affects various parameters of the EIT system. Specifically, we analyze the Doppler broadening of optical transitions, ballistic versus diffusive atomic motion in a limited-volume interaction region, and collisional depopulation and decoherence. Finally, we discuss the common trade-offs important for optimizing an EIT experiment and give a brief 'walk-through' of a typical EIT experimental setup. We conclude with a brief overview of current and potential EIT applications.

Roger Bach et al 2013 New J. Phys. 15 033018

Double-slit diffraction is a corner stone of quantum mechanics. It illustrates key features of quantum mechanics: interference and the particle-wave duality of matter. In 1965, Richard Feynman presented a thought experiment to show these features. Here we demonstrate the full realization of his famous thought experiment. By placing a movable mask in front of a double-slit to control the transmission through the individual slits, probability distributions for single- and double-slit arrangements were observed. Also, by recording single electron detection events diffracting through a double-slit, a diffraction pattern was built up from individual events.

Jianhong Mou et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 043027

Understanding the dynamics of spreading and diffusion on networks is of critical importance for a variety of processes in real life. However, predicting the temporal evolution of diffusion on networks remains challenging as the process is shaped by network topology, spreading non-linearities, and heterogeneous adaptation behavior. In this study, we propose the 'spindle vector', a new network topological feature, which shapes nodes according to the distance from the root node. The spindle vector captures the relative order of nodes in diffusion propagation, thus allowing us to approximate the spatiotemporal evolution of diffusion dynamics on networks. The approximation simplifies the detailed connections of node pairs by only focusing on the nodal count within individual layers and the interlayer connections, seeking a compromise between efficiency and complexity. Through experiments on various networks, we show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on BA networks with an average improvement of 38.6% on the mean absolute error. Additionally, the predictive accuracy of our method exhibits a notable convergence with the pairwise approximation approach with the increasing presence of quadrangles and pentagons in WS networks. The new metric provides a general and computationally efficient approach to predict network diffusion problems and is of potential for a large range of network applications.

Jarrod R McClean et al 2016 New J. Phys. 18 023023

Many quantum algorithms have daunting resource requirements when compared to what is available today. To address this discrepancy, a quantum-classical hybrid optimization scheme known as 'the quantum variational eigensolver' was developed (Peruzzo et al 2014 Nat. Commun. 5 4213 ) with the philosophy that even minimal quantum resources could be made useful when used in conjunction with classical routines. In this work we extend the general theory of this algorithm and suggest algorithmic improvements for practical implementations. Specifically, we develop a variational adiabatic ansatz and explore unitary coupled cluster where we establish a connection from second order unitary coupled cluster to universal gate sets through a relaxation of exponential operator splitting. We introduce the concept of quantum variational error suppression that allows some errors to be suppressed naturally in this algorithm on a pre-threshold quantum device. Additionally, we analyze truncation and correlated sampling in Hamiltonian averaging as ways to reduce the cost of this procedure. Finally, we show how the use of modern derivative free optimization techniques can offer dramatic computational savings of up to three orders of magnitude over previously used optimization techniques.

L S Liebovitch et al 2019 New J. Phys. 21 073022

Peace is not merely the absence of war and violence, rather 'positive peace' is the political, economic, and social systems that generate and sustain peaceful societies. Our international and multidisciplinary group is using physics inspired complex systems analysis methods to understand the factors and their interactions that together support and maintain peace. We developed causal loop diagrams and from them ordinary differential equation models of the system needed for sustainable peace. We then used that mathematical model to determine the attractors in the system, the dynamics of the approach to those attractors, and the factors and connections that play the most important role in determining the final state of the system. We used data science ('big data') methods to measure quantitative values of the peace factors from structured and unstructured (social media) data. We also developed a graphical user interface for the mathematical model so that social scientists or policy makers, can by themselves, explore the effects of changing the variables and parameters in these systems. These results demonstrate that complex systems analysis methods, previously developed and applied to physical and biological systems, can also be productively applied to analyze social systems such as those needed for sustainable peace.

Dominic Horsman et al 2012 New J. Phys. 14 123011

In recent years, surface codes have become a leading method for quantum error correction in theoretical large-scale computational and communications architecture designs. Their comparatively high fault-tolerant thresholds and their natural two-dimensional nearest-neighbour (2DNN) structure make them an obvious choice for large scale designs in experimentally realistic systems. While fundamentally based on the toric code of Kitaev, there are many variants, two of which are the planar- and defect-based codes. Planar codes require fewer qubits to implement (for the same strength of error correction), but are restricted to encoding a single qubit of information. Interactions between encoded qubits are achieved via transversal operations, thus destroying the inherent 2DNN nature of the code. In this paper we introduce a new technique enabling the coupling of two planar codes without transversal operations, maintaining the 2DNN of the encoded computer. Our lattice surgery technique comprises splitting and merging planar code surfaces, and enables us to perform universal quantum computation (including magic state injection) while removing the need for braided logic in a strictly 2DNN design, and hence reduces the overall qubit resources for logic operations. Those resources are further reduced by the use of a rotated lattice for the planar encoding. We show how lattice surgery allows us to distribute encoded GHZ states in a more direct (and overhead friendly) manner, and how a demonstration of an encoded CNOT between two distance-3 logical states is possible with 53 physical qubits, half of that required in any other known construction in 2D.

Shinsei Ryu et al 2010 New J. Phys. 12 065010

C Gopaul and R Andrews 2007 New J. Phys. 9 94

We analyse the effect of atmospheric Kolmogorov turbulence on entangled orbital angular momentum states generated by parametric down-conversion. We calculate joint and signal photon detection probabilities and obtain numerically their dependence on the mode-width-to-Fried-parameter ratio. We demonstrate that entangled photons are less robust to the effects of Kolmogorov turbulence compared to single photons. In contrast, signal photons are more robust than single photons in the lowest-order mode. We also obtain numerically a scaling relation between the value of the mode-width-to-Fried-parameter ratio for which the joint detection probability is a maximum and the momentum mismatch between signal and idler photons after propagation through the medium.

Antonio Acín et al 2018 New J. Phys. 20 080201

Within the last two decades, quantum technologies (QT) have made tremendous progress, moving from Nobel Prize award-winning experiments on quantum physics (1997: Chu, Cohen-Tanoudji, Phillips; 2001: Cornell, Ketterle, Wieman; 2005: Hall, Hänsch-, Glauber; 2012: Haroche, Wineland) into a cross-disciplinary field of applied research. Technologies are being developed now that explicitly address individual quantum states and make use of the 'strange' quantum properties, such as superposition and entanglement. The field comprises four domains: quantum communication, where individual or entangled photons are used to transmit data in a provably secure way; quantum simulation, where well-controlled quantum systems are used to reproduce the behaviour of other, less accessible quantum systems; quantum computation, which employs quantum effects to dramatically speed up certain calculations, such as number factoring; and quantum sensing and metrology, where the high sensitivity of coherent quantum systems to external perturbations is exploited to enhance the performance of measurements of physical quantities. In Europe, the QT community has profited from several EC funded coordination projects, which, among other things, have coordinated the creation of a 150-page QT Roadmap ( http://qurope.eu/h2020/qtflagship/roadmap2016 ). This article presents an updated summary of this roadmap.

Latest articles

Sujay Kazi et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 053030

Joscha Heinze et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 055002

Axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are leading candidates for dark matter. They are well motivated in many extensions of the standard model and supported by astronomical observations. We propose an iterative transformation of the existing facilities of the gravitational-wave detector and technology testbed GEO600, located near Ruthe in Germany, into a kilometre-scale upgrade of the laser-interferometric axion detector LIDA. The final DarkGEO detector could search for coincident signatures of axions and ALPs and significantly surpass the current constraints of both direct searches and astrophysical observations in the measurement band from 10 −16 to 10 −8 eV. We discuss design parameters and sensitivities for the configurations of the different iteration steps as well as technical challenges known from the first LIDA results. The proposed DarkGEO detector will be well suited to probe the mass-coupling parameter space associated with predictions from theoretical models, like grand-unified theories, as well as from astrophysical evidence, like the cosmic infrared background.

Noah Lupu-Gladstein et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 053029

Quantum mechanics is usually formulated with an implicit assumption that agents who can observe and interact with the world are external to it and have a classical memory. However, there is no accepted way to define the quantum–classical cut and no a priori reason to rule out fully quantum agents with coherent quantum memories. In this work, we introduce an entirely quantum notion of measurement, called a sensation , to account for quantum agents that experience the world through quantum sensors. Sensations eschew probabilities and instead describe a deterministic flow of quantum information. We quantify the information gain and disturbance of a sensation using concepts from quantum information theory and find that sensations always disturb at least as much as they inform. Viewing measurements as sensations could lead to a new understanding of quantum theory in general and to new results in the context of quantum networks.

Galia Pozina et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 053028

Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted significant attention due to their unique optical properties and broad optoelectronic and photonic applications. We investigate modifications of emission in hybrid structures formed by 60 nm silver NPs and GaN planar nanowires (NWs). Bare GaN NWs exhibit photoluminescence (PL) spectra dominated by broad bands peaking at ∼3.44 eV and ∼3.33 eV, attributed to basal plane stacking faults. In hybrids, two new narrow PL lines appear at 3.36 and 3.31 eV, resulting in PL enhancement at these energies. While the 3.36 eV line in hybrid structures can be explained using the Fröhlich resonance approximation based on the electric dipole concept, the appearance of two features at 3.36 and 3.31 eV indicates the splitting of resonance lines. This phenomenon is explained in framework of theoretical model based on the interaction of the dipole with its charge image, taking into account the quadrupole moment of the silver sphere and the quadrupole field of the charge image. A good agreement is obtained between the calculated Fröhlich resonance frequencies and the experimental PL lines in hybrid structures.

Amartya Pal et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 053027

Review articles

Xuan Zuo et al 2024 New J. Phys. 26 031201

Hybrid quantum systems based on magnons in magnetic materials have made significant progress in the past decade. They are built based on the couplings of magnons with microwave photons, optical photons, vibration phonons, and superconducting qubits. In particular, the interactions among magnons, microwave cavity photons, and vibration phonons form the system of cavity magnomechanics (CMM), which lies in the interdisciplinary field of cavity QED, magnonics, quantum optics, and quantum information. Here, we review the experimental and theoretical progress of this emerging field. We first introduce the underlying theories of the magnomechanical coupling, and then some representative classical phenomena that have been experimentally observed, including magnomechanically induced transparency, magnomechanical dynamical backaction, magnon-phonon cross-Kerr nonlinearity, etc. We also discuss a number of theoretical proposals, which show the potential of the CMM system for preparing different kinds of quantum states of magnons, phonons, and photons, and hybrid systems combining magnomechanics and optomechanics and relevant quantum protocols based on them. Finally, we summarize this review and provide an outlook for the future research directions in this field.

J Lambert and E S Sørensen 2023 New J. Phys. 25 081201

Recently, there has been considerable interest in the application of information geometry to quantum many body physics. This interest has been driven by three separate lines of research, which can all be understood as different facets of quantum information geometry. First, the study of topological phases of matter characterized by Chern number is rooted in the symplectic structure of the quantum state space, known in the physics literature as Berry curvature. Second, in the study of quantum phase transitions, the fidelity susceptibility has gained prominence as a universal probe of quantum criticality, even for systems that lack an obviously discernible order parameter. Finally, the study of quantum Fisher information in many body systems has seen a surge of interest due to its role as a witness of genuine multipartite entanglement and owing to its utility as a quantifier of quantum resources, in particular those useful in quantum sensing. Rather than a thorough review, our aim is to connect key results within a common conceptual framework that may serve as an introductory guide to the extensive breadth of applications, and deep mathematical roots, of quantum information geometry, with an intended audience of researchers in quantum many body and condensed matter physics.

Quentin Glorieux et al 2023 New J. Phys. 25 051201

Nonlinear optics has been a very dynamic field of research with spectacular phenomena discovered mainly after the invention of lasers. The combination of high intensity fields with resonant systems has further enhanced the nonlinearity with specific additional effects related to the resonances. In this paper we review a limited range of these effects which has been studied in the past decades using close-to-room-temperature atomic vapors as the nonlinear resonant medium. In particular we describe four-wave mixing and generation of nonclassical light in atomic vapors. One-and two-mode squeezing as well as photon correlations are discussed. Furthermore, we present some applications for optical and quantum memories based on hot atomic vapors. Finally, we present results on the recently developed field of quantum fluids of light using hot atomic vapors.

F Luoni et al 2021 New J. Phys. 23 101201

Realistic nuclear reaction cross-section models are an essential ingredient of reliable heavy-ion transport codes. Such codes are used for risk evaluation of manned space exploration missions as well as for ion-beam therapy dose calculations and treatment planning. Therefore, in this study, a collection of total nuclear reaction cross-section data has been generated within a GSI-ESA-NASA collaboration. The database includes the experimentally measured total nucleus–nucleus reaction cross-sections. The Tripathi, Kox, Shen, Kox–Shen, and Hybrid-Kurotama models are systematically compared with the collected data. Details about the implementation of the models are given. Literature gaps are pointed out and considerations are made about which models fit best the existing data for the most relevant systems to radiation protection in space and heavy-ion therapy.

S Al Kharusi et al 2021 New J. Phys. 23 031201

The next core-collapse supernova in the Milky Way or its satellites will represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to obtain detailed information about the explosion of a star and provide significant scientific insight for a variety of fields because of the extreme conditions found within. Supernovae in our galaxy are not only rare on a human timescale but also happen at unscheduled times, so it is crucial to be ready and use all available instruments to capture all possible information from the event. The first indication of a potential stellar explosion will be the arrival of a bright burst of neutrinos. Its observation by multiple detectors worldwide can provide an early warning for the subsequent electromagnetic fireworks, as well as signal to other detectors with significant backgrounds so they can store their recent data. The supernova early warning system (SNEWS) has been operating as a simple coincidence between neutrino experiments in automated mode since 2005. In the current era of multi-messenger astronomy there are new opportunities for SNEWS to optimize sensitivity to science from the next galactic supernova beyond the simple early alert. This document is the product of a workshop in June 2019 towards design of SNEWS 2.0, an upgraded SNEWS with enhanced capabilities exploiting the unique advantages of prompt neutrino detection to maximize the science gained from such a valuable event.

Accepted manuscripts

Feld et al 

A regime of coexistence of asynchronous and clustered dynamics is analyzed for globally coupled homogeneous and heterogeneous inhibitory networks of quadratic integrate-and-fire (QIF) neurons subject to Gaussian noise. The analysis is based on accurate extensive simulations and complemented by a mean-field description in terms of low-dimensional next generation neural mass models for heterogeneously distributed synaptic couplings. The asynchronous regime is observable at low noise&#xD;and becomes unstable via a sub-critical Hopf bifurcation at sufficiently large noise. This gives rise to a coexistence region between the asynchronous and the clustered regime. The clustered phase is characterized by population bursts in the γ-range (30-&#xD;120 Hz), where neurons are split in two equally populated clusters firing in alternation. This clustering behavior is quite peculiar: despite the global activity being essentially periodic, single neurons display switching between the two clusters due to heterogeneity&#xD;and/or noise.

Agranov et al 

We introduce a family of lattice-gas models of flocking, whose thermodynamically consistent dynamics admits a proper equilibrium limit at vanishing self-propulsion. These models are amenable to an exact coarse-graining which allows us to study their hydrodynamic behavior analytically. We show that the equilibrium limit here belongs to the universality class of Model C, and that it generically exhibits tricritical behavior. Self-propulsion has a non-perturbative effect on the phase diagram, yielding novel phase behaviors depending on the type of aligning interactions. For aligning interaction that increase monotonically with the density, the tricritical point diverges to infinite density reproducing the standard scenario of a discontinuous flocking transition accompanied by traveling bands. In contrast, for models where the aligning interaction is non-monotonic in density, the system can exhibit either (the nonequilibrium counterpart of) an azeotropic point, associated with a continuous flocking transition, or a state with counterpropagating bands.

Arai et al 

It is a key issue to characterize the model of standard quantum theory out of general models by an operational condition. The framework of General Probabilistic Theories (GPTs) is a new information theoretical approach to single out standard quantum theory. It is known that traditional properties, for example, Bell-CHSH inequality, are not sufficient to single out standard quantum theory among possible models in GPTs. As a more precise property, we focus on the bound of the performance for an information task called state discrimination in general models. We give an equivalent condition for outperforming the minimum discrimination error probability under the standard quantum theory given by the trace norm. Besides, by applying the equivalent condition, we characterize standard quantum theory out of general models in GPTs by the bound of the performance for state discrimination.

Xu et al 

To get a carbon-based qubit, we pay attention to the two-electron conduction band of a graphene quantum dot (GQD) in the presence of an external magnetic field and an extrinsic Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI). To help understand the formation of the two-electron spectra, we first calculate the tight-binding (TB) spectra. There exist the sensitivity of the conduction band to magnetic fields and the mixing of spin states induced by a Rashba SOI. The two factors inspire the study of the magnetic-field modulation of the conduction band for realizing a spin qubit. We present the method for calculating the electronic structure of a few-electron GQD. The roles of the Coulomb interaction and the Rashba SOI in the two-electron conduction band are investigated. The Coulomb interaction contributes to a singlet-triplet level crossing and the Rashba SOI leads to a singlet-triplet mixing. The fast initialization and coherent manipulation of spin states are demonstrated by the magnetic control of singlet-triplet splitting.control of singlet-triplet splitting.&#xD;

Mi et al 

The realization and detection of chiral physics with ultracold atomic gases provide a unique path&#xD;for the exploration of topological phases. Here, we show that the interplay of magnetic field and&#xD;interacting particles in an extended two-leg ladder leads to rich chiral Bloch dynamics. Considering&#xD;both the on-site contact interaction and nearest-neighbor interactions, the ground state and Bloch&#xD;dynamics of the system are studied analytically and numerically. When the system is in the ground&#xD;state, the threshold and phase diagram for the transition between zero-momentum state and plane-wave state are analytically obtained, showing the nearest-neighbor interactions along the legs and&#xD;rungs have opposite impact on the ground state transition, providing new opportunity to manipulate&#xD;the ground state transition. When the ladder is perturbated under an external linear force, chiral&#xD;dephasing of Bloch oscillations (BOs), i.e., symmetry breaking damped BOs (the damping rate&#xD;of BOs on one leg is larger than the other), are observed. This chirality is absent for vanishing&#xD;the magnetic field and atomic interaction. Particularly, the chirality of damped BOs is inversed&#xD;when the magnetic field (chiral current) is inversed. In addition, the damping of BOs induced&#xD;by different types of atomic interactions is different, and the strength and damping rate of BOs&#xD;initialized in different ground states are distinct, offering dynamic ways to detect the different&#xD;ground states. Furthermore, the persistent chiral Bloch oscillations observed in single particle case&#xD;is predicted analytically, which is a crucial requirement for observation and application of chiral BOs&#xD;in nonlinear regime. Our results provide an interesting path towards the exploration of topological&#xD;atomic superfluids.

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Importance of undergraduate institution prestige in physics faculty hiring networks, daniel z. grunspan, regis komperda, erika g. offerdahl, anna e. abraham, sara etebari, samantha a. maas, julie a. roberts, suhail ghafoor, and sara e. brownell, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010144 (2024) – published 20 may 2024.

A small fraction of institutions are responsible for the undergraduate education of a disproportionate number of U.S. physics faculty.

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Learning difficulties among students when applying ampére-maxwell’s law and its implications for teaching, álvaro suárez, arturo c. marti, kristina zuza, and jenaro guisasola, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010143 (2024) – published 16 may 2024.

Introductory physics students do not develop a robust understanding of Ampere-Maxwell’s law through typical physics instruction.

Implementation of the photovoice methodology in a project-based upper-division physics course

Kristin a. oliver, victoria borish, bethany r. wilcox, and h. j. lewandowski, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010142 (2024) – published 16 may 2024.

Photovoice methodology can provide insights into student experiences and perspectives that may not be captured through traditional reflection questions.

Investigating students’ insight after attending a planetarium presentation about the apparent motion of the Sun and stars

Hans bekaert, mieke de cock, wim van dooren, and hans van winckel, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010141 (2024) – published 13 may 2024.

Regular instruction is not sufficient to help secondary students develop a good understanding of the apparent motion of the Sun and stars.

Prevalence of a growth mindset among introductory astronomy students

Moire k. m. prescott, laura madson, sandra m. way, and kelly n. sanderson, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010140 (2024) – published 10 may 2024.

Standard mindset surveys are not able to predict how an undergraduate student will actually behave when faced with the challenges of learning something new.

Investigating faculty perspectives on written qualifying exams in physics

Shiva basir and eric burkholder, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010139 (2024) – published 10 may 2024.

Faculty in one department agree that Ph.D. qualifying exams are both necessary and simultaneously doubt whether they predict success in research.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduates’ knowledge and interest in quantum careers: Barriers and opportunities to building a diverse quantum workforce

Jessica l. rosenberg, nancy holincheck, and michele colandene, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010138 (2024) – published 8 may 2024.

It is important to develop information about and pathways into quantum careers that are accessible to undergraduate physics majors.

Self-efficacy changes and gender effects on self-efficacy in a large-scale robotic telescope focused curriculum

Rachel freed, david mckinnon, saeed salimpour, michael fitzgerald, dan reichart, and christina norris, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010137 (2024) – published 8 may 2024.

Introductory astronomy courses for nonmajors that include remote access to robotic telescopes can increase self-efficacy and reduce the gender gap.

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Physics ph.d. student perspectives on the importance and difficulty of finding a research group, mike verostek, casey w. miller, and benjamin m. zwickl, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010136 (2024) – published 7 may 2024, : alleviating the stress of finding a phd advisor.

Graduate students, particularly minoritized students, feel unprepared to choose a research group and can benefit from enhanced support in making this choice.

Examining the mismatch between the intended astronomy curriculum content, astronomical literacy, and the astronomical universe

Saeed salimpour, michael fitzgerald, and robert hollow, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010135 (2024) – published 6 may 2024.

The K-12 astronomy curriculum in multiple countries is significantly disjointed, thus missing opportunities to engage students in deeper, more connected learning.

Enhancing peer instruction in physics: Understanding cognitive processes and refining rules

Vegard gjerde and sivert hagane, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010134 (2024) – published 3 may 2024.

Analysis of student discussions in Peer Instruction indicate students engage in decoding of problem statements, explanations with examples, and explanations with models.

Investigating peer recognition across an introductory physics sequence: Do first impressions last?

Meagan sundstrom and logan kageorge, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010133 (2024) – published 3 may 2024.

A longitudinal study using social network analysis reveals that patterns of peer recognition change over time, and that peer recognition is related to both student outspokenness and academic performance.

Recognizing dominant cultures around assessment and educational change in physics programs

Diana sachmpazidi, chandra turpen, jayna petrella, robert p. dalka, and fatima n. abdurrahman, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010132 (2024) – published 3 may 2024.

Departments tend to take a rushed and ad hoc approach to departmental change and tend to ignore formal evidence.

Disparities in access to U.S. quantum information education

Josephine c. meyer, gina passante, and bethany wilcox, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010131 (2024) – published 2 may 2024.

Quantum information science education programs are less common in rural states and at institutions serving higher populations of low-income students, risking the exclusion of rural and low income populations from quantum careers.

Metacognition and epistemic cognition in physics are related to physics identity through the mediation of physics self-efficacy

Yaren ulu and sevda yerdelen-damar, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010130 (2024) – published 26 april 2024.

Educational efforts that focus on reducing the gender gap in physics self-efficacy may result in reductions of the gender gap in physics identity, recognition, and interest.

How to evaluate students’ decisions in a data comparison problem: Correct decision for the wrong reasons?

Karel kok, sophia chroszczinsky, and burkhard priemer, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010129 (2024) – published 26 april 2024.

Students give correct answers for the wrong reasons in multiple-choice problems when comparing datasets.

Analyzing interviews on computational thinking for introductory physics students: Toward a generalized assessment

Justin gambrell and eric brewe, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010128 (2024) – published 26 april 2024.

According to academic and industrial physicists, learning goals do not differ much between an introductory and a computationally-integrated introductory physics class.

Who and what gets recognized in peer recognition

Meagan sundstrom, l. n. simpfendoerfer, annie tan, ashley b. heim, and n. g. holmes, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010127 (2024) – published 15 april 2024.

There is a difference in the nature of the gender bias in student nominations of strong physics peers between lecture- and lab-based courses.

Substance-based and sequential reasoning about current: An example from a bulb-ranking task using a resources theoretical lens

Lauren c. bauman, trà huỳnh, and amy d. robertson, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010124 (2024) – published 12 april 2024.

Physics students can use substance-based reasoning about current in simple circuits in ways that can provide a productive starting place for instruction on circuits.

Validation of two test anxiety scales for physics undergraduate courses through confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis

Agostino cioffi, silvia galano, raffaella passeggia, and italo testa, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010126 (2024) – published 11 april 2024.

This article presents two versions of a validated scale to measure physics test anxiety.

Motivation and needs of informal physics practitioners

Shams el-adawy, alexandra c. lau, eleanor c. sayre, and claudia fracchiolla, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010125 (2024) – published 11 april 2024.

The motivations and professional development needs of physicists who engage with the public, capturing the findings that can used as the basis for meaningful support of practitioners of informal physics.

Exploring gender differences in the Force Concept Inventory using a random effects meta-analysis of international studies

Purwoko haryadi santoso, bayu setiaji, wahyudi, johan syahbrudin, syamsul bahri, fathurrahman, a. suci rizky ananda, and yusuf sodhiqin, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010601 (2024) – published 10 april 2024.

Mean Force Concept Inventory scores are higher for male students than female students in both North American and non North American studies.

Beyond normalized gain: Improved comparison of physics educational outcomes

Elaine christman, paul miller, and john stewart, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010123 (2024) – published 9 april 2024.

Normalized gain should not be used to compare conceptual inventory outcomes for institutions with different student populations.

Testing quantum reasoning: Developing, validating, and application of a questionnaire

Moritz waitzmann, ruediger scholz, and susanne wessnigk, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010122 (2024) – published 5 april 2024.

A validated inventory to test quantum reasoning relative to probability, superposition, and interference at the secondary school level.

Group dynamics in inquiry-based labs: Gender inequities and the efficacy of partner agreements

Matthew dew, emma hunt, viranga perera, jonathan perry, gregorio ponti, and andrew loveridge, phys. rev. phys. educ. res. 20 , 010121 (2024) – published 5 april 2024.

An examination of gender equity in lab roles when using lab partner agreements.

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Physicists propose path to faster, more flexible robots

by Lon Wagner, Virginia Tech

In a May 15 paper released in the journal Physical Review Letters , Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery.

The paper, written by doctoral candidate Chinmay Katke, assistant professor C. Nadir Kaplan, and co-author Peter A. Korevaar from Radboud University in the Netherlands, proposes a new physical mechanism that could speed up the expansion and contraction of hydrogels. For one thing, this opens up the possibility for hydrogels to replace rubber-based materials used to make flexible robots—enabling these fabricated materials to perhaps move with a speed and dexterity close to that of human hands .

Soft robots are already being used in manufacturing, where a hand-like device is programmed to grab an item from a conveyer belt—picture a hot dog or piece of soap—and place it in a container to be packaged. But the ones in use now lean on hydraulics or pneumatics to change the shape of the "hand" to pick up the item.

Akin to our own body, hydrogels mostly contain water and are everywhere around us, e.g., food jelly and shaving gel. Katke, Korevaar, and Kaplan's research appears to have found a method that allows hydrogels to swell and contract much more quickly, which would improve their flexibility and capability to function in different settings.

What did the Virginia Tech scientists do?

Living organisms use osmosis for such activities as bursting seed dispersing fruits in plants or absorbing water in the intestine. Normally, we think of osmosis as a flow of water moving through a membrane, with bigger molecules like polymers unable to move through. Such membranes are called semi-permeable membranes and were thought to be necessary to trigger osmosis.

Previously, Korevaar and Kaplan had done experiments by using a thin layer of hydrogel film comprised of polyacrylic acid. They had observed that even though the hydrogel film allows both water and ions to pass through and is not selective, the hydrogel rapidly swells due to osmosis when ions are released inside the hydrogel and shrinks back again.

Katke, Korevaar, and Kaplan developed a new theory to explain the above observation. This theory tells that microscopic interactions between ions and polyacrylic acid can make hydrogel swell when the released ions inside the hydrogel are unevenly spread out. They called this "diffusio-phoretic swelling of the hydrogels." Furthermore, this newly discovered mechanism allows hydrogels to swell much faster than what has been previously possible.

Why is that change important?

Kaplan explained: Soft agile robots are currently made with rubber, which "does the job but their shapes are changed hydraulically or pneumatically. This is not desired because it is difficult to imprint a network of tubes into these robots to deliver air or fluid into them."

Imagine, Kaplan said, how many different things you can do with your hand and how fast you can do them owing to your neural network and the motion of ions under your skin. Because the rubber and hydraulics are not as versatile as your biological tissues, which is a hydrogel, state-of-the-art soft robots can only do a limited number of movements."

How could this improve our lives?

Katke explained that the process they have researched allows the hydrogels to change shape then change back to their original form "significantly faster this way" in soft robots that are larger than ever before.

At present, only microscopic-sized hydrogel robots can respond to a chemical signal quickly enough to be useful and larger ones require hours to change shape, Katke said. By using the new diffusio-phoresis method, soft robots as large as a centimeter may be able to transform in just a few seconds, which is subject to further studies.

Larger agile soft robots that could respond quickly could improve assistive devices in healthcare, "pick-and-place" functions in manufacturing, search and rescue operations , cosmetics used for skincare, and contact lenses.

Journal information: Physical Review Letters

Provided by Virginia Tech

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A wave of retractions is shaking physics

Grappling with problematic papers and poorly documented data, researchers and journal editors gathered in Pittsburgh to hash out the best way forward.

• Sophia Chen archive page

Recent highly publicized scandals have gotten the physics community worried about its reputation—and its future. Over the last five years, several claims of major breakthroughs in quantum computing and superconducting research, published in prestigious journals, have disintegrated as other researchers found they could not reproduce the blockbuster results. 

Last week, around 50 physicists, scientific journal editors, and emissaries from the National Science Foundation gathered at the University of Pittsburgh to discuss the best way forward.“To be honest, we’ve let it go a little too long,” says physicist Sergey Frolov of the University of Pittsburgh, one of the conference organizers. 

The attendees gathered in the wake of retractions from two prominent research teams. One team, led by physicist Ranga Dias of the University of Rochester, claimed that it had invented the world’s first room temperature superconductor in a 2023 paper in Nature . After independent researchers reviewed the work, a subsequent investigation from Dias’s university found that he had fabricated and falsified his data. Nature retracted the paper in November 2023. Last year, Physical Review Letters retracted a 2021 publication on unusual properties in manganese sulfide that Dias co-authored. 

The other high-profile research team consisted of researchers affiliated with Microsoft working to build a quantum computer. In 2021, Nature retracted the team’s 2018 paper that claimed the creation of a pattern of electrons known as a Majorana particle, a long-sought breakthrough in quantum computing. Independent investigations of that research found that the researchers had cherry-picked their data, thus invalidating their findings. Another less-publicized research team pursuing Majorana particles fell to a similar fate, with Science retracting a 2017 article claiming indirect evidence of the particles in 2022.

In today’s scientific enterprise, scientists perform research and submit the work to editors. The editors assign anonymous referees to review the work, and if the paper passes review, the work becomes part of the accepted scientific record. When researchers do publish bad results, it’s not clear who should be held accountable—the referees who approved the work for publication, the journal editors who published it, or the researchers themselves. “Right now everyone’s kind of throwing the hot potato around,” says materials scientist Rachel Kurchin of Carnegie Mellon University, who attended the Pittsburgh meeting.

Much of the three-day meeting, named the International Conference on Reproducibility in Condensed Matter Physics (a field that encompasses research into various states of matter and why they exhibit certain properties), focused on the basic scientific principle that an experiment and its analysis must yield the same results when repeated. “If you think of research as a product that is paid for by the taxpayer, then reproducibility is the quality assurance department,” Frolov told MIT Technology Review . Reproducibility offers scientists a check on their work, and without it, researchers might waste time and money on fruitless projects based on unreliable prior results, he says. 

In addition to presentations and panel discussions, there was a workshop during which participants split into groups and drafted ideas for guidelines that researchers, journals, and funding agencies could follow to prioritize reproducibility in science. The tone of the proceedings stayed civil and even lighthearted at times. Physicist Vincent Mourik of Forschungszentrum Jülich, a German research institution, showed a photo of a toddler eating spaghetti to illustrate his experience investigating another team’s now-retracted experiment. ​​Occasionally the discussion almost sounded like a couples counseling session, with NSF program director Tomasz Durakiewicz asking a panel of journal editors and a researcher to reflect on their “intimate bond based on trust.”

But researchers did not shy from directly criticizing Nature , Science , and the Physical Review family of journals, all of which sent editors to attend the conference. During a panel, physicist Henry Legg of the University of Basel in Switzerland called out the journal Physical Review B for publishing a paper on a quantum computing device by Microsoft researchers that, for intellectual-property reasons, omitted information required for reproducibility. “It does seem like a step backwards,” Legg said. (Sitting in the audience, Physical Review B editor Victor Vakaryuk said that the paper’s authors had agreed to release “the remaining device parameters” by the end of the year.) 

Journals also tend to “focus on story,” said Legg, which can lead editors to be biased toward experimental results that match theoretical predictions. Jessica Thomas, the executive editor of the American Physical Society, which publishes the Physical Review journals, pushed back on Legg’s assertion. “I don’t think that when editors read papers, they’re thinking about a press release or [telling] an amazing story,” Thomas told MIT Technology Review . “I think they’re looking for really good science.” Describing science through narrative is a necessary part of communication, she says. “We feel a responsibility that science serves humanity, and if humanity can’t understand what’s in our journals, then we have a problem.” 

Frolov, whose independent review with Mourik of the Microsoft work spurred its retraction, said he and Mourik have had to repeatedly e-mail the Microsoft researchers and other involved parties to insist on data. “You have to learn how to be an asshole,” he told MIT Technology Review . “It shouldn’t be this hard.” 

At the meeting, editors pointed out that mistakes, misconduct, and retractions have always been a part of science in practice. “I don’t think that things are worse now than they have been in the past,” says Karl Ziemelis, an editor at Nature .

Ziemelis also emphasized that “retractions are not always bad.” While some retractions occur because of research misconduct, “some retractions are of a much more innocent variety—the authors having made or being informed of an honest mistake, and upon reflection, feel they can no longer stand behind the claims of the paper,” he said while speaking on a panel. Indeed, physicist James Hamlin of the University of Florida, one of the presenters and an independent reviewer of Dias’s work, discussed how he had willingly retracted a 2009 experiment published in Physical Review Letters in 2021 after another researcher’s skepticism prompted him to reanalyze the data. 

What’s new is that “the ease of sharing data has enabled scrutiny to a larger extent than existed before,” says Jelena Stajic, an editor at Science . Journals and researchers need a “more standardized approach to how papers should be written and what needs to be shared in peer review and publication,” she says.

Focusing on the scandals “can be distracting” from systemic problems in reproducibility, says attendee Frank Marsiglio, a physicist at the University of Alberta in Canada. Researchers aren’t required to make unprocessed data readily available for outside scrutiny. When Marsiglio has revisited his own published work from a few years ago, sometimes he’s had trouble recalling how his former self drew those conclusions because he didn’t leave enough documentation. “How is somebody who didn’t write the paper going to be able to understand it?” he says.

Problems can arise when researchers get too excited about their own ideas. “What gets the most attention are cases of fraud or data manipulation, like someone copying and pasting data or editing it by hand,” says conference organizer Brian Skinner, a physicist at Ohio State University. “But I think the much more subtle issue is there are cool ideas that the community wants to confirm, and then we find ways to confirm those things.”

But some researchers may publish bad data for a more straightforward reason. The academic culture, popularly described as “publish or perish,” creates an intense pressure on researchers to deliver results. “It’s not a mystery or pathology why somebody who’s under pressure in their work might misstate things to their supervisor,” said Eugenie Reich, a lawyer who represents scientific whistleblowers, during her talk.

Notably, the conference lacked perspectives from researchers based outside the US, Canada, and Europe, and from researchers at companies. In recent years, academics have flocked to companies such as Google, Microsoft, and smaller startups to do quantum computing research, and they have published their work in Nature , Science , and the Physical Review journals. Frolov says he reached out to researchers from a couple of companies, but “that didn’t work out just because of timing,” he says. He aims to include researchers from that arena in future conversations.

After discussing the problems in the field, conference participants proposed feasible solutions for sharing data to improve reproducibility. They discussed how to persuade the community to view data sharing positively, rather than seeing the demand for it as a sign of distrust. They also brought up the practical challenges of asking graduate students to do even more work by preparing their data for outside scrutiny when it may already take them over five years to complete their degree. Meeting participants aim to publicly release a paper with their suggestions. “I think trust in science will ultimately go up if we establish a robust culture of shareable, reproducible, replicable results,” says Frolov. 

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New Discoveries Indicate Warp Drive Feasibility According to Current Physics: Highlights from ScienceAlert

T he constraints of cosmic speed limits present a formidable challenge to human interstellar aspirations. The fastest speed achievable under conventional circumstances is confined by the speed of light in a vacuum, making the prospect of traveling vast cosmic distances daunting to say the least.

Nevertheless, theories in physics suggest potential escape routes from these limitations via distortions in the very fabric of space-time itself. Concepts such as wormholes, known as Einstein-Rosen bridges, offer theoretical passageways by bending space-time.

Another fascinating idea is the warp drive, or the Alcubierre drive, a theoretical propulsion system that could achieve faster-than-light travel by warping space-time. This system would contract space before a spacecraft and extend it behind, effectively moving it through the cosmos at a speed that exceeds the speed of light without violating the known laws of physics.

frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen>

An international scientific group called Applied Physics is researching concepts for realizing warp drive technology. Their recent findings propose what is known as the “constant velocity warp drive,” a groundbreaking concept that could potentially introduce practical applications of warp drives in the future.

According to physicist Jared Fuchs from Applied Physics, “This study changes the conversation about warp drives,” adding that their model demonstrates these drives might not be limited to the realm of science fiction.

Whereas Miguel Alcubierre’s original 1994 warp drive concept required an impractical negative energy density, recent efforts by Applied Physics look into creating powerful gravitational fields to distort space-time without invoking exotic particles or dark energy.

The novel approach involves a stable shell of matter that manipulates space-time as if it were responding to gravity, allowing a spacecraft to move at sublight speeds while preserving the fundamental mechanics of the Alcubierre metric.

The research team’s documentation states that their constant velocity warp drive is the first physical model consistent with Alcubierre’s geometric transport properties. Despite its present impracticalities, it is seen as an important step towards the realization of physical warp drives.

Although still far from being viable, there is hope for further development. The team is working diligently to refine the model and investigate possibilities for achieving higher velocities.

Physicist Christopher Helmerich from Applied Physics insists that while the energy requirements remain substantial, this advance indicates that warp effects may be obtainable without the need for exotic matter. This could signify a future where energy demands are significantly reduced.

The team’s comprehensive study has been published in Classical and Quantum Gravity .

FAQ Section

What is a warp drive.

A warp drive, such as the hypothetical Alcubierre drive, is a proposed method of faster-than-light space travel. It involves distorting space-time around a spacecraft, contracting space ahead and expanding it behind the vehicle.

Can anything travel faster than the speed of light?

According to physics as we currently understand it, nothing with mass can surpass the speed of light in a vacuum, which is 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per second). Warp drive concepts offer a theoretical workaround by manipulating space-time itself rather than the object moving through it.

Does the new warp drive research require exotic matter or dark energy?

The recent research by Applied Physics suggests a warp drive that does not depend on exotic matter or dark energy to function. Instead, it envisions creating powerful gravitational fields that could warp space-time in a similar manner.

Is the new warp drive concept practical for use now?

No, the current concept outlined by Applied Physics is not yet practical for implementation. It remains a theoretical approach that requires further refinement and a considerable amount of energy to realize.

Where can I find the published study on the warp drive?

The study discussing the constant velocity warp drive is published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity and can be accessed online through the provided link .

The realm of interstellar travel continues to fascinate and challenge scientists. With the pursuit of warp drive technology, researchers from Applied Physics have marked a significant stride towards bending the rules of traditional physics to accommodate faster-than-light travel. While such technology remains within the halls of theoretical physics and is far from ready to launch us towards distant stars, the steadfast progress keeps the dream of exploring the cosmos within the grasp of future possibilities. Humanity’s quest for reaching beyond our solar system endures, bolstered by the inventive minds imagining ways to navigate the final frontier.