Quantum physics

Physicists recently mapped the hidden shape that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using a new method that’s expected to become ubiquitous.

From living matter to molecules to elementary particles, the world is made of “chiral” objects that differ from their reflected forms.

Quantum gravity could help physicists unite the currently incompatible worlds of quantum mechanics and gravity. In this episode, Monika Schleier-Smith discusses her pioneering experimental approach, using laser-cooled atoms to explore whether gravity could emerge from quantum entanglement.

A new proposal makes the case that paraparticles — a new category of quantum particle — could be created in exotic materials.

Heat is supposed to ruin anything it touches. But physicists have shown that an idealized form of magnetism is heatproof.

Researchers got a better look at the thoughts of chatbots, amateurs learned exactly how complicated simple systems can be, and quantum computers passed an essential milestone.

Three new species of superconductivity were spotted this year, illustrating the myriad ways electrons can join together to form a frictionless quantum soup.

The reference frames from which observers view quantum events can themselves have multiple possible locations at once — an insight with potentially major ramifications.

New observations of microscopic vortices confirm the existence of a paradoxical phase of matter that may also arise inside neutron stars.