Nature Physics

Author Correction: Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires

Author Correction: Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires, Published online: 18 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0251-4

Author Correction: Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires

Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings

Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0202-0

The organization of small clusters of connected cells confined to an egg chamber during early development can be mapped onto a tree packing problem. Entropically preferred packing configurations are shown to arise more readily in experiment.

Maximal spontaneous photon emission and energy loss from free electrons

Maximal spontaneous photon emission and energy loss from free electrons, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0180-2

Calculating the amount of radiation that can ultimately be extracted from free electrons near an arbitrary material structure is a challenge. Now, an upper limit to the spontaneous photon emission of electrons is demonstrated, regardless of geometry.

Harnessing electro-optic correlations in an efficient mechanical converter

Harnessing electro-optic correlations in an efficient mechanical converter, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0210-0

A mechanical-mediated quantum-compatible microwave–optical converter achieves high efficiency through a feed-forward protocol that harnesses correlations in the output noise.

Measurements in two bases are sufficient for certifying high-dimensional entanglement

Measurements in two bases are sufficient for certifying high-dimensional entanglement, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0203-z

Certification of high-dimensional entanglement is required for improved quantum communication protocols, and is now shown to be achievable in an efficient manner by measuring quantum states twice in two different bases.

Topological spin excitations in a three-dimensional antiferromagnet

Topological spin excitations in a three-dimensional antiferromagnet, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0213-x

A neutron scattering study of the three-dimensional antiferromagnet Cu3TeO6 uncovers evidence for topological crossings in the magnon spectra of this system.

Neutrino interferometry for high-precision tests of Lorentz symmetry with IceCube

Neutrino interferometry for high-precision tests of Lorentz symmetry with IceCube, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0172-2

A violation of Lorentz symmetry would represent a fundamental departure from the physics of the standard model. Searching for anomalous neutrino oscillations, the IceCube collaboration reports no violation, and puts stringent bounds on its existence.

Connected development

Connected development, Published online: 16 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0236-3

Mapping cell lineages onto a problem in graph theory suggests that physical principles regulate cell positioning during egg development in the fruit fly — providing an elegant example of how physics can advance our understanding of biology.

Publisher Correction: Topological quantum phase transition in the Ising-like antiferromagnetic spin chain BaCo2V2O8

Publisher Correction: Topological quantum phase transition in the Ising-like antiferromagnetic spin chain BaCo₂V₂O₈, Published online: 12 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0248-z

Publisher Correction: Topological quantum phase transition in the Ising-like antiferromagnetic spin chain BaCo2V2O8

Publisher Correction: Long-distance spin transport through a graphene quantum Hall antiferromagnet

Publisher Correction: Long-distance spin transport through a graphene quantum Hall antiferromagnet, Published online: 09 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0237-2

Publisher Correction: Long-distance spin transport through a graphene quantum Hall antiferromagnet

Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires

Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires, Published online: 09 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0179-8

Transport measurements performed on MoGe superconducting nanowires reveal a quantitative agreement with quantum critical behaviour driven by a pair-breaking mechanism.

Superlight inverse Doppler effect

Superlight inverse Doppler effect, Published online: 09 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0209-6

The authors theoretically investigate a novel form of a Doppler effect in homogeneous systems with positive refractive index that occurs under certain conditions. It is suggested that this Doppler effect can be experimentally separated from other Doppler effects by using polaritons such as those found in graphene.

Tunable photonic heat transport in a quantum heat valve

Tunable photonic heat transport in a quantum heat valve, Published online: 09 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0199-4

The state of a superconducting circuit qubit governs the photonic heat flow through an integrated assembly, constituting a quantum heat valve that provides a testbed for exploring quantum thermodynamics in a circuit quantum electrodynamics setting.

Coexisting first- and second-order electronic phase transitions in a correlated oxide

Coexisting first- and second-order electronic phase transitions in a correlated oxide, Published online: 09 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0201-1

A phase transition between metallic and insulating states is observed to simultaneously happen in two ways at once. The bulk of the sample shows an instantaneous jump in the conductivity, while 1D domain walls show a slow switching into a metallic state.

All stitched up

All stitched up, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0222-9

All stitched up

Inside the cloud

Inside the cloud, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0221-x

Inside the cloud

Theoretical introspection

Theoretical introspection, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0198-5

Theoretical introspection

Organoids of intelligence

Organoids of intelligence, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0200-2

Organoids of intelligence

Physical biology of the cancer cell glycocalyx

Physical biology of the cancer cell glycocalyx, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0186-9

It may look like little more than slime, but the glycocalyx coating our cells plays a key role in cell signalling. And changes to its physical structure have been linked to cancer, triggering emergent behaviours that form the focus of this Review.

Biophysics across time and space

Biophysics across time and space, Published online: 04 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0206-9

Understanding the behaviour of almost any biological object is a fundamentally multiscale problem — a challenge that biophysicists have been increasingly embracing, building on two centuries of biophysical studies at a variety of length scales.