Nature Physics

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01160-5

Table-top superfluid experiments offer a way of bringing the physics of astrophysical black holes into the lab. But the presence of two event horizons in these superfluid black holes complicates matters — and makes them more interesting.

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01166-7

With increasing neutron number, the size of a nucleus grows, subject to subtle effects that act as fingerprints of its internal structure. A fresh look at potassium calls for theory to decipher the details.

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01130-x

Muon colliders offer enormous potential for the exploration of the particle physics frontier but are challenging to realize. A new international collaboration is forming to make such a muon collider a reality.

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01153-4

Device-independent randomness expansion is demonstrated in an experiment that is secure in the presence of a classical eavesdropper who does not share any entanglement with the setup.

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01141-8

Branching microtubule nucleation plays a major part in cellular processes driving eukaryotic cell division. A combination of microscopy approaches and hydrodynamic theory is used to show how the condensed protein TPX2 on a microtubule reorganizes according to the Rayleigh–Plateau instability.

Nature Physics, Published online: 28 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01136-5

The charge radii of potassium isotopes up to 52K are measured, and show no sign of magicity at 32 neutrons as previously suggested in calcium. The observations are interpreted with coupled cluster and density functional theory calculations.

Nature Physics, Published online: 26 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01180-9

Publisher Correction: Enhanced thermal Hall effect in the square-lattice Néel state

Nature Physics, Published online: 25 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01118-7

Among the many reasons a signal may deviate from perfect periodicity, quantum-limited jitter is arguably the most fundamental. A clever experiment has now stripped away technical noise to unveil quantum-limited jitter of ultrafast soliton frequency combs.

Nature Physics, Published online: 25 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01152-5

Quantum jitter fundamentally limits the performance of microresonator frequency combs. The timing jitter of the solitons that generate the comb spectra is analysed, reaching the quantum limit and establishing fundamental limits for soliton microcombs.

Nature Physics, Published online: 22 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01178-3

Publisher Correction: Resonant phase-matching between a light wave and a free-electron wavefunction

Nature Physics, Published online: 21 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01127-6

The magnetic properties of intercalated metal dichalcogenides are dramatically affected by small crystal imperfections, potentially providing design principles and materials for spintronic devices.

Nature Physics, Published online: 21 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01137-4

Wavefront shaping can reduce uncertainties due to measurement noise through disordered media—key to many imaging applications. Optimal precision can be achieved using light fields that are eigenstates of an operator related to the medium’s scattering matrix.

Nature Physics, Published online: 21 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01123-w

Coexistence of a spin-glass phase with antiferromagnetism in an intercalated crystal produces a large exchange bias effect. This is due to the interplay of disorder and frustration.

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01169-4

Publisher Correction: A charge-density-wave topological semimetal

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01162-3

Recent advances in spectroscopy give access to the decay time of excitations in disordered insulating silicon close to the metal–insulator transition, revealing similarities to high-temperature cuprate superconductors.

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01149-0

The combination of disorder and strong interactions makes it hard to understand the nature of doped silicon’s insulating phase. State-of-the-art spectroscopy measurements show marginal electronic behaviour reminiscent of what is seen in the cuprates.

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01139-2

Starting from a strongly correlated state, with highly non-Gaussian correlations, a Gaussian state can emerge dynamically over time. Experiments with ultracold atoms show how the mixing between phase and density fluctuations plays the crucial role.

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01134-7

Characterizing the epithelial tissue of a shape-shifting marine animal as an integrated composite material reveals a ductile-to-brittle phase transition that captures how the tissue responds to failure.

Nature Physics, Published online: 18 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01111-0

Self-referenced attosecond streaking enables in situ measurements of Auger emission in atomic neon excited by femtosecond pulses from an X-ray free-electron laser with subfemtosecond time resolution and despite the jitter inherent to X-ray free-electron lasers.

Nature Physics, Published online: 12 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01135-6

Methodology adapted from data science sparked the field of materials informatics, and materials databases are at the heart of it. Applying artificial intelligence to these databases will allow the prediction of the properties of complex organic crystals.