Nature Physics, Published online: 29 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03310-7
For about ten years, the lifetime of a nuclear metastable state in singly charged thorium-229 ions has puzzled physicists, because it appeared to be shorter than theoretically expected. The solution provides a hint towards an uncommon decay channel.
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- Thorium-229 lifetime locked down
- Growth and control of suspended ice bridges during sessile droplet freezingNature Physics, Published online: 28 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03296-2 Frost propagation on surfaces is accelerated by the growth of in-plane ice fragments that connect supercooled sessile droplets. Now a competing phenomenon involving suspended out-of-plane ice bridges that decelerate frost propagation is reported.
- Electron matter waves with internal torqueNature Physics, Published online: 27 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03308-1 Laser light cannot probe or control rotation at the single-atom level in a material. Now electron matter waves with internal torque show promise for studying and manipulating materials on atomic scales.
- Robustness of Majorana modes to a disorder potential in atomic chains on a superconducting Rashba alloyNature Physics, Published online: 26 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03322-3 The presence of Majorana zero modes is often difficult to confirm experimentally due to the detrimental effects of disorder. Now, a chain of magnetic atoms on a proximatized surface is shown to exhibit robust Majorana states with disorder present.
- Reconfigurable and multifunctional circuits using the Stark effect in black phosphorusNature Physics, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03293-5 Tuning of the Stark effect in black phosphorus is used to build adjustable digital and analogue circuits including a high-performance transistor array for neural networks. It offers a promising opportunity for next-generation electronics.
- Oxygen-centred planar orbitals in the electronic structure and spin-density-wave reconstruction of multilayer nickelatesNature Physics, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03286-4 The potential similarities in the superconductivity in nickelates and cuprates is a topic of debate. Now a distinct likeness is observed in the electronic properties of these materials, which hints that the microscopic mechanisms may be related.
- Entanglement-enabled image transmission through complex mediaNature Physics, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03265-9 Classical approaches to imaging through complex media do not account for the quantum nature of the incident field. Now, images encoded on an entangled two-photon state are shown to transmit through a scattering medium whereas scattered by classical light.
- Simple input–output dependencies explain neuronal activityNature Physics, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41567-026-03306-3 In neurons, the mapping from inputs to output involves complex biophysical processes. Despite this complexity, it is now shown that simple artificial models explain a large fraction of the variability in neuronal activity.
