Physics Magazine

If a fabric unravels in one spot, how likely is it to come fully undone? The question is akin to topological defect propagation in a periodic structure. Now physicists have an answer that could lead to fabrics with controllable damage resistance. go.aps.org/4blg5uE

Two independent research teams have devised a new way to sustain a continuous, uninterrupted entangled link between distant qubits. Their goal: creating a large modular quantum system that is greater than the sum of its parts. go.aps.org/4wHWz3U

The struggle to supply AI models with enough energy to sustain them prompts the questions: how did new technologies overcome similar bottlenecks in the past? and how might they do so in the future, real or imagined? go.aps.org/3QLQkwH

The Moon should jiggle when gravitational waves pass by, and seismometers on the lunar surface could detect them. New research suggests that the signal may be stronger than expected, especially in regions on the Moon's farside where the crust is thicker. go.aps.org/4f7HyRA

Researchers have proposed performing quantum simulations using arrays of helium-3 atoms. Because the species is so light, atoms can be shuttled about more quickly than heavier ones, enabling more operations before the atoms lose their quantum coherence. go.aps.org/4vguTlh

The male fruit fly produces sperm cells that are as long as its entire 2-mm body. New research has revealed how the fly can store thousands of these cells in a tiny reproductive organ only a tenth as wide as the cells are long. go.aps.org/44jh7n2

Like other 2D lattices, skyrmion lattices can exhibit defects where one skyrmion has a surfeit or a deficit of neighbors. Now researchers have developed a way to control and study these defects, which could potentially be used to store information. go.aps.org/4vinu50

Whether new words, concepts, and memes spread rapidly depends on how rooted they are in specific communities. The deeper the roots, the slower the spread. go.aps.org/4y6wHjD

Researchers have inferred that a subset of gravitational wave observations arises from hierarchical mergers. In these events, at least one member of the pair is not the remnant of a dead star but instead the product of a previous black hole merger. go.aps.org/4ymL7fI

Researchers have demonstrated a spectroscopic method for characterizing the geometry and spin configuration of clusters of 3–12 iron atoms. Their technique could improve understanding of iron clusters in interstellar space and industrial catalysis. go.aps.org/4eNLiHS

The collective behavior of networks of neurons appears to be governed by just a few variables, suggesting that a mean-field theory is applicable. Now researchers have found they can indeed use mean-field theory to describe a network's activity patterns. go.aps.org/4vIiqYS

Today, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory kicks off its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a ten-year effort to create a time-lapse record of the cosmos. go.aps.org/4gfcwts

As AI becomes increasingly capable of performing research tasks, an old question acquires new urgency: What is a PhD really for? go.aps.org/4v3V3HS

Researchers have observed synchronization between two trapped-ion quantum oscillators. Remarkably, each oscillator shows no phase preference by itself. The beat emerges only when the two are measured together. go.aps.org/4av9r4K

The flux of cosmic rays that reach Earth is influenced by the magnetic field entrained in gusts of plasma in the solar wind, researchers have found. The observation could lead to a new way to study the magnetic structures in solar storms. go.aps.org/44B4yn2

Cryogenic electron microscopy has struggled to produce clear images of small proteins, which make up around 90% of the ones found in the human body. Now researchers have developed a laser-based method that yields higher contrast. go.aps.org/4xMP7FM

Researchers have proposed a way to make a magnon frequency comb, a spin wave containing many equally spaced frequencies. If implemented in a device, the frequency comb would be especially useful for information processing and magnetic-field detection. go.aps.org/4vFZz0r

Researchers have used geometric concepts to boost the effectiveness of the time-dependent variant of density-functional theory. The achievement opens up DFT for studying systems out of equilibrium. go.aps.org/4esKM3d

Chocolate syrup and other non-Brownian suspensions seem to have memory: their response to a new stress can depend on the direction and amplitude of past flows. Now researchers have shown that the two recollections stem from the same nonequilibrium physics. go.aps.org/4xMpTHH

Theorists have shown that certain string scattering amplitudes are the unique solutions to a set of minimal conditions. The calculations help establish string theory as emerging from a set of fundamental principles that any theory of nature must respect. go.aps.org/3QYEhfk