Synopsis: The Certainty of Uncertainty
September 6, 2012
State of the art quantum measurements show that the original formulation of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle can be violated.
Viewpoints
Surface Folds Make Tears and Chips
September 4, 2012
Sissi de Beer and Martin H. Müser
Fluidlike folding instabilities of solid surfaces complicate the machining of metals to perfection
Quasicrystals, Meet Topological Insulators
September 4, 2012
Alexander Quandt
The properties that characterize topological insulators, such as symmetry protected surface states, also appear in materials with quasiperiodic order.
Getting into a Proper Jam
August 27, 2012
Eric Corwin
Numerical simulations are revealing general properties of jammed states of matter.
Spin-Orbit Coupling Comes in From the Cold
August 27, 2012
Erich J. Mueller
Experimentalists simulate the effects of spin-orbit coupling in ultracold Fermi gases, paving the way for the creation of new exotic phases of matter.
More Viewpoints
Moving Traps Offer Fast Delivery of Cold Ions
Bacteria Evolve to Go Against the Grain
A Fuller Picture of the Higgs Boson
View All Viewpoints »
Synopses
More tau leptons than expected
September 6, 2012
An excess of tau leptons in bottom meson decays signals a puzzling departure from the standard model.
Alphabet Waves
September 6, 2012
Researchers explain where those X- and Y-shaped waves at the shore come from.
An Anyon Detector
September 6, 2012
A proposed interferometry experiment could detect quantum states, called anyons, which are neither bosons nor fermions.
Artificial Light in a Quantum Spin Ice
August 30, 2012
Theorists consider the experimental signature of a quantum spin ice.
More Synopses
Time-Dependent Fields Improve Superlens Resolution
Skin-Deep Spintronics
Sailing Choppy Gravitational Seas
View All Synopses »
Focus
Some Communities Dependent upon Few Species
August 31, 2012
Some ecological communities may be acutely sensitive to the survival of certain key species, thanks to the details of the species’ interdependence, according to simulations.
How to Manipulate Nanoparticles with Lasers
August 24, 2012
Theorists explain how a new generation of laser tractor beams can manipulate nanoparticles with unprecedented dexterity and precision.
More Focus
Magnetic Fields Explain Lunar Surface Features
Tracking Down an Epidemic’s Source
View All Focus »
Read More About
- Astrophysics
- Atomic and Molecular Physics
- Biological Physics
- Complex Systems
- Fluid Dynamics
- Interdisciplinary Physics
- Materials Science
- Nanophysics
- Optics
- Particle Physics
- Photonics
- Plasma Physics
- Quantum Information
- Soft Matter
- Statistical Physics
- Topological Insulators
View All Subjects
Editors' Suggestions
Papers the editors and referees find of particular interest, importance, or clarity.
Physical Review Letters
Physical Review B
Keep Up With Physics