Physics

This invited publication highlights the contributions of Distinguished Professor Hao Li to AI and materials science – focusing on their original concept for a digital materials ecosystem.

Researchers from Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo develop a mutual information estimator capable of accurately measuring information flow to biological outputs without needing input quantities

Researchers found that Y-doping (adding yttrium) to an inexpensive nickel catalyst was the key to speeding up an otherwise sluggish reaction that results in hydrogen – which can be used as a sustainable fuel.

What’s going on in there? An international research team developed a method to pull back the veil on the unknown processes going on inside quantum computers - which may help us build more reliable quantum machines.

A team led by researchers at Tohoku University have taken the first step toward developing antiferromagnetic technology. They detected a liquid-crystal phase that may change the game for spintronic devices.

We uncover moiré-induced electronic reconstruction in PtSe2/PtTe2 heterobilayers, where interfacial hybridization, geometric corrugation, and spin–orbit coupling generate emergent flat bands and distinctive eye-shaped band splitting, as directly confirmed by combined DFT and ARPES measurements.

We all want cheap, long-lasting, green, and efficient energy. Researchers are helping to make this dream a reality with a new distortion-resistant material that greatly improves these aspects of a battery’s cathode.

The Ateneo de Manila University’Research on Optical and Electronic Systems (ROSES) Laboratory, the Philippines' first and only facility dedicated to locally designing Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and training PIC designers.

The University of Osaka’s Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB) is a premier research institute in Japan, distinguished by its extensive global network of leading institutions worldwide.

Imagine a “smart fluid” whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of “smart fluids” called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host.

Research from The University of Osaka highlights a new model of a gyroscopic wave energy converter. The device was shown to be capable of absorbing up to half of incoming wave energy across a wide range of frequencies, meaning it could achieve the theoretical maximum efficiency. These results provide important design insights for more efficient and adaptable wave energy technologies.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a much more efficient way to produce ethylamine - a crucial component for dyes, pharmaceuticals, and more. It all starts with a catalyst.

Take a dive into the streamlined workflow of DIVE (Descriptive Interpretation of Visual Expression)! DIVE combines multiple AI agents to extract images from about 4,000 scientific publications to propose new materials – all within minutes.

Researchers at Tohoku University developed a wastewater treatment method to help clear pollution caused by toxic, non-biodegradable dyes. The method uses a 3D, sponge-like covalent organic network to purify wastewater in a sustainable manner.

Researchers have developed a new strategy to overcome a long-standing limitation in plasmonic loss by reshaping light–matter interactions through substrate engineering.

By utilizing the GaAs substrate miscut, we can modulate the superconducting critical temperature, current, and magnetic field of wafer-scale Al nanofilms grown by molecular beam epitaxy by approximately 10%, 100%, and 1000%, respectively. Our approach points to a simple method of tailoring grain architecture and superconductivity in Al, which is a critical requirement for advancements in quantum computation and engineering.

DGIST is creating AI that can physically collaborate with people, truly personalised healthcare, and quantum sensors which will perceive the world in entirely new ways.

Understanding how tree-like structures that form in thin films could be the key to next-generation materials for beyond-5G communications technologies.

Hiraku Nakajima, a mathematician and current President of the International Mathematical Union, talks about how mathematics has been developing quietly before society’s eyes, and where he wants it to go in the future.

Researchers use high-brilliance synchrotron radiation to identify the most optimum composition with the highest half-metallic nature.

Quantum effects in Kondo lattices can determine whether a system behaves magnetically or non-magnetically, opening new avenues for designing future quantum materials and technologies

New molecular architecture enables the natural formation of built-in p/n junctions essential for efficient light-to-electricity conversion

CO2 reduction to storable fuels or valuable chemical products provides a carbon-neutral cycle that can mitigate the rapid consumption of fossil fuels and increasing CO2 emissions. Although solar-driven CO2 reduction holds great promise for sustainable energy, the role and control of atomic-level active sites in governing intermediate formation and conversion pathways remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate a capped VLS growth method employed to grow continuous ultrathin alloy films of molybdenum vanadium sulfide with sulfur vacancies, i.e., Svac-Mo1-xVxS2. The findings indicate a correlation between the density of Svac and the vanadium concentration, leading to the formation of V–Svac pairs, which serve as the active sites for CO2 reduction under solar light with water.

Accelerating materials science R&D to solve global environmental issues.

Carbon-based batteries could become safer, more durable, and more powerful by following this new method that fundamentally redesigns how fullerene molecules are connected.

A joint team from UOsaka has uncovered the core principles of the loss maximization in rotor-driven gas-liquid two-phase flows. Performing numerical simulations on the supercomputer "SQUID", they identified the causes as direct collisions between the rotor and the liquid surface and pressure imbalances around the rotor. The findings suggest that, in a resonant state, the enhanced fluid motion is drawn toward the front of the rotor, and the flow instability is intensified behind it. The insights from this research would open the possibility of improving energy efficiency, enhancing reliability and lifespan, and providing new design guidelines for various industrial applications.

First visible ‘time crystal’ developed by WPI-SKCM² members, advancing the institute’s goal to engineer novel forms of matter

In a new Nature Physics study, researchers created particle-like so-called “vortex knots” inside chiral nematic liquid crystals, a twisted fluid similar to those used in LCD screens. For the first time, these knots are stable and could be reversibly switched between different knotted forms, using electric pulses to fuse and split them.

A Filipino-led team of international researchers has developed a physics-based algorithm that could train AI to greatly improve weather forecasts.

Researchers at Tohoku University found the key to taming electrochemical reactions so they don’t produce rogue byproducts instead of valuable fuels.