A new theoretical framework for plastic neural networks predicts dynamical regimes where synapses rather than neurons primarily drive the network’s behavior, leading to an alternative candidate mechanism for working memory in the brain.

A novel form of optical nonreciprocal dissipation engineering marks a milestone in the long-standing challenge of building practical on-chip isolators for photonic integrated circuits.

Certain motional modes in trapped-ion crystals are hard to cool. A technique to do so indirectly involves transferring motional quanta from these modes to ones that cool more efficiently.

A theoretical study of self-assembly finds that hexagon-shaped building blocks can form large structures faster than triangular or square blocks.

A new model describes the population of black hole binaries without assumptions on the shape of their distribution—a capability that could boost the discovery potential of gravitational-wave observations.

A novel theoretical framework unravels how processes in complex systems that occur at different timescales are coupled together at the functional level by sharing information.

A method of obtaining precise lower bounds on the minimum energy for quantum many-body systems with local interactions can be applied to a wide range of problems in quantum many-body physics.

Standard descriptions of phase separation in elastic systems fail to explain structural patterns that emerge. A new theory based on nonlocal elasticity successfully does so.

A numerical investigation has revealed a surprising correspondence between a lattice spin model and a quantum field theory.

A new formulation of non-Hermitian band theory is applicable to any number of spatial dimensions, a development useful for the study of physical effects exclusive to open systems.

A new mechanism to enhance the Nernst effect—wherein heat flow in a solid is converted to voltage—via magnetic fluctuations may lead to new applications in energy-harvesting devices.

Spin liquids are intrinsically difficult to prepare, observe, and characterize, but carefully designed multilayer structures in 2D materials may overcome these obstacles.

A minimal model describes the emergence of traveling and oscillating states, unifying a broad range of multicomponent systems where effective interactions violate Newton’s third law.

A quantum spin-1/2 chain model with kinetic constraints that trigger jamming of its quasiparticles reveals a potential way to explore quantum properties in some systems on a macroscopic scale.

Using the electric field of a laser pulse to rapidly shake the atoms in a material can stabilize a ferroelectric state, a proposal that extends the concept of “Kapitza engineering” to quantum critical points.

An extended theory of electrical transport illuminates how light is emitted when an electrical current flows through a metal-insulator-metal tunneling junction.

A new quantum memory, based on a neutral-atom cloud, demonstrates the ability to manipulate a large stream of optical qubits and to support key applications essential to future, large-scale quantum networks.

Cat qubits—a promising route for quantum error correction—can be stabilized with engineered dissipation. A method for increasing the dissipation rate shows greater resiliency of such a qubit to bit-flip errors.