Some phases of matter cannot be described using the conventional framework of symmetry breaking and exhibit a so-called quantum order. One type of quantum order, known as topological order, is ...

Science can be difficult to explain to the public. In fact, any subfield of science can be difficult to explain to another scientist who studies in a different area. Explaining a theoretical science ...

In a quiet corner of low-temperature physics, researchers have stumbled on a phase of matter that seems to break one of the field’s unwritten rules: it works without well-defined particles. Instead of ...

Light that twists as it travels and materials whose internal order is knotted like a pretzel are starting to collide in the lab, and the result is a new class of strange, topological effects. Instead ...

Non-zero energy exchange with the environment can transform originally Hermitian systems into non-Hermitian ones. Beyond introducing complexity into the energy spectrum, non-Hermiticity can also ...

In a breakthrough bridging photonics and condensed matter physics, an international research team has unveiled a new optical method to engineer and control topological solitons—such as skyrmions and ...

Topological states of matter are a particular class of non-Landau states, which are characterized by the notion of topological order. For example in the fractional quantum Hall effect, the topological ...

Bulk bismuth has a rhombohedral crystal structure with puckered layers held together by van der Waals forces. When thinned to a monolayer, bismuth can adopt two principal structural phases. The ...