Physics APS

August 21, 2026• Physics 19, 117 New estimates suggest that some crypto-security systems may soon become vulnerable to quantum-powered break-ins. Quantum breach. In the near future, hackers might be able to use quantum computers to unlock crypto-security systems. Quantum breach. In the near future, hackers might be able to use quantum computers to unlock crypto-security systems.

August 18, 2026• Physics 19, 106 Gabriel Mindlin has dedicated his life to developing experiments that demonstrate how birdsongs are transmitted among individuals. × Gabriel Mindlin has spent more than 30 years studying birds’ songs and dreams—that is, the complex patterns of brain activity that birds experience when they sleep. Mindlin holds a PhD in physics from Drexel University in Pennsylvania and is now a professor of physics at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Opens in a new window Opens an external website Opens an external website in a new window This website utilizes technologies such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising. Privacy Policy Processing math: 100% August 17, 2026• Physics 19, 114 New experiments suggest that superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene depends on an unconventional electron-pairing mechanism.

August 14, 2026• Physics 19, 116 A model that captures how crater-forming impacts redistribute lunar dirt will help researchers read the cosmic timeline found in samples returned from the Moon. Tilling with space rocks. Meteorites striking the Moon, like the one shown in this artist’s impression, repeatedly dig up and rebury soil samples—a process called impact gardening. Examining the buried layers can give clues to past events in the Solar System’s history. Tilling with space rocks.

Processing math: 100% August 10, 2026• Physics 19, 105 A new theory of rare recurrent events dispenses with the simplifying assumption that recent events lack memory of previous ones. Figure 1: Cars piled up in Ellicott City, Maryland, in the aftermath of a May 2018 storm that dropped 20 cm of rain in two hours. In July 2016, a storm dropped 15 cm of rain in two hours on the same town.

August 7, 2026• Physics 19, 113 Two research teams have run small-scale demonstrations of voting protocols that could ensure election security using the principles of quantum mechanics. Protecting democracy. Two teams have demonstrated a quantum scheme that protects against some types of election security problems. It involves the quantum entanglement of many quantum bits. Protecting democracy.

August 6, 2026• Physics 19, 112 The sharpest-ever images of the solar surface reveal extensive plasma vortices that could explain energy transport through the Sun’s atmosphere. As parts of Europe prepare for a solar eclipse on August 12, astronomers have unveiled the most zoomed-in image ever of the Sun’s surface. The observations reveal swirling eddies on the solar surface—caused by an unstable mixing of magnetically infused plasma.

August 5, 2026• Physics 19, 111 Two types of ant colonies—one that experiences sudden bursts of activity and one that doesn’t—exemplify two distinct phases of collective behavior. Unfazed. Ants in a nest can exhibit sudden, colony-wide bursts of activity. Unfazed. Ants in a nest can exhibit sudden, colony-wide bursts of activity. × Through simulations, researchers have discovered the difference between ant colonies where colony-wide activity occurs in sudden bursts and those where it doesn’t.

August 4, 2026• Physics 19, 110 A tabletop method for producing cold radioactive molecules enables precise measurement of their properties and could uncover violations of fundamental symmetries. Radium has a pear-shaped nucleus that enhances its sensitivity to the extremely weak effects of symmetry violations. The copper chamber below depicts a simplified version of the cryogenic cell used by Hutzler and colleagues to form radium-containing molecules.

August 3, 2026• Physics 19, 109 Two experiments demonstrate a promising platform for trapping, sorting, and directing vibrational energy. Figure 1: An elastic wave (black) enters a square lattice of slightly misaligned triangular elements (gray). Synthetic magnetic and electric fields (not shown) cause different frequencies of the wave to localize at different positions in the material’s bulk. The result is a so-called elastic rainbow (colored regions).