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 ...

Strongly interacting quantum particles are key to some of the most fascinating phenomena in modern physics—from magnetism and ...

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 ...

The topological orders in amorphous systems that lack crystalline symmetry have gained considerable attention recently. Here we propose the Floquet amorphous topological matter, among which the ...

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 ...

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? “The material fluctuates between two different states, as if it cannot decide which ...

Topological soft matter systems rely on controllable defect structures to encode functionality, yet robust, large-scale, and reconfigurable manipulation strategies remain elusive. Here we present a ...

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 ...

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 ...