Chiral liquid numerical simulation showing the particle displacements (arrows) and local bond orientations (color).

Dense ensembles of laser-cooled molecules allow the observation of molecular collisions—a result that could lead to applications of cold molecular gases in quantum simulation and fundamental physics tests.

Synopsis on:
Varun Jorapur et al.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 163403 (2024)

The verification of a 63-year-old hypothesis indicates that nonequilibrium statistical mechanics could act as a theoretical framework for describing turbulence.

Synopsis on:
H. Yao, P. K. Yeung, T. A. Zaki, and C. Meneveau
Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 164001 (2024)

Muon spin rotation measurements of the magnetic ground state of a high-purity single-crystal RuO${}_2$, in combination with DFT calculations, show there is no bulk antiferromagnetic order as previously reported.

Strain localization in shear bands is key to the yielding and material failure of amorphous systems subject to oscillatory shear.

Measuring a photon’s angular momentum after it passes through optical devices teaches an algorithm to reconstruct the properties of the photon’s initial quantum state.

Synopsis on:
Alessia Suprano et al.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 160802 (2024)

Millijoule THz emission has been experimentally observed in the backward direction of laser wakefields generated by focusing an intense femtosecond laser pulse on a gas nozzle.

An exact full set of matrix product states of highly degenerate tricritical Lifshitz points in the quantum spin model with anisotropic interactions has been discovered.

A new medium-entropy alloy, TaNbHfZr, under pressure sets a record high $T_c$ in its class of materials at 15.3 K.

First-principles structure predictions across a very wide range of chemical compositions suggest that the cubic Mg${}_2$IrH${}_6$ structure is dynamically stable at zero pressure, and is computed to have a $T_c$ of around 160K.

Observations of the Southern Ocean show that wind can produce the surface states needed to generate rare “rogue” waves.

Focus story on:
A. Toffoli et al.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 154101 (2024)

An explicit analytical expression to predict the size of the depletion zone in like-charged polyelectrolyte-colloid mixtures allows for a direct comparison with experiments.

APS has selected 156 Outstanding Referees for 2024 who have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts published in the Physical Review journals. A full list of the Outstanding Referees is available online.