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Recent Articles in Rev. Mod. Phys.

Recent articles in Reviews of Modern Physics

Published: 2017-06-26T14:49:25-04:00

2017-06-14T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Hassan Aref, John R. Blake, Marko Budišić, Silvana S. S. Cardoso, Julyan H. E. Cartwright, Herman J. H. Clercx, Kamal El Omari, Ulrike Feudel, Ramin Golestanian, Emmanuelle Gouillart, GertJan F. van Heijst, Tatyana S. Krasnopolskaya, Yves Le Guer, Robert S. MacKay, Vyacheslav V. Meleshko, Guy Metcalfe, Igor Mezić, Alessandro P. S. de Moura, Oreste Piro, Michel F. M. Speetjens, Rob Sturman, Jean-Luc Thiffeault, and Idan Tuval

The physics of chaotic advection is a field that emerged at the intersection of nonlinear dynamics and fluid mechanics. An older term for the field is Langrangian turbulence. This review deals with mathematical physics descriptions and perspectives of chaotic features in transport and mixing in fluid systems of sizes ranging from micrometers to hundreds of kilometers.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025007] Published Wed Jun 14, 2017

Interface-induced phenomena in magnetism

2017-06-05T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Frances Hellman et al.

Magnetism at interfaces often takes on a fundamentally completely different character when compared to magnetism in bulk. This review focuses on these differences and provides an overview of magnetic interfaces relevant to modern spintronics beginning from the most basic and well-understood questions and reaching to the frontiers of knowledge. Topics covered include interfacial spin-orbit coupling, spin-transfer torques, interface-induced exotic spin textures, interface-dependent magnetization dynamics, and the interplay between charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom. The review provides perspectives in key areas and poses questions that may inspire unanticipated control strategies for magnetic interfaces for future magnetic recording and memory applications.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025006] Published Mon Jun 05, 2017

Quantum Hall physics: Hierarchies and conformal field theory techniques

2017-05-23T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): T. H. Hansson, M. Hermanns, S. H. Simon, and S. F. Viefers

The quantum Hall effects by now are recognized as prime examples of the importance of topological considerations in condensed-matter physics. The fractional Quantum Hall effect in particular has proven to display a large number of topologically ordered states that have been classified and understood in terms of hierarchical schemes. This review explains the current understanding of such classifications, with particular emphasis on conformal-field-theory approaches.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025005] Published Tue May 23, 2017

Colloquium

2017-05-10T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Dibyendu Roy, C. M. Wilson, and Ofer Firstenberg

Photons, the particles of light, are in most conditions very weakly interacting. Nevertheless, it is possible to make them interact by altering environmental conditions, for instance, in the interior of certain materials or by squeezing them in confined geometries. In this Colloquium the topic of photons interacting strongly when confined to a one-dimensional geometry is discussed from experimental and theoretical perspectives.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 021001] Published Wed May 10, 2017

Graviton mass bounds

2017-05-03T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Claudia de Rham, J. Tate Deskins, Andrew J. Tolley, and Shuang-Yong Zhou

If gravitation propagates via a massive field, the velocity of gravitational waves (gravitons) depends on their frequency. Gravitational waves emitted early during the inspiral of compact binaries would travel slower than those emitted later, causing an offset in relative arrival times. This review utilizes the first direct detections of gravitons from two inspiraling black holes for setting an upper mass bound, examines it within the framework of massive gravity theories, and compares to observational bounds obtained from other related effects.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025004] Published Wed May 03, 2017

Quantum spin liquid states

2017-04-18T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Yi Zhou, Kazushi Kanoda, and Tai-Kai Ng

The concept of a quantum spin liquid is important for problems ranging from quantum spin chains to high-temperature superconductivity. This review gives a pedagogical introduction to the theoretical concepts behind this fascinating topic, and also discusses the current experimental situation.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025003] Published Tue Apr 18, 2017

Experimental soft-matter science

2017-04-12T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Sidney R. Nagel

Soft condensed matter refers to materials where the constituent building blocks are larger than atoms but smaller than the system itself. The large size of the constituent particles makes these soft materials distinctive from hard condensed matter systems. Soft matter is easily deformable, dissipative, disordered, nonlinear, far from equilibrium, thermal and entropic, slow, observable, susceptible to external fields, patterned, nonlocal, interfacial elastic, memory retaining, and active. This article surveys soft-matter science and discusses different classes of systems including colloids; emulsions; foams; glassy, granular, and jammed matter; liquid crystals; polymers; adaptive mechanical metamaterials; and active matter.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025002] Published Wed Apr 12, 2017

Testing black hole candidates with electromagnetic radiation

2017-04-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Cosimo Bambi

Can one determine the black hole nature of an observed object by electromagnetic observations? As astrophysical black holes are expected to result from collapse with nonzero angular momentum, the spacetime geometry would correspond to the Kerr metric. This review discusses how electromagnetic radiation emitted by gas or stars orbiting these objects can potentially be utilized to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis with current and future observational facilities.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025001] Published Thu Apr 06, 2017

Erratum: Carrier dynamics in semiconductors studied with time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy [Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 543 (2011)]

2017-04-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Ronald Ulbricht, Euan Hendry, Jie Shan, Tony F. Heinz, and Mischa Bonn
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 029901] Published Thu Apr 06, 2017

Colloquium

2017-03-31T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): André Eckardt

Dynamics of quantum many-body systems is one of the most complex problems in physics since it involves the time evolution of a large number of particles that interact with each other under the influence of external forces. With ultracold atoms in optical atomic lattices it can be done in a controlled environment by applying a periodic force. This Colloquium covers the experimental and theoretical developments in this exciting field of physics.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 011004] Published Fri Mar 31, 2017

Equations of state for supernovae and compact stars

2017-03-15T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): M. Oertel, M. Hempel, T. Klähn, and S. Typel

What are the thermodynamic properties of matter at extreme densities, even exceeding nuclear matter density severely? How can we describe the composition of matter for such conditions, the resulting pressure, and the maximum mass of cold neutron stars? How is this affected by finite temperatures, as they occur in core collapse supernovae and in compact star mergers? This review addresses these points within the framework of constraints from experiments as well as astronomical observations.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015007] Published Wed Mar 15, 2017

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in physics, chemistry, and beyond

2017-03-08T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Nikolay V. Vitanov, Andon A. Rangelov, Bruce W. Shore, and Klaas Bergmann

By use of a pulse sequence, the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage transfers population without loss between quantum states via unstable intermediate states. This article reviews many applications of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage to control quantum states in physics and chemistry, from precision spectroscopy over molecular reactions to quantum information processing.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015006] Published Wed Mar 08, 2017

Light fields in complex media: Mesoscopic scattering meets wave control

2017-03-02T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Stefan Rotter and Sylvain Gigan

Wave front shaping, the ability to manipulate light fields both spatially and temporally, in complex media is an emerging field with many applications. This review summarizes how insights from mesoscopic scattering theory have direct relevance for optical wave control experiments and vice versa. The results are expected to have an impact on a number of fields ranging from biomedical imaging to nanophotonics, quantum information, and communication technology.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015005] Published Thu Mar 02, 2017

Quantum random number generators

2017-02-22T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Miguel Herrero-Collantes and Juan Carlos Garcia-Escartin

In mathematics and computer science, random numbers have the role of a resource for assisting proofs, making cryptography secure, and enabling computational protocols. This role motivates efforts to produce random numbers as a physical process. Potential physical sources abound, but arguably the most fundamental are those based on elementary quantum mechanical processes. This review discusses the current status of devices that generate quantum random numbers.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015004] Published Wed Feb 22, 2017

Electron-phonon interactions from first principles

2017-02-16T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Feliciano Giustino

The electron-phonon interaction in solids is important for many interesting properties of solids, among them the critical temperature of phonon-mediated superconductors, the effective electron mass in metals and semiconductors, and the carrier dynamics in semiconductors. Modern density-functional techniques have made it possible to perform $a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}b$ $i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o$ calculations of the electron-phonon interaction. This review explains these techniques and discusses their applications.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015003] Published Thu Feb 16, 2017

Entropic uncertainty relations and their applications

2017-02-06T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Patrick J. Coles, Mario Berta, Marco Tomamichel, and Stephanie Wehner

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle has a more precise formulation in terms of inequalities involving quantum entropies. Currently known entropic uncertainty relations are presented; they capture and extend Heisenberg’s idea of the unpredictability of the outcomes of incompatible measurements. Distinct results are obtained for finite- and infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Applications are surveyed, including the formulation of entanglement witnesses, current ideas about wave-particle duality, and the analysis of quantum cryptography.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015002] Published Mon Feb 06, 2017

Editorial: From the APS Editor in Chief

2017-02-03T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Pierre Meystre
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 010001] Published Fri Feb 03, 2017

Colloquium

2017-01-30T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): T. J. Davis and D. E. Gómez

Localized surface plasmons are collective modes of the conduction electrons excited by light in metal nanoparticles. Although plasmons have been known for some time, their use for controlling light at the nanometer scale only became possible with developments in near field optics. To model interactions between such collective modes is a complex problem that requires heavy computation. In this Colloquium an algebraic model for plasmons is discussed that elucidates the physics of these collective modes and their interactions.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 011003] Published Mon Jan 30, 2017

Colloquium

2017-01-26T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Akihiro Tohsaki, Hisashi Horiuchi, Peter Schuck, and Gerd Röpke

In 1954, Fred Hoyle made a prediction regarding the existence of a resonant state of carbon-12 that would be associated with a triple-alpha process which would be fundamental in nucleosynthesis in stars and would explain the amount of carbon-12 in the Universe. This prediction was spectacularly confirmed by experiments. Nevertheless, the precise properties of the Hoyle state are still the subject of investigation. This Colloquium describes the current theoretical and experimental investigation of this important prediction.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 011002] Published Thu Jan 26, 2017

Dynamics of non-Markovian open quantum systems

2017-01-20T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Inés de Vega and Daniel Alonso

This review gives a summary of the many techniques that are used in the analysis of open quantum systems. Emphasis is on those cases where it is unsuitable to use a memoryless or Markovian point of view, generally because there is no large separation of time scales between system and environment dynamics. The approaches reviewed include master equations, Heisenberg equations of motion, chain mapping representations, and various stochastic methods such as path integral Monte Carlo and stochastic equations. Guidance is given on how to evaluate the suitability of each of these methods for application in different physical problems.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 015001] Published Fri Jan 20, 2017

Colloquium

2017-01-05T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): John Schliemann

Spintronics continues to be a field of fast evolution where new concepts and devices are continuously being developed. One of the limiting factors in spintronics is the decoherence time in the materials used. This Colloquium reviews the current situation in the understanding of decoherence in some important semiconductors which are being considered in applications.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 011001] Published Thu Jan 05, 2017

Nonlinear optical signals and spectroscopy with quantum light

2016-12-28T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Konstantin E. Dorfman, Frank Schlawin, and Shaul Mukamel

By variation of the photon statistics and the entanglement between time and frequency components, quantum states of light feature spectroscopy signals which are not subject to classical Fourier limitations on temporal and spectral resolution. This review surveys the properties of entangled photon pairs relevant to spectroscopic applications and it presents an intuitive diagrammatic approach which allows calculation of a variety of ultrafast, nonlinear spectroscopy signals from multilevel model systems exposed to quantum light.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045008] Published Wed Dec 28, 2016

Particle and nuclear physics instrumentation and its broad connections

2016-12-20T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): M. Demarteau, R. Lipton, H. Nicholson, and I. Shipsey

Progress in the physical sciences depends as much on innovations in instrumentation that enable more refined experiments as on new theoretical ideas. This article reviews the instrumentation developments in particle and nuclear physics that have brought new understanding in those fields, their impact upon broader societal issues, and their interdependence with commercial advances.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045007] Published Tue Dec 20, 2016

Colloquium

2016-12-02T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): M. R. Norman
Quantum spin liquids form a novel class of matter where, despite the existence of strong exchange interactions, spins do not order down to the lowest measured temperature. Typically, these occur in lattices that act to frustrate the appearance of magnetism. In two dimensions, the classic example is ...
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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 041002] Published Fri Dec 02, 2016

Active particles in complex and crowded environments

2016-11-23T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Clemens Bechinger, Roberto Di Leonardo, Hartmut Löwen, Charles Reichhardt, Giorgio Volpe, and Giovanni Volpe

This article reviews both experimental and theoretical advances in the field of active matter which consists of natural and artificial objects capable of self-propulsion. Prime examples of active particles are Brownian particles, biological or manmade microscopic and nanoscopic objects, that can propel themselfes by taking up energy from their environment and converting it into directed motion. The review provides a guided tour through the basic principles and fabrication of active particles and discusses also many interesting future directions these manmade micromachines and nanomachines could take as autonomous agents for healthcare, sustainability, and security applications.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045006] Published Wed Nov 23, 2016

Quantum memories at finite temperature

2016-11-15T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Benjamin J. Brown, Daniel Loss, Jiannis K. Pachos, Chris N. Self, and James R. Wootton

While the typical scenario for quantum error correction involves active intervention there are advantages to a passive quantum memory, for which a suitably designed interaction Hamiltonian will naturally protect the coherence of low-lying states from decoherence induced by a thermal environment. This review summarizes and discusses the various theoretical attempts to find a workable scenario for a passive quantum memory.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045005] Published Tue Nov 15, 2016

Time-dependent density-functional description of nuclear dynamics

2016-11-09T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Takashi Nakatsukasa, Kenichi Matsuyanagi, Masayuki Matsuo, and Kazuhiro Yabana

Many excitation modes of atomic nuclei and their reactions can be described as time-dependent processes, in which nuclei oscillate, rotate, collide, and split. A theoretical framework to describe nuclear dynamics at low energy is the time-dependent density functional theory. This reviews the foundations and extensions of this theory and its applications to nuclear collective motion, including giant resonances, heavy-ion collisions, and shape coexistence. Conceptual differences between nuclear and electronic applications are also discussed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045004] Published Wed Nov 09, 2016

Materials perspective on Casimir and van der Waals interactions

2016-11-02T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): L. M. Woods, D. A. R. Dalvit, A. Tkatchenko, P. Rodriguez-Lopez, A. W. Rodriguez, and R. Podgornik

Electromagnetic fluctuation-induced interactions known as van der Waals, Casimir, and Casimir-Polder forces are an active and exciting area of research. This review summarizes recent progress in this field with emphasis on theoretical and computational developments and their applications to materials including molecular structures, Dirac-like systems, optical metamaterials, composites with nontrivial boundary conditions, and biological matter.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045003] Published Wed Nov 02, 2016

CP

2016-10-13T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Marina Artuso, Guennadi Borissov, and Alexander Lenz

Sources of $C\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}P$ violation beyond those of the standard model of particle physics are needed to explain the dominance of matter over antimatter in the universe. The bound state of a bottom antiquark and a strange quark and its charge conjugate is a fertile hunting ground, as standard model $C\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}P$ violating effects are typically small. This article reviews the many studies of $C\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}P$ violation in ${B}_{s}$ decays, the quantum mixing of ${B}_{s}$ and anti-${B}_{s}$, and their interference.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045002] Published Thu Oct 13, 2016

Colloquium

2016-10-10T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Dieter Suter and Gonzalo A. Álvarez

Quantum-mechanical systems retain their properties so long as the phase of quantum superpositions evolve stably over time. Contact with an environment can disrupt this phase evolution. But for environments that do not exchange energy with the quantum system, strategies exist where the controlled driving of the system can recover or maintain the quantum phase. This Colloquium surveys the host of techniques that are available to “refocus” the phase when disturbed by various forms of classical or quantum environment. While the first such techniques were developed long ago, ideas from quantum information theory have introduced new strategies for accomplishing this goal.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 041001] Published Mon Oct 10, 2016

Alternatives to an elementary Higgs

2016-10-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Csaba Csáki, Christophe Grojean, and John Terning

Experiments point to the Higgs particle being the excitation of an elementary scalar field, as originally proposed in the standard model. To many theorists, however, its low mass suggests it may be more than that. This article provides a comprehensive review of these alternative Higgs models. The current run of the LHC will test the nature of the Higgs with greater precision. Particle physicists will find this review to serve as a guide to interpret the experimental results to come.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 045001] Published Thu Oct 06, 2016

CODATA recommended values of the fundamental physical constants: 2014

2016-09-26T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Peter J. Mohr, David B. Newell, and Barry N. Taylor

This review article contains the 2014 self-consistent set of values of the constants and conversion factors of physics and chemistry recommended by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). The CODATA values are based on a least-squares adjustment that that takes into account all data available up to the end of 2014. Details of the data selection and methodology are described.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035009] Published Mon Sep 26, 2016

Leptonic and semileptonic decays of B mesons

2016-09-21T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Jochen Dingfelder and Thomas Mannel

In the standard model of particle physics, the strong and weak interaction eigenstates of the three generations of quarks differ and are related by the unitary Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. This article reviews measurements of the decays of the mesons containing a bottom quark into final states with leptons. These measurements provide determinations of the matrix elements and other observables, and offer constraints on the standard model as well as pointers to possible new physics.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035008] Published Wed Sep 21, 2016

Publisher’s Note: Google matrix analysis of directed networks [Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1261 (2015)]

2016-09-20T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Leonardo Ermann, Klaus M. Frahm, and Dima L. Shepelyansky
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 039905] Published Tue Sep 20, 2016

Sap flow and sugar transport in plants

2016-09-16T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): K. H. Jensen, K. Berg-Sørensen, H. Bruus, N. M. Holbrook, J. Liesche, A. Schulz, M. A. Zwieniecki, and T. Bohr

Green plants harvest the energy of the Sun in the leaves by converting light energy into chemical energy in the bonds of sugar molecules, using water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air. This review provides an overview of the vascular anatomy of plants and the physical models that describe the long-distance transport of water and minerals from root to leaf, and, in particular, of sugars from the leaves to the entire body of the plant sustaining growth and communication throughout even the tallest tree.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035007] Published Fri Sep 16, 2016

Control principles of complex systems

2016-09-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Yang-Yu Liu and Albert-László Barabási

Complex networks range from subcellular biological networks to the Internet. Our ability to control these systems deeply challenges our understanding. Control also may well be a guiding principle in their design. This article reviews the emerging science of the control of complex networks.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035006] Published Tue Sep 06, 2016

Classification of topological quantum matter with symmetries

2016-08-31T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Ching-Kai Chiu, Jeffrey C. Y. Teo, Andreas P. Schnyder, and Shinsei Ryu

In recent years an increasing amount of attention has been devoted to quantum materials with topological characteristics that are robust against disorder and other perturbations. In this context it was discovered that topological materials can be classified with respect to their dimension and symmetry properties. This review provides an overview of the classification schemes of both fully gapped and gapless topological materials and gives a pedagogical introduction into the field of topological band theory.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035005] Published Wed Aug 31, 2016

Strangeness in nuclear physics

2016-08-26T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): A. Gal, E. V. Hungerford, and D. J. Millener

Everyday matter is made of the lightest up and down quarks. The strange quark is the third lightest of all quarks. Strangeness, a property of particles associated with the number of strange quarks, preceded the theory and discovery of the quark by about two decades. Recent experimental and theoretical developments in the field of strangeness in nuclei are reviewed. Topics include the production of strange particles, properties of hypernuclei, and strange dense matter.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035004] Published Fri Aug 26, 2016

Erratum: Ultrafast optical manipulation of magnetic order [Rev. Mod. Phys. 82, 2731 (2010)]

2016-08-11T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Andrei Kirilyuk, Alexey V. Kimel, and Theo Rasing
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 039904] Published Thu Aug 11, 2016

Statistical mechanics of ecological systems: Neutral theory and beyond

2016-07-26T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Sandro Azaele, Samir Suweis, Jacopo Grilli, Igor Volkov, Jayanth R. Banavar, and Amos Maritan

It is of societal importance to advance the understanding of emerging patterns of biodiversity from biological and ecological systems. The neutral theory offers a statistical-mechanical framework that relates key biological properties at the individual scale with macroecological properties at the community scale. This article surveys the quantitative aspects of neutral theory and its extensions for physicists who are interested in what important problems remain unresolved for studying ecological systems.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035003] Published Tue Jul 26, 2016

Nonlinear waves in PT-symmetric systems

2016-07-18T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Vladimir V. Konotop, Jianke Yang, and Dmitry A. Zezyulin

The concept of parity-time symmetric systems is rooted in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics where complex potentials obeying this symmetry could exhibit real spectra. The concept has applications in many fields of physics, e.g., in optics, metamaterials, acoustics, Bose-Einstein condensation, electronic circuitry, etc. The inclusion of nonlinearity has led to a number of new phenomena for which no counterparts exist in traditional dissipative systems. Several examples of nonlinear parity-time symmetric systems in different physical disciplines are presented and their implications discussed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035002] Published Mon Jul 18, 2016

Erratum: Hidden variables and the two theorems of John Bell [Rev. Mod. Phys. 65, 803 (1993)]

2016-07-15T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): N. David Mermin
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 039902] Published Fri Jul 15, 2016

Erratum: Modeling semiflexible polymer networks [Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 995 (2014)]

2016-07-15T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): C. P. Broedersz and F. C. MacKintosh
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 039903] Published Fri Jul 15, 2016

Fermion path integrals and topological phases

2016-07-13T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Edward Witten

Symmetry-protected phases of matter have been at the forefront of condensed matter physics in recent years. Bosonic symmetry-protected phases have been interpreted in terms of anomalies and group cohomology. The present article aims to develop an analogous description of fermionic symmetry-protected phases, such as the topological insulators that have been seen experimentally in 2 or 3 space dimensions. The relevant mathematical concepts include the Atiyah-Singer index theorem and the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer eta invariant.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 035001] Published Wed Jul 13, 2016

Publisher’s Note: Metallic quantum ferromagnets [Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 25006 (2016)]

2016-07-11T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): M. Brando, D. Belitz, F. M. Grosche, and T. R. Kirkpatrick
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 039901] Published Mon Jul 11, 2016

Nobel Lecture: Discovery of atmospheric neutrino oscillations

2016-07-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Takaaki Kajita

The 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 030501] Published Wed Jul 06, 2016

Nobel Lecture: The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory: Observation of flavor change for solar neutrinos

2016-07-06T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Arthur B. McDonald

The 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 030502] Published Wed Jul 06, 2016

Colloquium

2016-06-29T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): A. Bansil, Hsin Lin, and Tanmoy Das

First-principles band theory, properly augmented by topological considerations, has provided a remarkably successful framework for predicting new classes of topological materials. This Colloquium discusses the underpinnings of the topological band theory and its materials applications.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 021004] Published Wed Jun 29, 2016

Metallic quantum ferromagnets

2016-05-31T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): M. Brando, D. Belitz, F. M. Grosche, and T. R. Kirkpatrick

A full understanding of long range ferromagnetic order in metallic systems reflects a variety of phenomena which are best understood in the context of quantum phase transitions (QPTs). This review presents experimental data on ferromagnetic QPTs in metals, confronting results with currently available theory. The coverage of clean materials, materials with varying degrees of disorder, and materials with phase diagrams is exhaustive, revealing a trend where the QPTs of clean systems driven by a control parameter are first order compared to more disordered systems where the QPTs are second order.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025006] Published Tue May 31, 2016

Physical properties of low-dimensional sp^{2}-based carbon nanostructures

2016-05-24T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): V. Meunier, A. G. Souza Filho, E. B. Barros, and M. S. Dresselhaus

This review focuses on the fundamental physical properties of low-dimensional carbon nanostructures (graphene, graphene nanoribbons, and carbon nanotubes), with an emphasis on understanding and utilizing the unique physical properties that make this class of materials ideal building blocks for future nanoscience and nanotechnology development. In depth discussions of the structural, electronic, vibrational, and transport properties of these carbon nanostructures from both theoretical and experimental standpoints provide a coherent and foundational overview for researchers interested in broader areas of carbon science and related noncarbon systems.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025005] Published Tue May 24, 2016

Scaled plane-wave Born cross sections for atoms and molecules

2016-05-19T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): H. Tanaka, M. J. Brunger, L. Campbell, H. Kato, M. Hoshino, and A. R. P. Rau

Electron-atom and electron-molecule collisional cross sections are needed in the modeling and understanding of phenomena ranging from planetary atmosphere science to industrial applications of plasmas. This article reviews the Born approximation and phenomenological scaling approaches that provide accurate excitation cross sections over a range of electron impact energies. The methods are illustrated for a variety of atomic and molecular systems.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025004] Published Thu May 19, 2016

Coulomb drag

2016-05-10T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): B. N. Narozhny and A. Levchenko

Coulomb drag, a term coined in analogy to phonon drag, refers to the effect of mutual friction between nonequilibrium conduction electrons belonging to two electrically isolated but closely spaced conductors. Coulomb drag experiments provide unique insight into microscopic properties of interacting many-body systems and are important in systems of small size or of reduced dimensionality. This review provides an overview of the effect in semiconductor heterostructures, double-layers devices, and nanostructures.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025003] Published Tue May 10, 2016

Colloquium

2016-05-04T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): W. Ubachs, J. Bagdonaite, E. J. Salumbides, M. T. Murphy, and L. Kaper

Looking back into 10-12 billion years of cosmic history this Colloquium paper summarizes what is presently known about the proton-to-electron mass ratio and its variation with time. The hydrogen spectra of quasars and how they reveal fundamental information on some of the most important constants in physics and cosmology are reviewed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 021003] Published Wed May 04, 2016

The physics of epigenetics

2016-04-26T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Ruggero Cortini, Maria Barbi, Bertrand R. Caré, Christophe Lavelle, Annick Lesne, Julien Mozziconacci, and Jean-Marc Victor

Epigenetics is essential in understanding the development, from a common undifferentiated cell, of different cell types that share the same hereditary materials in their genome. A meaningful decoration of chemical marks on chromosomes selects the genes to be expressed by directing the differential folding of the genome in the cell nucleus. This article surveys plausible physical mechanisms involved in setting up epigenetic marks and their role in genome folding and expression.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025002] Published Tue Apr 26, 2016

Colloquium

2016-04-19T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Heinz-Peter Breuer, Elsi-Mari Laine, Jyrki Piilo, and Bassano Vacchini

An ongoing theme in quantum physics is the interaction of small quantum systems with an environment. If that environment has many degrees of freedom and is weakly coupled, it can often be reasonable to treat its decohering effect on the small system using a “memoryless,” or Markovian description. This Colloquium shows that for many phenomena a more refined, non-Markovian, treatment is necessary. The suite of developing theoretical tools is reviewed, with which recent progress on this problem has been based.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 021002] Published Tue Apr 19, 2016

Colloquium

2016-04-13T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Anna L. Watts, Nils Andersson, Deepto Chakrabarty, Marco Feroci, Kai Hebeler, Gianluca Israel, Frederick K. Lamb, M. Coleman Miller, Sharon Morsink, Feryal Özel, Alessandro Patruno, Juri Poutanen, Dimitrios Psaltis, Achim Schwenk, Andrew W. Steiner, Luigi Stella, Laura Tolos, and Michiel van der Klis

How are two essential quantities of neutron stars (the mass and radius), which provide constraints for the equation of state in their interiors where supranuclear densities are experienced, precisely determined? This Colloquium discusses major techniques for how this information can be inferred from x-ray observations of neutron stars that accrete matter from a binary companion, or of isolated neutron stars that experience seismic vibrations, taking into account rotation, relativistic effects, and magnetic fields.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 021001] Published Wed Apr 13, 2016

Phase diagram of QCD in a magnetic field

2016-04-08T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Jens O. Andersen, William R. Naylor, and Anders Tranberg

This review addresses the current theoretical understanding of hadronic matter at large magnetic fields. Applications include heavy-ion collisions, neutron stars, and the early Universe. Models used describe the thermodynamic properties and phases of quantum chromodynamics as functions of temperature and magnetic field strength. These models are examined and directions for future research are pointed out.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 025001] Published Fri Apr 08, 2016

Physics of Alfvén waves and energetic particles in burning plasmas

2016-03-23T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Liu Chen and Fulvio Zonca

In magnetic fusion reactors relying on the burning of deuterium and tritium, sufficient confinement of the alpha particles produced in the nuclear reactions is crucial to sustaining the burning plasma. In this article the interactions of these energetic particles with linear and nonlinear Alfve’n waves generated in the magnetized plasma are reviewed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015008] Published Wed Mar 23, 2016

The physics of x-ray free-electron lasers

2016-03-09T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): C. Pellegrini, A. Marinelli, and S. Reiche

The advent of x-ray free electron lasers has made possible the study of matter at the characteristic space and time scales of atomic and molecular phenomena using intense coherent x-ray pulses. This article describes the physical principles and the theoretical models governing the interaction of charged particles, electromagnetic waves, and external magnetic fields that comprise the x-ray free-electron lasers. It also includes a discussion of existing facilities and avenues for increasing the peak power and improving the control of spectral and coherence properties to allow the exploration of an even larger range of phenomena.​

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015006] Published Wed Mar 09, 2016

Linac Coherent Light Source: The first five years

2016-03-09T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Christoph Bostedt, Sébastien Boutet, David M. Fritz, Zhirong Huang, Hae Ja Lee, Henrik T. Lemke, Aymeric Robert, William F. Schlotter, Joshua J. Turner, and Garth J. Williams

In the five years since achieving first light at the Linac Coherent Light Source, transformative studies have been conducted in a new regime with femtosecond pulses of short wavelength, high intensity x rays. This article summarizes these results in atomic, molecular and optical physics; condensed matter physics; matter in extreme density, temperature and pressure conditions; chemistry and soft matter; and biological structure and dynamics. In each of these areas, perspectives for future research are discussed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015007] Published Wed Mar 09, 2016

Delayed-choice gedanken experiments and their realizations

2016-03-03T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Xiao-song Ma, Johannes Kofler, and Anton Zeilinger

Wave-particle duality lies at the root of quantum mechanics and is central in the description of interferences observed with elementary objects. In a delayed-choice experiment, the decision to observe the particle or wave character of a quantum system is delayed with respect to the time at which the system enters the interferometer. This paper reviews the history of the delayed-choice idea, introduced as a challenge to a realistic explanation of the wave-particle duality. It also describes recent experimental realizations of this idea and discusses intriguing extensions, such as the duality between separability and entanglement in multiple quantum systems.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015005] Published Thu Mar 03, 2016

Big bang nucleosynthesis: Present status

2016-02-23T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Richard H. Cyburt, Brian D. Fields, Keith A. Olive, and Tsung-Han Yeh

How do we understand the production of the lightest nuclides from H to Li during the first seconds of cosmic time? This article reviews recent developments based on new precision cosmic microwave background measurements from the Planck satellite and observational abundance data. Utilizing updated input on nuclear reactions and the neutron lifetime as well as limits on the baryon density of the Universe obtained from Planck data leads to a number of neutrino flavors.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015004] Published Tue Feb 23, 2016

Colloquium

2016-02-17T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Katrin Amann-Winkel, Roland Böhmer, Franz Fujara, Catalin Gainaru, Burkhard Geil, and Thomas Loerting

Besides being fundamental for life on Earth, water is one of the complex materials in nature. Due to the unusual properties of the hydrogen bonds water has a large number of phases as a function of temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the phase transitions between these different phases are still the object of much discussion. In this Colloquium the nature of these amazing properties of water is reviewed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 011002] Published Wed Feb 17, 2016

Experimental tests of particle flow calorimetry

2016-02-08T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Felix Sefkow, Andy White, Kiyotomo Kawagoe, Roman Pöschl, and José Repond

Methods of measuring the energies of jets have relied on detection of photons, charged hadrons, and neutral hadrons in a sampling calorimeter. However, the response for each particle is different, leading to poor jet energy resolution. Improved energy resolution for future studies of Higgs bosons and new particles decaying to jets requires improved energy resolution. The particle flow algorithm recognizes that charged particle momenta are better measured than their energies, so considerable improvement in energy resolution can be made using track momenta and substituting the energy deposited in the calorimeter. This article describes beam tests of the particle flow algorithm and the confrontation of data and simulations.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015003] Published Mon Feb 08, 2016

Jerusalem lectures on black holes and quantum information

2016-02-02T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): D. Harlow

The quantum mechanics of black holes, and particularly the information paradox, have been a crucial arena for testing theories of quantum gravity. This review covers the quantum physics of black holes, anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory duality and holography, and the recent firewall paradox, with a focus on ideas from quantum information theory.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015002] Published Tue Feb 02, 2016

Colloquium

2016-01-25T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov, Farhat Beg, and Andrew Ng

Physical phenomena at the nanoscale can be considerably different from the behavior in the macroscopic world. This rule is also true for plasmas at the nanoscale. This Colloquium discusses nanoplasmas from the experimental and theoretical point of view and shows that nanoplasmas can also have applications in certain technological areas.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 011001] Published Mon Jan 25, 2016

Lattice tests of beyond standard model dynamics

2016-01-19T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Thomas DeGrand

Originally developed for quantum chromodynamics at strong coupling, lattice approximations provide an essential tool applicable to any strongly coupled gauge theory. The resolution of the lightweight Higgs puzzle may require new strongly coupled gauge theories at shorter distances. This review introduces the modern lattice tool kit as a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. Numerous applications to new physics with strong coupling gauge theories are presented, and results analyzed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 015001] Published Tue Jan 19, 2016

Symmetry violations in nuclear and neutron β decay

2015-12-15T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): K. K. Vos, H. W. Wilschut, and R. G. E. Timmermans

Experimental searches for new physics beyond the standard model of particle physics are not constrained to the high energy sector alone. This article shows examples on symmetry violations, possible breaking of time reversal and Lorentz invariance, from nuclear and neutron beta decay experiments and discusses how the accuracy of standard model parameters could be improved in the search for new physics.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1483] Published Tue Dec 15, 2015

Ion-trap measurements of electric-field noise near surfaces

2015-12-11T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): M. Brownnutt, M. Kumph, P. Rabl, and R. Blatt

How can the electric noise in the vicinity of a metallic body be measured and understood? Trapped ions, known as unique tools for metrology and quantum information processing, also constitute very sensitive probes of this electric noise for distances from micrometers to millimeters. This paper presents various models for the origin of the electric noise, provides a critical review of the experimental findings, and summarizes the important questions that are still open in this active research area.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1419] Published Fri Dec 11, 2015

Cavity-based quantum networks with single atoms and optical photons

2015-12-01T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Andreas Reiserer and Gerhard Rempe

A vision has formed in recent years of the components necessary for a large-scale quantum network. Single trapped atoms can serve as the nodes of this network, with the links established by flying photons that are coupled to the atoms using optical resonators. This review describes progress towards the goal of multinode networks using the current generation of experiments, which have achieved unprecedented levels of atomic qubit control and light-matter coupling efficiencies.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1379] Published Tue Dec 01, 2015

Spinodal nanodecomposition in semiconductors doped with transition metals

2015-11-19T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): T. Dietl, K. Sato, T. Fukushima, A. Bonanni, M. Jamet, A. Barski, S. Kuroda, M. Tanaka, Pham Nam Hai, and H. Katayama-Yoshida

The occurrence of high-temperature ferromagnetism in transition metal semiconductors holds promise for devices with spintronic functionalities. This review focuses on transition metal aggregation process, which leads to random patterns of high-temperature material doped beyond the solubility limit. A computational description of nanodecomposition and the relevant experimental results are presented for a range of semiconductor compounds. The correlation of high-temperature ferromagnetism with spinodal nanodecomposition points to promising nanotechnology utilizing materials with transition metal rich nanoclusters coherently embedded within semiconducting hosts.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1311] Published Thu Nov 19, 2015

Google matrix analysis of directed networks

2015-11-02T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): Leonardo Ermann, Klaus M. Frahm, and Dima L. Shepelyansky

How can information from communication and social networks in modern societies be processed, classified, and retrieved? For this new mathematical methods have to be invented for a precise characterization of the existing networks and their search engines. This article describes the properties of the Google matrix and its efficiency in analyzing directed networks by way of several examples like the World Wide Web, Wikipedia, world trade, social and citation networks, DNA sequences and Ulam networks, and others. The underlying analytical and numerical tools used thereby originate from fields like quantum chaos and random matrix theory.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1261] Published Mon Nov 02, 2015

Spin Hall effects

2015-10-27T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Jairo Sinova, Sergio O. Valenzuela, J. Wunderlich, C. H. Back, and T. Jungwirth

In solid-state materials with strong relativistic spin-orbit coupling, charge currents generate transverse spin currents. The associated spin Hall and inverse spin Hall effects distinguish between charge and spin current where electron charge is a conserved quantity but its spin direction is not. This review provides a theoretical and experimental treatment of this subfield of spintronics, beginning with distinct microscopic mechanisms seen in ferromagnets and concluding with a discussion of optical-, transport-, and magnetization-dynamics-based experiments closely linked to the microscopic and phenomenological theories presented.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1213] Published Tue Oct 27, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Single molecules, cells, and super-resolution optics

2015-10-21T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Eric Betzig

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared by Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, and William E. Moerner. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1153] Published Wed Oct 21, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Nanoscopy with freely propagating light

2015-10-21T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Stefan W. Hell

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared by Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, and William E. Moerner. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1169] Published Wed Oct 21, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Single-molecule spectroscopy, imaging, and photocontrol: Foundations for super-resolution microscopy

2015-10-21T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): W. E. (William E.) Moerner

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared by Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, and William E. Moerner. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1183] Published Wed Oct 21, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Fascinated journeys into blue light

2015-10-05T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Isamu Akasaki
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1119] Published Mon Oct 05, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Growth of GaN on sapphire via low-temperature deposited buffer layer and realization of p-type GaN by Mg doping followed by low-energy electron beam irradiation

2015-10-05T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Hiroshi Amano
This is a personal history of one of the Japanese researchers engaged in developing a method for growing GaN on a sapphire substrate, paving the way for the realization of smart television and display systems using blue LEDs. The most important work was done in the mid to late 1980s. The background ...
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1133] Published Mon Oct 05, 2015

Nobel Lecture: Background story of the invention of efficient blue InGaN light emitting diodes

2015-10-05T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Shuji Nakamura
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1139] Published Mon Oct 05, 2015

Quantum Monte Carlo methods for nuclear physics

2015-09-09T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): J. Carlson, S. Gandolfi, F. Pederiva, Steven C. Pieper, R. Schiavilla, K. E. Schmidt, and R. B. Wiringa

Quantum Monte Carlo techniques aim at providing a description of complex quantum systems such as nuclei and nucleonic matter from first principles, i.e., realistic nuclear interactions and currents. The methods are similar to those used for many-electron systems in quantum chemistry and condensed matter physics, but are extended to include spin-isospin, tensor, spin-orbit, and three-body interactions. This review shows how to build the atomic nucleus from the ground up. Examples include the structure of light nuclei, electroweak response of nuclei relevant in electron and neutrino scattering, and the properties of dense nucleonic matter.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1067] Published Wed Sep 09, 2015

Random-matrix theory of Majorana fermions and topological superconductors

2015-09-03T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): C. W. J. Beenakker

Random-matrix theory has a long history of applications, from nuclear physics to electron localization to quantum dots. This review discusses yet another application of this very versatile framework: topological superconductors. An introduction to the basic concepts is followed by a discussion of transport properties that are susceptible to the predicted existence of Majorana excitations in these exotic materials.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1037] Published Thu Sep 03, 2015

Epidemic processes in complex networks

2015-08-31T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Romualdo Pastor-Satorras, Claudio Castellano, Piet Van Mieghem, and Alessandro Vespignani

Complex networks arise in a wide range of biological and sociotechnical systems. Epidemic spreading is central to our understanding of dynamical processes in complex networks, and is of interest to physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists, and computer and social scientists. This review presents the main results and paradigmatic models in infectious disease modeling and generalized social contagion processes.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 925] Published Mon Aug 31, 2015

Surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets

2015-08-31T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Detlef Lohse and Xuehua Zhang (张雪花)
Surface nanobubbles are nanoscopic gaseous domains on immersed substrates which can survive for days. They were first speculated to exist about 20 years ago, based on stepwise features in force curves between two hydrophobic surfaces, eventually leading to the first atomic force microscopy (AFM) ima...
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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 981] Published Mon Aug 31, 2015

Density functional theory: Its origins, rise to prominence, and future

2015-08-25T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): R. O. Jones

Density functional theory has been spectacularly successful in physics, chemistry, and related fields, and it keeps finding new applications. This paper gives an overview of the history of the method and its many applications since it gained wide acceptance, as well as a discussion of its likely future.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 897] Published Tue Aug 25, 2015

Antiferromagnetic order and spin dynamics in iron-based superconductors

2015-08-20T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Pengcheng Dai

In contrast to conventional BCS superconductors, the observation that superconductivity in unconventional high-temperature materials appears in close proximity to a static antiferromagnetic phase suggests that magnetism plays a fundamental role in the microscopic origins of superconductivity. This review provides an overview of how elastic and inelastic neutron scattering is used to determine the magnetic structures and the doping evolution of spin excitations in iron-based superconductors. The interplay between magnetism and superconductivity is contrasted with related behavior in the copper oxide and heavy fermion superconductors and is important to future theoretical efforts.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 855] Published Thu Aug 20, 2015

Anderson’s considerations on the flow of superfluid helium: Some offshoots

2015-08-17T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Eric Varoquaux

The aim of this review, based on Anderson’s ideas on phase slippage in superfluid helium, is to convey a physical meaning to the superfluid order parameter and its phase. This embraces an understanding of the superfluid order parameter phase and the associated processes that involve phase slip, the motion of vortices, critical velocities, Josephson effects, and phase slip associated with flow through small apertures. The review proceeds from a historical overview to a description of how the hydrodynamics of superfluid helium evolves from large to small scale, ultimately breaking down at close distance revealing the perplexingly elusive quantum properties of these fluids.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 803] Published Mon Aug 17, 2015

Attosecond chronoscopy of photoemission

2015-08-12T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Renate Pazourek, Stefan Nagele, and Joachim Burgdörfer

Recent advances in ultrafast laser spectroscopy have made it possible to study the electron dynamics for physical and chemical processes at the atomic level in real time. This article reviews the concepts and techniques that are necessary to understand and interpret these experiments with the focus on time-resolved photoemission.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 765] Published Wed Aug 12, 2015

Quantum transport in carbon nanotubes

2015-07-28T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Edward A. Laird, Ferdinand Kuemmeth, Gary A. Steele, Kasper Grove-Rasmussen, Jesper Nygård, Karsten Flensberg, and Leo P. Kouwenhoven

Carbon nanotubes with multifunctional capabilities are prime candidates for quantum wires for use in a variety of novel electronic devices. Unlike conventional semiconductor nanowires, electrons confined to nanotubes have two angular momentum quantum numbers from spin and valley degrees of freedom. This review describes the energy levels associated with the interplay of each of these degrees of freedom and how the spin-orbit interaction affects electronic transport through single and multiple quantum dots created by external field gating. The emphasis on experimental evidence provides essential concepts which are placed into context with recent theoretical advances such as on electron-electron interactions in one dimension.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 703] Published Tue Jul 28, 2015

Optical atomic clocks

2015-06-26T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Andrew D. Ludlow, Martin M. Boyd, Jun Ye, E. Peik, and P. O. Schmidt

Since 1967 the primary time standard is the cesium atomic clock, based on a hyperfine transition in the microwave domain. The development of ultrastable laser sources now allows one to operate on electronic transitions in the optical domain, corresponding to a 5-order-of-magnitude increase in the clock frequency. This article reviews the spectacular accuracy and stability gains that can be obtained when working with laser cooled ions or neutral atoms. It also discusses some important applications of these optical clocks, from geodesy to tests of fundamental theories to many-body physics.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 637] Published Fri Jun 26, 2015

Macroscopic fluctuation theory

2015-06-24T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Lorenzo Bertini, Alberto De Sole, Davide Gabrielli, Giovanni Jona-Lasinio, and Claudio Landim

The statistical mechanics of systems out of equilibrium provides a formidable challenge. This review describes an approach to a subset of such problems, viz., stationary nonequilibrium states. The review includes what is known as the macroscopic fluctuation theory, which allows for the definition of nonequilibrium analogs of thermodynamics potentials, and is applied to various illustrative models.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 593] Published Wed Jun 24, 2015

Neutrino electromagnetic interactions: A window to new physics

2015-06-16T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Carlo Giunti and Alexander Studenikin

With the observation of neutrino masses and mixings, the study of their electromagnetic interactions has assumed greater relevance both as verification of the $\nu$ standard model, and as a guide to new physics. After a standard description of massive neutrinos, this review assembles the present state of the art in the study of their electromagnetic interactions. Possible measurements of their static properties as test of new physics are described, a well as their behavior in strong magnetic fields. As such it should be helpful to both particle physicists and astrophysicists.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 531] Published Tue Jun 16, 2015

Lévy walks

2015-06-09T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): V. Zaburdaev, S. Denisov, and J. Klafter

Lévy walks are random walks in which the distribution of step length does not decay exponentially and the velocity of the moving particle is finite. Building on earlier concepts, they reconcile anomalously fast diffusion with a finite propagation speed and have applications that range from basic statistical mechanics and transport theory to optics, cold atom dynamics, and biophysics. This review gives an introduction to this important class of models and discusses applications in both physics and biology.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 483] Published Tue Jun 09, 2015

Colloquium

2015-05-26T10:00:00-04:00

Understanding high temperature superconductors is a central problem in condensed matter physics. Many experiments have uncovered ordering tendencies which are responsible for the complex phase diagram of high temperature superconductors. This Colloquium discusses the interplay between different order parameters in these materials. Considering the intertwining of these orders leads to new experimentally observable consequences, shedding new light into the physics of these fascinating materials.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 457] Published Tue May 26, 2015

Asymmetries in top quark pair production at hadron colliders

2015-05-18T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): J. A. Aguilar-Saavedra, D. Amidei, A. Juste, and M. Pérez-Victoria

Several years ago measurements at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton collider showed top quarks to be produced preferably in the proton direction and the antitop quarks in the antiproton direction. The size of such asymmetries was not expected in the standard model and this sparked intensive effort. This article reviews the current theoretical and experimental progress in understanding the asymmetries. The revised measurements and calculations are now in relatively good agreement. The LHC now produces large quantities of top quarks and can study related, but different, measures of asymmetric top quark production. The prospects for the LHC to extend our understanding and to probe for new physics beyond the standard model paradigm are also discussed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 421] Published Mon May 18, 2015

Colloquium

2015-05-14T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Gregory M. Grason
This Colloquium presents recent progress in understanding constraints and consequences of close-packing geometry of filamentous or columnar materials possessing nontrivial textures, focusing, in particular, on the common motifs of twisted and toroidal structures. The mathematical framework is presen...
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 401] Published Thu May 14, 2015

Interfacing single photons and single quantum dots with photonic nanostructures

2015-05-11T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Peter Lodahl, Sahand Mahmoodian, and Søren Stobbe

Quantum dots embedded in photonics nanostructures provide unprecedented control over the interaction between light and matter. This review gives an overview of the theoretical principles involved, as well as applications ranging from high-precision quantum electrodynamics experiments to quantum-information processing.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 347] Published Mon May 11, 2015

Quantum error correction for quantum memories

2015-04-07T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): Barbara M. Terhal

It may seem inevitable that highly entangled quantum states are susceptible to disturbance through interaction with a decohering environment. However, certain multiqubit entangled states are well protected from common forms of decoherence as the quantum information is hidden in inherently nonlocal degrees of freedom. This review shows that this robustness is enabled by specific measurements on subsets of qubits, implementing a quantum version of an error correction process. Beginning with the basics, the latest understanding of the relation between this form of error correction and the concept of two-dimensional topological order in many-body physics is reviewed.

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[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 307] Published Tue Apr 07, 2015

Plasma and trap-based techniques for science with positrons

2015-03-17T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): J. R. Danielson, D. H. E. Dubin, R. G. Greaves, and C. M. Surko
In recent years, there has been a wealth of new science involving low-energy antimatter (i.e., positrons and antiprotons) at energies ranging from 10^{2} to less than 10^{−3}  eV. Much of this progress has been driven by the development of new plasma-based techniques to accumulate, manipulate, and d...
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 247] Published Tue Mar 17, 2015

Baryon resonances in large N_{c} QCD

2015-03-10T10:00:00-04:00

Author(s): N. Matagne and Fl. Stancu
The current status and open challenges of large N_{c} QCD baryon spectroscopy are reviewed. After introducing the 1/N_{c} expansion method, the latest achievements for the ground state properties are revisited. Next the applicability of this method to excited states is presented using two different ...
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 211] Published Tue Mar 10, 2015

Colloquium

2015-03-03T10:00:00-05:00

Author(s): T. R. Kirkpatrick and D. Thirumalai
The routine transformation of a liquid, as it is rapidly cooled, resulting in glass formation, is remarkably complex. A theoretical explanation of the dynamics associated with this process has remained one of the major unsolved problems in condensed matter physics. The random first order transition ...
[Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 183] Published Tue Mar 03, 2015