Pascal Puphal, Thomas Schäfer, Bernhard Keimer, Matthias Hepting
{"title":"Superconductivity in infinite-layer and Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates","authors":"Pascal Puphal, Thomas Schäfer, Bernhard Keimer, Matthias Hepting","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00898-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00898-2","url":null,"abstract":"Superconducting nickelates have emerged as a new platform for exploring unconventional superconductivity and correlated-electron phenomena. Although predicted for Ni-based systems decades ago, superconductivity was only observed in 2019 in infinite-layer nickelate thin films. More recently, superconductivity with transition temperatures exceeding 80 K was discovered in Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates under high pressure. Despite these advances, both nickelate classes face major experimental challenges in synthesis and sample quality, which limits the application of various experimental techniques needed for a comprehensive understanding of the nature of their superconductivity. In this Review, we summarize recent progress in research on infinite-layer and Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates as well as their structural subcategories, outlining the theoretical foundations and key experimental findings on their electronic and magnetic properties. Additionally, we discuss the major synthesis challenges, identify open questions and future research directions and compare nickelates with other unconventional superconductors, including cuprates and iron pnictides. Nickelates have recently joined the cuprates and iron pnictides as unconventional superconductors with transition temperatures above 80 K. This Review looks for their shared superconducting mechanisms for building a coherent theoretical framework.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 2","pages":"70-85"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi Cui (, ), Zewen Zhang, Robert Sinclair, Wah Chiu, Yi Cui (, )
{"title":"Cryogenic electron microscopy and tomography for beam-sensitive materials","authors":"Yi Cui \u0000 (, ), Zewen Zhang, Robert Sinclair, Wah Chiu, Yi Cui \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00896-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00896-4","url":null,"abstract":"In the life sciences, cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has revolutionized structure determination by providing atomic-resolution structures of biomolecules in their native environment and in multiple conformational states. The applications of cryo-EM techniques have been extended from structural biology, which mainly focuses on structural information, to materials science, where chemical and physical information are equally important. In this Technical Review, we focus on sample preparation methods and imaging strategies to enable high-resolution imaging of beam-sensitive materials while avoiding electron-beam damage. We also survey emerging methods and applications, with an emphasis on energy materials. This Technical Review highlights advances in cryo-electron microscopy for materials science, covering sample preparation, low-dose imaging and analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques. It discusses strategies to mitigate electron-beam damage and enable high-resolution 2D and 3D imaging of beam-sensitive energy materials.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 1","pages":"40-54"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145916057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and government-funded science","authors":"Rebekah Higgitt","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00910-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00910-9","url":null,"abstract":"Over its 350 years of history, the establishment and evolution of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, reflects the history of scientific institutions in Britain.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 1","pages":"5-6"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145916061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predicting high-entropy alloy phases with machine learning","authors":"Omokhuwele Umoru","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00903-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00903-8","url":null,"abstract":"Omokhuwele Umoru explains how generative adversarial networks can help to predict the phases of high-entropy alloys.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 2","pages":"68-68"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"2025 at Nature Reviews Physics","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00904-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00904-7","url":null,"abstract":"As we close our seventh volume, we reflect on some of the highlights of the year.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"7 12","pages":"671-671"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-025-00904-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Warm dense matter studies with X-ray free-electron lasers","authors":"Dominik Kraus, Thomas R. Preston, Ulf Zastrau","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00893-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00893-7","url":null,"abstract":"‘If you can measure it, it is not warm dense matter, and if you can compute it, it is not warm dense matter’ is a tongue-in-cheek aphorism for the peculiar state of matter between condensed matter and hot plasma. It is present in the interior of large planets, in small stars and transiently in inertial confinement fusion concepts. Owing to substantial developments in theoretical methods, computational capabilities and new experimental infrastructures, this definition has now become outdated. Hard X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) have proven an especially useful tool to advance the understanding of warm dense matter by allowing precision measurements that can benchmark atomistic simulations and macroscopic models with high resolution in space and time. In this Review, we provide an overview of experimental techniques and summarize the past decade of XFEL research on warm dense matter, which has been dominated by proof-of-principle experiments. Looking forward, we provide an outline of ongoing and expected facility developments in the context of prominent science goals, ranging from astrophysics to new high-performance materials and fusion energy. Warm dense matter — the peculiar state between condensed matter and hot plasma — can be studied with exceptional detail at X-ray free-electron laser facilities. This Review summarizes pioneering experiments and discusses the perspectives for the near and mid-term future.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 1","pages":"27-39"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145916063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shorebird feeding reveals a new liquid transport mechanism","authors":"Yanchen Wu","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00907-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00907-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 2","pages":"69-69"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The sound of ionization","authors":"Nina Meinzer","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00902-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00902-9","url":null,"abstract":"A paper in Optica shows how sound can be used to determine properties of an optical pulse.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"7 12","pages":"680-680"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A changing of the guard for dark energy?","authors":"May Chiao","doi":"10.1038/s42254-025-00905-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-025-00905-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"7 12","pages":"681-681"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}