Nature Reviews Physics最新文献

{"title":"Transitions of the Atlantic Ocean circulation","authors":"Henk A. Dijkstra, Bernd Krauskopf, Reyk Börner, René M. van Westen","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00945-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00945-6","url":null,"abstract":"The present-day Atlantic Ocean circulation is susceptible to large-scale instabilities that, if they develop, would have worldwide climate impacts. Transitions between circulation patterns owing to such instabilities have been found across a hierarchy of ocean-climate models, but it remains difficult to determine whether they will occur under future climate change. We discuss how a dynamical systems approach can be used to identify basic destabilization mechanisms, determine the essential transition behaviour and thereby unify much of the model behaviour that has been found. This approach helps to interpret the complex behaviour seen in climate records and existing model simulations, to design new climate model experiments and, eventually, to quantitatively assess the stability of the Atlantic Ocean circulation under present-day and future climate forcing. The multistable dynamics of the Atlantic Ocean circulation pose a central problem in climate physics, because instabilities of the flows can have large climate impacts. This Review uses a dynamical systems viewpoint to unify results obtained from a hierarchy of ocean-climate models.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 7","pages":"410-424"},"PeriodicalIF":46.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389317","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":"Chaotic photonics in microresonators","authors":"Xuefeng Jiang, Lin Chang, Jing Zhang, Jan Wiersig, Martina Hentschel, Xingjun Wang, Hui Cao, Yun-Feng Xiao, Andrea Alù","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00941-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00941-w","url":null,"abstract":"Microcavities, which confine photons to a small volume for extended durations, provide an ideal platform to study, enhance and leverage light–matter interactions. The resulting opportunities encompass a broad range of phenomena, including lasing, sensing, frequency comb and soliton generation, cavity optomechanics and non-Hermitian physics. Many of these applications of cavity photonics show forms of optical chaos, such as wave chaos in asymmetric microresonators, chaotic Kerr microcomb dynamics and chaos in cavity optomechanical systems. In this Review, we offer a perspective on the intersection of microcavity photonics and chaotic systems by detailing recent progress across multiple material platforms and system architectures. We highlight the latest experimental and theoretical advances and discuss new opportunities for both technological development and fundamental research. This Review aims to broaden the scope of photonic technologies and deepen the understanding of complex dynamics in optical systems by illuminating new avenues to leverage chaotic behaviour in microcavities. Chaos in photonics is not always a nuisance but often a source of innovation. This Review surveys chaotic microcavity photonics across materials and architectures, highlighting opportunities to harness chaotic dynamics for technology and science.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 6","pages":"365-382"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148203129","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":"Cross-probing van der Waals multiferroics","authors":"Bo Peng \u0000 (, ), Zeya Li \u0000 (, ), Han Wang, Shengdong You, Yangliu Wu, Wei Liu, Jianliang Xie, Haipeng Lu, Peiheng Zhou, Kian Ping Loh, Je-Geun Park, Hongtao Yuan \u0000 (, ), Longjiang Deng \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00944-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00944-7","url":null,"abstract":"Multiferroic materials, with coupled electric and magnetic orders, hold the potential to enable low-power memory and logic devices by replacing electrical currents with electric fields for magnetic switching. Reducing the dimensionality of multiferroics, from 3D to 2D, has opened new frontiers in this already burgeoning field by enabling unprecedented control over magnetoelectric coupling that is beyond the reach of bulk counterparts, owing to reduced electrostatic screening and enhanced quantum fluctuations at the atomically thin limit. A notable example is a few-layer NiI2 multiferroic, which exhibits coexisting chiral spin textures and (anti)ferroelectricity, accompanied by strong magnetoelectric coupling; by simultaneously breaking time-reversal and spatial-inversion symmetry, NiI2 shows new physical properties such as unique mutual control of chiral magnetism and polarization with giant magnetoelectric coupling, ultrafast electromagnon excitations and odd-parity p-wave magnetism. However, there are experimental challenges in unambiguously identifying intrinsic multiferroicity. This Review critically examines the current landscape of 2D multiferroic materials, with an emphasis on experimental methodologies rather than material taxonomy. We assess different conventional probes for magnetism and ferroelectricity and identify key limitations in single-technique approaches. We emphasize the importance of magneto-opto-electric cross-correlative measurements in establishing intrinsic multiferroic behaviour and outline future research directions for both fundamental studies and device applications. 2D van der Waals multiferroics, with their coupled magnetic and electric orders and their reduced dimensionality, offer great opportunities for low-power magnetoelectric devices. This Review moves beyond conventional probing techniques and advocates for cross-probing technologies to identify intrinsic multiferroicity in these atomically thin materials.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 7","pages":"452-467"},"PeriodicalIF":46.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389316","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":"Vortices and solitons in polariton superfluids and condensates","authors":"Xuekai Ma, Dmitry Solnyshkov, Guillaume Malpuech, Stefan Schumacher, Alexey Kavokin","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00943-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00943-8","url":null,"abstract":"Exciton-polaritons are hybrid light–matter quasiparticles in semiconductor microstructures that exhibit strong nonlinearity. An optical beam can efficiently drive polaritons to on-demand nonlinear states such as vortices and solitons. These states have rich physical properties, such as quantized phase jumps and stationary shapes, and hold promise for applications in information processing and transmission, all-optical circuits and quantum computing. In this Review, we discuss the formation and control dynamics of polariton vortices and solitons, with a focus on spinor polaritons in which vortices with a half-integer topological charge can arise. Polaritons can be optically driven into nonlinear states such as vortices and solitons, with properties like quantized phase jumps and stable shapes, that enable applications in information processing. This Review discusses the formation and control of polariton vortices and solitons.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 7","pages":"437-451"},"PeriodicalIF":46.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389315","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":"Talking quantum with a 9-year-old","authors":"Zoe Budrikis","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00947-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00947-4","url":null,"abstract":"Katia Moskvitch shares her experience of launching a quantum computing podcast with her child.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 6","pages":"324-325"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148203125","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":"Black-hole thermodynamics","authors":"Robert B. Mann","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00942-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00942-9","url":null,"abstract":"It has been 50 years since thermodynamics and general relativity were united in the study of black-hole thermodynamics. This Review covers the established principles in the subject, including the four laws of black-hole thermodynamics, notions of temperature and entropy, and the chemical behaviour exhibited by black holes. However, there are still many unsolved puzzles in black-hole thermodynamics: we discuss violations of the third law, non-equilibrium behaviour and black-hole microstructure, as well as the information paradox that encapsulates a deep conundrum between gravitation and quantum physics. We also assess the prospects for progress through understanding multicritical behaviour and the dynamics of phase changes, the use of holographic approaches, and, ultimately, the resolution of the information paradox. After 50 years, black-hole thermodynamics still offers much to learn about the relationship between gravitation and quantum physics. The study of black-hole thermodynamics — now 50 years old — has led to deep insights into fundamental physics, but it has also created fresh paradoxes and puzzles. This Review assesses what has been learned, where progress is being made, and what remains unknown.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 7","pages":"425-436"},"PeriodicalIF":46.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389312","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":"Learning density functionals with differentiable DFT","authors":"Antonius von Strachwitz","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00948-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00948-3","url":null,"abstract":"Antonius von Strachwitz explains the advantages and challenges of replacing the exchange-correlation functionals in DFT with a learnable model.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 6","pages":"326-326"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148203126","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":"Global science in a changing world","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00946-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00946-5","url":null,"abstract":"A closer look at past and present shows how trust underpins the international scientific endeavour.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 5","pages":"253-254"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-026-00946-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147865832","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":"Physics and chemistry perspectives on three unsolved problems in glass science","authors":"Jeppe C. Dyre, Mark D. Ediger","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00940-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00940-x","url":null,"abstract":"The study of glasses and glass formation is a rich and technologically important area of research. This Perspective reviews recent progress in the field from the different points of view of chemistry and physics. At the heart of glass science are the super-Arrhenius temperature dependence of molecular relaxation processes and the nonexponential nature of relaxation functions. We discuss three questions motivated by these features and describe the progress of the past decade in answering them. The paper reviews experiments and simulations that probe growing and possibly diverging length scales associated with supercooling, the possibility of a thermodynamic transition to an ideal glass state underlying the glass transition, and new indications for universal relaxation functions describing molecular motion in deeply supercooled liquids. For each of these still largely unsolved problems, we illuminate the interplay between the universality often favoured by physicists and the specificity typical of the chemist approach. This Perspective reviews recent progress in relation to three old yet unsolved problems on supercooled liquids and glasses, emphasizing the different approach and focus of physics and chemistry.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 6","pages":"383-396"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148203130","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":"Interpreting coherence in wall turbulence","authors":"Daniele Massaro, Fazle Hussain","doi":"10.1038/s42254-026-00929-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42254-026-00929-6","url":null,"abstract":"Coherent structures (CSs) are characteristic features of turbulent flows, extensively studied but still ill-defined and poorly understood. This Review focuses on CS interpretations in wall turbulence, framing CSs as manageable components of turbulence. We discuss coherence and causality, covering foundational perspectives such as vortical CSs and ‘dynamic eddies’, alongside more recent approaches, including modal decompositions and causal coherence. Although there is no single universally accepted definition of CSs, we review diverse interpretations, highlighting differences, strengths and limitations, and discussing when one interpretation may be preferred over another. We clarify concepts often used interchangeably (vortices and CSs) and distinguish between modelling-based (attached and detached eddies) and observational (large-scale and very-large-scale motions) representations of CSs. Finally, we outline open questions and challenges, such as uncovering causal relationships among different CSs and leveraging machine learning for their detection and interpretation. Although no universally accepted definition exists, coherent structures are key organized features of wall-bounded turbulent flows. This Review clarifies competing CS interpretations and highlights challenges in establishing causal relationships among CSs and in their interpretation via machine learning.","PeriodicalId":19024,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Physics","volume":"8 5","pages":"276-290"},"PeriodicalIF":39.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147865838","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}