Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-09-04DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-03029-x
{"title":"The origin of the axial Higgs is a hidden ferroaxial electronic density wave","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-03029-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-03029-x","url":null,"abstract":"Experiments that probe the spontaneously broken symmetries in rare-earth tritellurides have revealed a previously hidden ferroaxial density wave arising from intertwined charge and orbital order, which is observed to produce the axial Higgs mode.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 10","pages":"1530-1531"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144995523","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-09-03DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02994-7
Vivek Maradia, Benjamin Clasie, Emma Snively, Katia Parodi, Marco Schwarz, Marco Durante
{"title":"Accelerator technologies for proton and ion beam therapy","authors":"Vivek Maradia, Benjamin Clasie, Emma Snively, Katia Parodi, Marco Schwarz, Marco Durante","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-02994-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-02994-7","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past 75 years, proton beam therapy has emerged as a promising modality for cancer treatment, boasting precise targeting and reduced collateral damage to healthy tissue. Here we discuss the evolution of accelerator technology in proton therapy, examining advancements in cyclotron, synchrotron and linear accelerator technology, and their implications for modern treatment delivery. Additionally, we explore advances in delivering accelerated carbon or helium ions for therapeutic treatments. We also discuss the integration of advanced imaging modalities, such as multienergy X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging and ion-based imaging, for real-time monitoring and adaptive radiotherapy. These advancements position particle therapy to offer personalized and effective cancer treatment strategies, heralding improved patient outcomes. Proton and heavy-ion beam therapies are promising approaches for cancer treatment. This Review discusses the accelerator technologies that enable these therapies.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 9","pages":"1363-1373"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144930479","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-03020-6
Sang Hyun Lee, Marcel Moura, Shreya Srivastava, Cara Santelli, Peter K. Kang
{"title":"Filamentous fungi control multiphase flow and fluid distribution in porous media","authors":"Sang Hyun Lee, Marcel Moura, Shreya Srivastava, Cara Santelli, Peter K. Kang","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-03020-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03020-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Filamentous fungi play crucial roles in global carbon and nutrient cycling, soil carbon sequestration, agricultural soil management, contaminant fate and transport, biofouling of engineered materials and human health. Although these processes typically involve multiple fluid phases in porous media, the mechanisms by which fungi regulate fluid flow remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to predict and harness fungus-mediated processes. The complexity and opacity of porous media further obscure our understanding of how fungi influence fluid flow and distribution. Here we explore the impact of filamentous fungi on multiphase flow and fluid redistribution using a dual-porosity microfluidic chip, featuring a flow channel embedded within tight porous media. Our pore-scale visualizations show that filamentous fungi can actively induce multiphase flow and mobilize trapped fluid phases in porous media through localized clogging and hyphal-induced pore invasion, enhancing the oil–water interfacial area and redistribution of fluid phases. This study reveals the mechanisms by which filamentous fungi modulate fluid flow and distribution, offering insights into harnessing fungal processes to enhance applications such as bioremediation and carbon sequestration.</p>","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144924092","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-03008-2
Birender Singh, Grant McNamara, Kyung-Mo Kim, Saif Siddique, Stephen D. Funni, Weizhe Zhang, Xiangpeng Luo, Piyush Sakrikar, Eric M. Kenney, Ratnadwip Singha, Sergey Alekseev, Sayed Ali Akbar Ghorashi, Thomas J. Hicken, Christopher Baines, Hubertus Luetkens, Yiping Wang, Vincent M. Plisson, Michael Geiwitz, Connor A. Occhialini, Riccardo Comin, Michael J. Graf, Liuyan Zhao, Jennifer Cano, Rafael M. Fernandes, Judy J. Cha, Leslie M. Schoop, Kenneth S. Burch
{"title":"Ferroaxial density wave from intertwined charge and orbital order in rare-earth tritellurides","authors":"Birender Singh, Grant McNamara, Kyung-Mo Kim, Saif Siddique, Stephen D. Funni, Weizhe Zhang, Xiangpeng Luo, Piyush Sakrikar, Eric M. Kenney, Ratnadwip Singha, Sergey Alekseev, Sayed Ali Akbar Ghorashi, Thomas J. Hicken, Christopher Baines, Hubertus Luetkens, Yiping Wang, Vincent M. Plisson, Michael Geiwitz, Connor A. Occhialini, Riccardo Comin, Michael J. Graf, Liuyan Zhao, Jennifer Cano, Rafael M. Fernandes, Judy J. Cha, Leslie M. Schoop, Kenneth S. Burch","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-03008-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-03008-2","url":null,"abstract":"The discovery of the axial amplitude mode—commonly referred to as the Higgs mode—in charge density wave systems, such as rare-earth tritellurides, indicates the presence of a hidden order. A theoretical study proposed that this axial Higgs mode arises from a hidden orbital texture of the charge density wave, which produces a ferroaxial charge order. However, experimental evidence for the specific hidden order has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate a ferroaxial order of electronic origin throughout the rare-earth tritellurides. In ErTe3 and HoTe3, which exhibit two distinct charge density waves with different ordering temperatures, a detailed investigation shows that the high-temperature charge order phase breaks translational, rotational and all vertical as well as diagonal mirror symmetries. Furthermore, this phase produces an axial Higgs mode and an axial electronic gap. By contrast, the low-temperature phase breaks only translational symmetry and gives rise to a scalar Higgs mode. Notably, both phases preserve the space inversion and time-reversal symmetries. These findings are consistent with a ferroaxial phase driven by coupled orbital and charge orders, highlighting the role of Higgs modes in revealing hidden orders in systems with intertwined charge density waves. The axial Higgs mode is theoretically attributed to a hidden ferroaxial component of charge order. In rare-earth tritellurides, this ferroaxial order is now shown to be induced by intertwined orbital and charge orders.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 10","pages":"1578-1586"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-025-03008-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144924091","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-08-28DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02984-9
{"title":"How squeezed cells remember their shape to migrate efficiently","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-02984-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-02984-9","url":null,"abstract":"Cells migrating through narrow spaces in their environment undergo repeated shape changes to pass through tight constrictions. Epithelial cells retain a memory of past confinement, allowing them to maintain a polarized, compact morphology that enhances future migration through narrow gaps. This memory is mechanically encoded in the actin cortex.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 9","pages":"1359-1360"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144910869","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-08-27DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02995-6
X. Wen, Q. Ma, A. Mannino, M. Fernandez-Serra, S. Shen, G. Catalan
{"title":"Flexoelectricity and surface ferroelectricity of water ice","authors":"X. Wen, Q. Ma, A. Mannino, M. Fernandez-Serra, S. Shen, G. Catalan","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-02995-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-02995-6","url":null,"abstract":"Frozen water at ambient pressure—common ice, also known as hexagonal Ih ice—is a non-polar material, even though individual water molecules are polar. Consequently, ice is not piezoelectric and cannot generate electricity under pressure. However, it may in principle generate electricity under bending, because the coupling between polarization and strain gradient (flexoelectricity) is always allowed by symmetry. Here we measure the flexoelectricity of ice and find it to be comparable to that of benchmark electroceramics such as TiO2 and SrTiO3. Moreover, the sensitivity of flexoelectric measurements to surface boundary conditions has revealed a ferroelectric phase transition around 160 K confined within the near-surface region of the ice slabs. Beyond potential applications in low-cost transducers made in situ in cold locations, these findings have profound consequences for our understanding of natural phenomena involving ice: our calculations of the flexoelectric charge density generated in ice–graupel collisions inside thunderstorm clouds compare favourably to the experimental charge transferred in such events, suggesting a possible participation of ice flexoelectricity in the generation of lightning. Ice is not piezoelectric, despite the polarity of water molecules, but bending ice may produce electricity. This has now been experimentally demonstrated, with a flexoelectric coefficient comparable to that of common ceramic materials.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 10","pages":"1587-1593"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144905906","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":"Realization of an untrusted intermediate relay architecture using a quantum dot single-photon source","authors":"Mi Zou, Yu-Ming He, Yizhi Huang, Jun-Yi Zhao, Bin-Chen Li, Yong-Peng Guo, Xing Ding, Mo-Chi Xu, Run-Ze Liu, Geng-Yan Zou, Zhen Ning, Xiang You, Hui Wang, Wen-Xin Pan, Hao-Tao Zhu, Ming-Yang Zheng, Xiu-Ping Xie, Dandan Qin, Xiao Jiang, Yong-Heng Huo, Qiang Zhang, Chao-Yang Lu, Xiongfeng Ma, Teng-Yun Chen, Jian-Wei Pan","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-03005-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-03005-5","url":null,"abstract":"To fully exploit the potential of quantum technologies, quantum networks are needed to link different systems, enhancing applications in computing, cryptography and metrology. Central to these networks are quantum relays that can facilitate long-distance entanglement distribution and quantum communication. In this work, we present a modular and scalable quantum relay architecture using a high-quality single-photon source. The proposed network incorporates three untrusted intermediate nodes and is capable of a repetition rate of 304.52 MHz. We use a measurement-device-independent protocol to demonstrate secure key establishment over fibres covering up to 300 km. This study highlights the potential of single-photon sources in quantum relays to enhance information transmission, expand network coverage and improve deployment flexibility, with promising applications in future quantum networks. Quantum information cannot be copied, posing challenges for long-distance communication due to signal losses. Here the quantum relay architecture using a single-photon source enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of quantum information transmission.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 10","pages":"1670-1677"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144900158","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-08-26DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02996-5
Christian P. N. Tanner, Vivian R. K. Wall, Joshua Portner, Ahhyun Jeong, Avishek Das, James K. Utterback, Leo M. Hamerlynck, Jonathan G. Raybin, Matthew J. Hurley, Nicholas Leonard, Rebecca B. Wai, Jenna A. Tan, Mumtaz Gababa, Chenhui Zhu, Eric Schaible, Christopher J. Tassone, David T. Limmer, Samuel W. Teitelbaum, Dmitri V. Talapin, Naomi S. Ginsberg
{"title":"Enhancing nanoscale charged colloid crystallization near a metastable liquid binodal","authors":"Christian P. N. Tanner, Vivian R. K. Wall, Joshua Portner, Ahhyun Jeong, Avishek Das, James K. Utterback, Leo M. Hamerlynck, Jonathan G. Raybin, Matthew J. Hurley, Nicholas Leonard, Rebecca B. Wai, Jenna A. Tan, Mumtaz Gababa, Chenhui Zhu, Eric Schaible, Christopher J. Tassone, David T. Limmer, Samuel W. Teitelbaum, Dmitri V. Talapin, Naomi S. Ginsberg","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-02996-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-02996-5","url":null,"abstract":"Achieving predictive control over crystallization using non-classical nucleation while avoiding kinetic traps would be a step towards designing materials with new functionalities. We address these challenges by inducing the bottom-up assembly of nanocrystals into ordered arrays, or superlattices. Using electrostatics—rather than density—to tune the interactions between particles, we watch self-assembly proceed through a metastable liquid phase. We systematically investigate the phase behaviour as a function of quench conditions in situ and in real time using small-angle X-ray scattering. By fitting to colloid, liquid and superlattice models, we extract the time evolution of each phase and the system phase diagram, which we find to be consistent with short-range attractive interactions. Using the predictive power of the phase diagram, we establish control of the self-assembly rate over three orders of magnitude, and we identify one- and two-step self-assembly regimes, with only the latter implicating the metastable liquid as an intermediate. The presence of the metastable liquid increases the superlattice formation rate relative to the equivalent one-step pathway, and the superlattice order increases with the rate, revealing a generalizable kinetic strategy for promoting and enhancing ordered assembly. Controlling nanoscale colloidal crystallization is not straightforward. Such control is now achieved by leveraging a metastable liquid phase of charged nanocrystals.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 10","pages":"1594-1602"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144900283","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-08-26DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02983-w
Yucheng Ye, Zheng Hao, Jingyi Luo, Wai Hei Lam, Zheng Liu, Xiang David Li, Yuanliang Zhai, Yuan Lin, Shih-Chieh Ti
{"title":"Tubulin isotypes of C. elegans harness the mechanosensitivity of the lattice for microtubule luminal accessibility","authors":"Yucheng Ye, Zheng Hao, Jingyi Luo, Wai Hei Lam, Zheng Liu, Xiang David Li, Yuanliang Zhai, Yuan Lin, Shih-Chieh Ti","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-02983-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-02983-w","url":null,"abstract":"Microtubules are hollow cylindrical cytoskeletal polymers of laterally associated protofilaments that contain head-to-tail aligned ɑ/β-tubulin heterodimers. Although the exposed microtubule exterior is readily accessible to proteins, the mechanism governing the accessibility of the confined microtubule lumen to luminal particles remains unknown. Here we show that certain tubulin family proteins (isotypes) facilitate luminal accessibility because of the mechanical properties and lateral interactions that they confer to the microtubules. We characterized the microtubules reconstituted from defined compositions of Caenorhabditis elegans tubulin isotypes. These tubulin isotypes form microtubules with comparable protofilament numbers but different luminal accessibility. We further revealed the role of tubulin isotypes in regulating the strength of inter-protofilament lateral interactions, which determines luminal accessibility through the mechanosensitivity of reversible protofilament separation. Deformation of the microtubule lattice, which generates stresses exceeding the strength of the lateral interactions, creates gaps between adjacent protofilaments, enhancing the accessibility of the lumen. Together, our findings uncovered the tubulin isotype-dependent mechanical plasticity that confers force sensitivity to the microtubule lattice and modulates the energy barrier for luminal proteins to access the lumen. Proteins interact with both the exterior and interior of microtubules. Here the relationship between microtubule building blocks and the accessibility of the microtubule interior to proteins is clarified.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 9","pages":"1420-1430"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144901820","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}
Nature PhysicsPub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-03019-z
N. G. Holmes
{"title":"Invest in science education research to make science open to all","authors":"N. G. Holmes","doi":"10.1038/s41567-025-03019-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41567-025-03019-z","url":null,"abstract":"Attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts expose the need for science education research.","PeriodicalId":19100,"journal":{"name":"Nature Physics","volume":"21 9","pages":"1350-1350"},"PeriodicalIF":18.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144900165","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}