Physics APS

Physics is an online magazine offered for free by the American Physical Society. It mainly covers research papers from the Physical Review journals, highlighting findings that could transform research, encourage innovative thinking, or ignite interest. The articles detailing these discoveries are crafted by professionals, journalists, and our own writers, aimed at serving the physics community and the wider audience.

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Articles

Superconductivity Inspires New Dark Matter Contender

2 days ago | physics.aps.org | Matteo Rini

May 14, 2025• Physics 18, s69Drawing on an analogy with superconductivity, theorists have proposed a dark matter candidate that could have left observable signatures in the cosmic microwave background. ×As searches for the leading dark matter candidates—weakly interacting massive particles, axions, and primordial black holes—continue to deliver null results, the door opens on the exploration of more exotic alternatives.
US Physics Departments Expect to Shrink Graduate Programs

2 weeks ago | physics.aps.org | Clare Zhang

May 2, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, 95Student enrollment and guaranteed financial support are expected to fall amid anticipation of federal budget cuts, a new report finds.
Gamma-Ray Halos May Be Common Around Pulsars

2 weeks ago | physics.aps.org | Marric Stephens

April 30, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, s59The results of a survey of middle-aged pulsars suggest that a feature previously seen around a handful of pulsars might be ubiquitous. In 2017, researchers with the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory discovered that two nearby pulsars are surrounded by halos of tera-electron-volt (TeV) gamma rays [1]. Now the HAWC Collaboration has found evidence that TeV halos may be ubiquitous around middle-aged pulsars [2].
Podcast: A Manifesto for Women in Quantum

2 weeks ago | physics.aps.org | Julie Gould

April 29, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, 92A group of leading quantum scientists has published a manifesto aimed at supporting the participation of women in quantum science and technology and related fields. ×LISTEN HERE, ON APPLE PODCASTS, OR ON SPOTIFY.
Active Polymers Tie Themselves in Knots

3 weeks ago | physics.aps.org | Marric Stephens

April 24, 2025• Physics 18, s55Simulations show that polymers that include inert and self-propelled components are more likely to form and retain knots, with possible applications in materials engineering. Long molecules can become spontaneously entangled with themselves. Sometimes—in strands of DNA, for example—those knots are a problem. But the ability to create knots in polymers on demand could lead to materials with bespoke properties.
Intergalactic Collision Constrains Dark Electromagnetism

4 weeks ago | physics.aps.org | Marric Stephens

April 17, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, s48The distribution of dark matter around a pair of colliding galaxy clusters appears unaffected by a putative dark-sector version of electromagnetism. ×Dark matter, by definition, does not participate in electromagnetic interactions. But some theories include a dark matter analogue of this familiar force. These theories imply that dark matter particles might possess positive or negative “dark charges” and thereby experience attractive or repulsive forces.
AI Gives Ultrasound Imaging a Boost

1 month ago | physics.aps.org | Katherine Wright

April 15, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, s49A new method for obtaining high-resolution images of cells from low-resolution ultrasound data enables longer, noninvasive monitoring of organisms. ×The preferred tool for imaging cells is the optical microscope, as it has the resolution needed to capture a cell’s main components. The technique works well if the cells only need to be observed for a few hours, but it breaks down for longer times, as photons from the light source eventually damage the cells.
Superconductivity Traverses a Single Molecule Bridge

1 month ago | physics.aps.org | Katherine Wright

April 9, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, 79A single molecule provides a controllable connection between a normal metal and a superconductor. ×Researchers have caused a material’s superconductivity to permeate into a nearby normal metal via a single molecule [1]. They showed that this effect could be controlled and say that this control could allow the creation of so-called Majorana quasiparticles, which many research teams are exploring as future quantum bits (qubits) for quantum computers.
Aiming for Lighter Light Sails

1 month ago | physics.aps.org | Katherine Wright

April 8, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, 77Researchers are developing highly reflective thin films that could be installed on small light-propelled spacecraft. ×To explore the Universe beyond our Solar System on a reasonable time frame, scientists need spacecraft that can move faster than those that currently exist. One route to faster spacecraft involves powering them by light sails—ultrathin, reflective structures that use laser-driven radiation pressure to propel them to high speeds.
Sifting Junk for Dark Matter

1 month ago | physics.aps.org | Katherine Wright

April 4, 2025&bullet; Physics 18, 73Elena Pinetti searches for dark matter using JWST calibration images that other researchers discard. ×For as long as she can remember, Elena Pinetti, a dark matter hunter at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics, wanted to be a scientist. In high school she fell in love with Maxwell’s equations and the fact that all of electromagnetism could be described by only four laws.