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One-way phonon synchronization could survive noise and defects, theoretical physicists suggest

A novel approach for realizing the one-way quantum synchronization of phonons has been proposed by three theoretical physicists at RIKEN. Importantly, this method is remarkably resilient against practical challenges such as imperfections and environmental noise. Their paper, “Nonreciprocal quantum synchronization,” is published in Nature Communications.

Many devices use components that act as one-way streets, allowing particles to travel in one direction, but almost not at all in the opposite one. These so-called nonreciprocal components are widely used in microwave and light-based systems for things such as controlling signal flow and preventing reflections.

“Nonreciprocal components enable signals to travel along desired paths, whereas they are strongly attenuated in the opposite direction,” notes Franco Nori of the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing (RQC). “This ability finds applications ranging from signal processing to invisible cloaking.”

How electron structure affects light responses in moiré materials

In materials science, if you can understand the “texture” of a material—how its internal patterns form and shift—you can begin to design how it behaves. That’s the focus of the work of Zhenglu Li, assistant professor in the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Li’s recently published paper in PNAS, titled “Moiré excitons in generalized Wigner crystals,” demonstrates that the way electrons organize themselves inside a material determines how that material responds to light—and how this organization can be engineered.

“Moiré” is a word that will be familiar to anyone who follows fashion. In the context of textiles, it refers to a larger-scale interference pattern that appears when two repeating patterns are slightly misaligned. Imagine brushing a swatch of velvet in different directions; the material reveals different properties depending on how it is ruffled.

Likewise, in the context of nanoscale materials science, an independent, shimmering or wavelike pattern is formed when two overlapping atomically thin layers are overlaid at an acute angle. The new pattern, moiré superlattice, changes how electrons move, which can give the material unusual properties.

Quantum ‘dark modes’ no longer block phonon control, opening new paths for scalable devices

Three RIKEN researchers have demonstrated a way to stop problematic “dark modes” from squelching intriguing effects in quantum systems. This advance could help with the development of more versatile quantum devices that can be used to control the storage and transmission of quantum information. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Manipulations that alter the topology of certain quantum systems known as non-Hermitian systems are attracting increasing attention, since they offer novel possibilities for manipulating particles of sound (phonons) and light (photons) as well as other excitations.

Topological operations allow for various weird and fascinating phenomena, such as the buildup of chiral phases and the movement of phonons in one direction,” notes Franco Nori of the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing (RQC).

Newton’s 300-Year-Old Law Passes Its Biggest Cosmic Test Yet

Gravity may seem simple in everyday life. Drop an apple, and it falls. On cosmic scales, though, gravity becomes one of science’s biggest stress tests. It governs the rise of galaxies, the behavior of galaxy clusters, and the overall architecture of the universe, yet some of the universe’s motions still do not add up.

That long-running mismatch is what drove University of Pennsylvania cosmologist Patricio A. Gallardo and his collaborators to ask a basic but profound question: what if gravity itself behaves differently across the largest distances in the universe?

The Immune System Impacts Longevity: What To Measure

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Boosting good gut bacteria population through targeted interventions may slow cognitive decline

The origin of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia isn’t limited to the brain. The state of your gut can quietly set off a cycle of chronic, system-wide inflammation that nudges the brain toward cognitive decline. But how does the pathogenesis of a disease that seems purely brain-based begin in the gut—an organ that is mostly busy producing chemicals for digesting food?

It turns out these two entities are linked by the gut-brain axis, a two-way communication superhighway that constantly sends signals between the digestive tract and the central nervous system. It runs on chemical messengers like neurotransmitters and fatty acids, sharing information that shapes our memory, mood, and inflammation triggers.

An analysis of 15 studies involving more than 4,200 participants found that the gut-brain highway can be put to work as a drug-free route to support cognitive health. Tuning the gut microbiota through diet, supplements, or medical interventions such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can help improve memory, executive function, and overall cognitive performance, particularly in early or mild cases of cognitive impairment.

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