The properties of a quantum material are driven by links between its electrons known as quantum correlations. A RIKEN researcher has shown mathematically that, at non-zero temperatures, these connections can only exist over very short distances when more than two particles are involved. This finding, now published in Physical Review X, sets a fundamental limit on just how "exotic" a quantum material can be under realistic, finite-temperature conditions.

Concerns that quantum computers may start easily hacking into previously secure communications has motivated researchers to work on innovative new ways to encrypt information. One such method is quantum key distribution (QKD), a secure, quantum-based method in which eavesdropping attempts disrupt the quantum state, making unauthorized interception immediately detectable.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, in general, allow the realization of unique quantum phenomena unattainable in the common three-dimensional (3D) world. A prime example is graphene. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a similar structure. Both can be stacked to form van der Waals heterostructures or can be exfoliated into single layers. But TMDs have an extra variety of excellent properties, including strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity.

Invisible light beyond the range of human vision plays a vital role in communication technologies, medical diagnostics, and optical sensing. Ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths are routinely used in these fields, yet detecting them directly often requires complex instrumentation.

Antibiotic resistance (AR) has steadily accelerated in recent years to become a global health crisis. As deadly bacteria evolve new ways to elude drug treatments for a variety of illnesses, a growing number of "superbugs" have emerged, ramping up estimates of more than 10 million worldwide deaths per year by 2050.

Technological advances over the past four decades have turned mobile devices and computers into the world's largest library, where information is just a tap away. Phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches—they're a part of everyday life, simplifying access to entertainment, information, and each other. Ongoing advancements in generative artificial intelligence are giving these technologies even more of an edge. Whether someone asks their device where dinosaurs lived or how accelerated their pulse is, AI can get the information quicker than technology has ever been able to do. Accuracy, on the other hand, is still in question.

A new study by researchers at Kiel University and MPI-EvolBio describes how more efficient protein production drives the adaptation of fungi to the human body, potentially turning previously harmless species into emerging pathogens. In the wake of global change and the associated rise in temperatures, fungal infections are on the increase worldwide, threatening crops, wildlife and, also, human health. Many fungal species are completely harmless and fulfill important ecological functions, such as decomposing organic matter and releasing nutrients into the soil.

Hybrid climate modeling has emerged as an effective way to reduce the computational costs associated with cloud-resolving models while retaining their accuracy. The approach retains physics-based models to simulate large-scale atmospheric dynamics, while harnessing deep learning to emulate cloud and convection processes that are too small to be resolved directly. In practice, however, many hybrid AI-physics models are unreliable. When simulations extend over months or years, small errors can accumulate and cause the model to become unstable.

This week in science news: Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, may break down more rapidly in the atmosphere than previously thought due to climate change. A new, experimental pill dramatically reduces bad cholesterol. And physicists believe they detected an exploding black hole, representing scary new behavior from what we once thought was a more limited arsenal of gravity-based terror and awe.

In collaboration with international partners, researchers at the University of Stuttgart have experimentally demonstrated a previously unknown form of magnetism in atomically thin material layers. The discovery is highly relevant for future magnetic data storage technologies and advances the fundamental understanding of magnetic interactions in two-dimensional systems. The results have now been published in Nature Nanotechnology.