Collective models have long provided an essential framework for understanding the behaviour of atomic nuclei by treating them as systems of interacting particles that can exhibit coherent, macroscopic ...

Quantum phase transitions represent fundamental changes between distinct quantum states of matter, driven not by thermal fluctuations but by quantum fluctuations at zero temperature. These transitions ...

After decades of looking, researchers have seen a string of atoms go through a 1D phase change so elusive that it could only happen inside a quantum simulator. “One motivation [for our experiment] is ...

The melting of materials seems like a simple phenomenon. However, when their thickness is reduced to just a few atoms, ...

Phase changes -- Stability and instability -- Bifurcations and catastrophes -- Percolation -- Random graphs -- Life origins -- Virus dynamics -- Cell structure ...

Human history is not governed by thermodynamic laws. Still, the vocabulary of metastability, tipping points, and critical ...

The effects of cycles of compression and relaxation during Earth’s early lifetime can be studied using a combination of fast ...