The Quantum Enigma: What Does the Wave Function Really Tell Us?
A new historical review traces the century-long debate over whether the wave function is a mathematical tool or a description of physical reality.
Science
The Physics of Search: How AI is Rewriting Learning
![The analysis of search volume shifts between 2023 and 2025 reveals a growing divergence in public interest between mechanics and electromagnetism-particularly within the United States-where searches for electromagnetism-related content exhibited a positive median shift, suggesting a potential re-weighting of focus within physics-related online inquiry, even after accounting for extreme outliers such as a [latex]220\%[/latex] surge in worldwide electromagnetism searches.](https://arxiv.org/html/2602.09550v1/percentage_changes1.png)
A new analysis reveals a dramatic shift in how physics students find information, with generative AI tools rapidly replacing traditional search engines.
Unlocking the Secrets of Quantum Spin Liquids with Light
This review explores how Raman spectroscopy is used to probe the exotic properties of Kitaev quantum spin liquids and search for evidence of their elusive Majorana fermion excitations.
Shattering Symmetries: The Hunt for Lepton and Baryon Number Violation
![The search for physics beyond the Standard Model hinges on detecting processes that violate fundamental conservation laws - specifically, baryon number and lepton number - as evidenced by theoretical pathways including proton decay into a positron and pion ([latex]p \to e^{+} \pi^{0}[/latex]), oscillations between neutrons and antineutrons, and neutrinoless double-beta decay, each predicting distinct signatures of [latex]\Delta B[/latex] or [latex]\Delta L[/latex] violation.](https://arxiv.org/html/2602.09097v1/diag0vbb.png)
A comprehensive review explores the experimental efforts to detect processes that break fundamental conservation laws, with profound implications for particle physics and cosmology.
Unconventional Superconductivity Emerges from a Kondo Ferromagnet
New research reveals a surprising path to superconductivity in Ce5CoGe2, a material where magnetism and electron behavior intertwine.
Helium’s Odd Behavior Constrains Search for New Forces
![The study posits an exotic interaction between electrons in both [latex] ^4He [/latex] and [latex] ^3He [/latex], mediated by a novel boson, and crucially demonstrates that this electron-electron interaction-despite differing nuclear structures-produces identical leading-order energy shifts in both isotopes, suggesting a fundamental, isotope-independent quantum effect.](https://arxiv.org/html/2602.09743v1/x1.png)
A decades-old puzzle involving helium’s ionization energy continues to challenge our understanding of fundamental physics and is narrowing the possibilities for exotic interactions beyond the Standard Model.
Witnessing Disorder: Atoms Reveal the Secrets of Localization
Researchers have directly observed the three-dimensional Anderson transition in ultracold atoms, providing crucial experimental validation of decades-old theoretical predictions about how disorder affects material properties.
Quantum Vibrations Tune Molecular Excitations
A new study reveals how the quantum behavior of protons in hydrogen-bonded materials subtly alters the way they absorb and emit light.
Beyond Expansion: How Cosmic Growth Reveals Dark Energy’s Secrets
New research demonstrates that tracking how structures form in the universe is crucial to understanding the evolving nature of dark energy, going beyond simple measurements of cosmic expansion.
Weaving Spacetime from Matter
(M+1)[/latex] or [latex](M-1)(M-1)[/latex] block, a dynamic echoing the fundamental instability inherent in any theoretical construct-a principle first outlined by Penrose in 1971.](https://arxiv.org/html/2602.08341v1/x1.png)
A new approach to loop quantum gravity proposes that spacetime itself emerges directly from the interactions of matter fields.