Written by Katherine Wright, senior editor for Physics, and re-published here with permission. See original post: https://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.197701 The Wigner crystal is an elusive beast. Predicted in 1934, this crystal of electrons, which is one of the most strongly correlated states of matter, forms when the electron density is ultralow. But a lack of clean enough systems […]

Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics Bill Sutherland, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Utah, was awarded the 2019 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, which he will share with Professor Michel Gaudin at the Institute for Advanced Study and Francesco Calogero, professor of physics at Sapienza University of Rome. The prize is […]

The struggle to keep drinks cold during the summer is a lesson in classical phase transitions. To study phase transitions, apply heat to a substance and watch how its properties change. Add heat to water and at the so-called “critical point,” watch as it transforms into a gas (steam). Remove heat from water and watch […]

Scientists have solved decades long puzzle about lithium, an essential metal in cellphone and computer batteries. Using extreme pressure experiments and powerful supercomputing, the international team has unraveled the mystery of a fundamental property of lithium. Its atoms are arranged in a simple structure, and may be the first direct evidence of a quantum solid […]

Alexei Abrikosov, physicist at the Argonne National Laboratory who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003 for his work on superconductors, died on Wednesday, March 29 at 88 years of age. As an adjunct professor at the University of Utah, he would visit the campus to speak with researchers and give fantastic talks about […]