Robert Garisto

Condensed-matter physics pioneer and Nobel laureate Anthony Leggett dies aged 87 – Physics World Leggett made Nobel-prize-winning contributions to the theory of superfluidity in the 1970s

#RIP Tony Leggett. He was a great physicist, winning the 2003
Nobel Prize in Physics. He contributed to several fields of physics, just look at his papers: journals.aps.org/search/resul...

He was also an outstanding & thoughtful referee for decades.

physicsworld.com/a/condensed-...

Turbulent Dynamos in a Collapsing Cloud A coordinate transformation devised for an expanding universe leads to new insights into how a collapsing protogalaxy acquires a large magnetic field.

The gravitational collapse of protogalactic clouds can superexponentially amplify their nascent magnetic fields
PRL: go.aps.org/4sjJOdA #astrophysics
PhysMag: go.aps.org/4sshG8e 🧪⚛️

The link had to be changed. Here is a working one: journals.aps.org/prl/2026/02/...

We're rather proud of this paper (which is free to read)

#GW10Years

PRL has again selected about one issue’s worth of some of the best Letters across physics to create the second annual PRL Collection of the Year.
promo.aps.org/prl2025 #PRLCotY

Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger Gravitational waves emitted by the merger of two black holes have been detected, setting the course for a new era of observational astrophysics.

#OTD Ten years ago, PRL published the @ligo.org discovery paper

Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Error-Resilient Reversal of Quantum Chaotic Dynamics Enabled by Scramblons A combined experimental and theoretical study reveals the emergence of quantum chaos in a complex system, suggesting that it can be described with a universal theoretical framework.

A combined experimental and theoretical study reveals the emergence of quantum chaos in a complex system, suggesting that it can be described with a universal theoretical framework.
PRL: go.aps.org/3ZYoga9
PhysMag: go.aps.org/4a5NitV

top of ad

PRL seeks part-time Associate Editor

Part-time position, for someone with a settled academic position in condensed matter with strong research connections in East Asia, and the willingness and ability to represent PRL at conferences in these regions, particularly China. go.aps.org/4bWT3vt

Position Summary from the ad

Job Opening: Full-Time Associate Editor, PRL

We seek a dynamic and personable individual with postdoctoral experience in soft matter and statistical physics, to join our close-knit team of editors running the world’s leading physics journal. aps.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a27...

Tunable Einstein-Bohr Recoiling-Slit Gedankenexperiment at the Quantum Limit journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Brad Marston on science, democracy, and the hard work ahead In an interview, the 2026 APS president outlines his career, his goals for the year, and where he finds optimism in challenging times.

"I really want to emphasize the interconnections between democracy and science, so I’ve been going back and reading about the Age of Enlightenment, the American Revolution"
-APS President Brad Marston www.aps.org/apsnews/2026...

Two different LHC measurements of the radial flow of quark-gluon plasma confirm the collective hydrodynamic behavior of the plasma.
ATLAS: go.aps.org/4jWqhNt #OpenAccess
ALICE: go.aps.org/3ZpsTJZ #OpenAccess

In Memory of Katherine Wright | Physics Magazine We pay tribute to our friend and colleague, whose journalistic talent and commitment to inclusivity left an indelible mark on Physics Magazine.  

Our colleague Katherine Wright, who began as an editor for PRL and went on to explore her passion as a great writer for
@physicsmagazine.bsky.social, passed away this fall from cancer, far too young. Here is a tribute to her: physics.aps.org/articles/v18...

Strict Universality of the Square-Root Law in Price Impact across Stocks: A Complete Survey of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Analysis of a large dataset from the Tokyo Stock Exchange validates a universal power law relating the price of a traded stock to the traded volume.

Empirical evidence that stocks follow a square root law: You need to buy four times as much stock to have twice the effect on the market.
PRL: go.aps.org/3MF4zRm
PhysMag: go.aps.org/4pBJTIp

Signal strength of the various channels.

Evidence (3.4σ) from @atlasexperiment.bsky.social that Higgs bosons decay into muon pairs, as predicted by the Standard Model mass mechanism for leptons as laid out in Steven Weinberg's 1967 model of leptons. Glibly, Weinberg was right.
PRL: go.aps.org/3MoU2JT #OpenAccess
PhysMag: go.aps.org/3XtwWUV

Fig. 1: The concept of the Einstein-Bohr Gedankenexperiment and its realization. (a) Schematic of single-photon interference with a movable slit. A photon scatters off the slit, entangling its path with the slit’s momentum. (b) Our experimental realization using a single atom trapped in an optical tweezer and prepared in quantum ground state, which serves as the movable quantum slit.

Realization of the Einstein-Bohr Gedankenexperiment using a single atom as tunable recoiling "slit" 🧪⚛️ #IYQ2025
PRL: go.aps.org/44C02Fn
PhysMag: go.aps.org/4pf6bQl

Details of the Journal Club which can be found at the registration link

#PRLjournalclub
Please join us in a week, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 12p EST
for a live discussion with the authors of Lysak et al about

New Plasma Regime in Jupiter’s Auroral Zones

PRL: go.aps.org/4lpgnng #OpenAccess
Free registration: go.aps.org/4oZN8ZK

Job Opening: Full-Time Associate Editor, PRL

We seek a dynamic and personable individual with postdoctoral experience in gravitation, astrophysics, or cosmology, to join our close-knit team of editors running the world’s leading physics journal.
aps.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a27...

Near-Perfect Broadband Quantum Memory Enabled by Intelligent Spin-Wave Compaction A new approach stores and retrieves quantum states with record reliability, paving the way for improved quantum information processing.

Quantum memory with protocol that enhances efficiency while *reducing* noise.

Efficiency: 94.6±1%
Fidelity: 98.9±0.1%

PRL: go.aps.org/4qnrz6C
PhysMag: go.aps.org/4qklrvV

Quasicrystals Grow Smoothly Around Obstacles Large-scale obstacles to crystal growth can throw the whole lattice off kilter, but quasicrystals can accommodate them without losing their atomic-scale order.  

Quasicrystals grow defect-free around pores, thus accommodating structural disruptions due to phasonic degrees of freedom
PRL: go.aps.org/4nYh5cx
PhysMag: physics.aps.org/articles/v18...

Chills from a condensed matter abstract from 40 yrs ago:
"We report the first observation of quantized energy levels for a macroscopic variable, namely the phase difference across a current-biased Josephson junction in its zero-voltage state." @nobelprize.bsky.social
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Congratulations to John Clarke, Michael Devoret, & John Martinis
Nobel in Physics "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling & energy quantization in an electric circuit" in 3 PRLs
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

30% of PRL authors use End Matter after just a year! I’ve seen it improve many a Letter. #PeerReviewWeek

I'd like to thank everyone who helped carefully & quickly vet this Letter & bring it to publication: authors, editors, other staff, and especially the referees.

(Received 13 August 2025; revised 25 August 2025; accepted 26 August 2025; published 10 September 2025)
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Bottom of Fig. 5 of the PRL. It shows Probability Density vs Fractional Area Difference. The latter is greater than 0 at high credibility.

Event GW250114, with signal-to-noise ratio of 80, shows

• mass & spin of the merged BH matches the Kerr spectrum

• horizon area of the final BH is greater than the sum of the horizon areas for the merging BHs, as predicted in 1971 by Stephen Hawking go.aps.org/4nkqZEr

Artist's concept of the inspiral, merger, and ringdown of a pair of black holes and resulting gravitational wave signal.

** STEPHEN HAWKING WAS RIGHT **

Using a very strong black-hole merger signal, the @LIGO-@ego_virgo-@KAGRA_PR Collaboration has shown the 2nd law of black hole mechanics, Hawking's area law (A_final > A_initial), to hold with high credibility.

PRL: go.aps.org/3VarXHA #open

Superradiant Neutrino Lasers from Radioactive Condensates A Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive atoms could turn into a source of intense, coherent, and directional neutrino beams, according to a theoretical proposal.

Speculative but intriguing proposal for a neutrino laser using superradiant ν emission from a Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive ⁸³Rb
PRL: go.aps.org/3KaIvg4 #OpenAccess
PhysMag: go.aps.org/3V6Sp4U

Unveiling the Electrodynamic Nature of Spacetime Collisions Gravitational field equations describing binary black holes can be recast in a form resembling coupled Maxwell's equations for electrodynamics.

Gravitational field equations describing binary black holes can be recast in a form resembling coupled Maxwell’s equations for electrodynamics
PRL: go.aps.org/4g0K9g6 🧪⚛️

Muon Experiment Calls It a Wrap The final results from the Muon g − 2 experiment agree with the latest predictions of the muon’s magnetic properties—letting down hopes that the particle would upset the standard model’s applecart.

g-2 of the muon has been measured to 127 parts per billion,
a_𝜇 = 0. 001 165 920 705(148), agreeing with previous experimental results. Theory predictions now largely agree.
PRL: go.aps.org/45IL4OY #OpenAccess
PhysMag: go.aps.org/45KNYmo

Figure 3

Fun PRL about chainmail:

"In this Letter, we propose a rigidity theory for a type of interlocked material system: the torus knot tessellation."

go.aps.org/3HsuObE 🧪⚛️