Physicists have for the first time directly observed the quantum Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, using ultracold lithium gases. The phenomenon produced eccentric fractional skyrmions — crescent-shaped quantum vortices with embedded singularities — resembling shapes in Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” These findings deepen our understanding of quantum turbulence and may inform future developments in topology and quantum technologies.

Recently, scientists in China experimentally realized a class of three-dimensional spatiotemporal wavepackets with spherical harmonic symmetry. This achievement is made by exploiting the mathematical analogy between the paraxial wave equation for spatiotemporal optical fields and the potential-free Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics, utilizing their self-developed spatiotemporal light field modulation apparatus. Such spherically symmetric spatiotemporal light fields show promising potential for applications in photonic quantum emulator and particle manipulation, among other fields.

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have, for the first time, directly visualized the so-called quantum zero-point motion in a larger molecule. This motion is exhibited by particles even at absolute zero temperature. In a collaborative experiment with the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, the University of Hamburg, the European XFEL, and other partners, they managed to make this “eternal dance” of the atoms visible. The discovery was made possible by the COLTRIMS reaction microscope developed in Frankfurt, which is capable of reconstructing molecular structures. The findings have now been published in the journal Science.

It sounds like science fiction: a spacecraft, no heavier than a paperclip, propelled by a laser beam and hurtling through space at the speed of light toward a black hole, on a mission to probe the very fabric of space and time and test the laws of physics. But to astrophysicist and black hole expert Cosimo Bambi, the idea is not so far-fetched.   

Reporting in the Cell Press journal iScience, Bambi outlines the blueprint for turning this interstellar voyage to a black hole into a reality. If successful, this century-long mission could return data from nearby black holes that completely alter our understanding of general relativity and the rules of physics. 

Fedele — a longtime skeptic of the conventional explanations — led an international team to investigate rogue wave origins. The results, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, underscore the significance of their findings. The team analyzed 27,500 wave records collected over 18 years in the North Sea. It was the most comprehensive dataset of its kind.

Not all poisonous gases have a smell or a color. But a tiny grid of pastel- and candy-colored squares that effectively “sniffs” out hazardous chemicals in the air such as chlorosarin — a highly toxic nerve agent — could help detect them. Researchers report in ACS Sensors that the colorful patterns in their inexpensive and durable paper-based sensor array changed in the presence of poisonous gases, allowing for quick and accurate measurements within minutes.