News: Research

Read the latest news from the Department of Physics

Research

Physicists Discover New Coupling Mechanism in Quantum Materials

Edoardo Baldini and his colleagues discovered a new way to detect and control exotic quantum phases in ferroaxial materials with light.

An illustration shows a white beam of light bending like a corkscrew as it interacts wtih a layer of atoms arranged in star shapes. Half of the stars are red and half are blue.

Research

Physicists Discover Long-Predicted ‘Clock Magnetism’ in an Atomically Thin Crystal

Observation of BKT and six-state clock phases reveals how magnetism behaves in two dimensions and may inspire ultracompact technologies.

Research

Are Atoms Like Snowflakes? Physicist Proposes a New Test

A paper in Physics Letters B explores quantum mechanical tests of distinguishability and determinism in atoms.

Blueish white snowflakes sparkle on a black background

Research

Superfluids are Supposed to Flow Indefinitely. Physicists Just Watched One Stop Moving.

Researchers may have glimpsed a supersolid, an enigmatic quantum version of a classical solid.

Oden Institute

Study Reveals Hidden Topological Structure in Polarons

UT physicists found an unexpected layer of structure in one of solid-state physics’ most common quasiparticles.

Research

Experiment Sets Tightest Limits Yet on Proposed Dark Matter Particles

UT physicists involved with LUX-ZEPLIN helped analyze the largest dataset ever collected by a dark matter detector.

Research

“Rival” Neutrino Experiments NOvA and T2K Publish First Joint Analysis

The results add to physicists’ understanding of neutrinos and validate collaboration between major experiments.

Research

More Dark Star Candidates Found in JWST Data

A growing list of dark star candidates could help explain why some early galaxies were so big, so early in the universe.

Research

Stephen Hawking Was Right: Black Holes Always Grow in Area

Researchers celebrate 10th anniversary of gravitational wave discovery, announce verification of a Hawking theorem.

Research

UT Scientists Spied a Skyrmion. What is That?

This, and six other questions about a recent first in physics, answered.