JPS Hot Topics

Over the past two decades, computational approaches have taken on a complementary role alongside traditional experimental synthesis and characterization workflows in materials science. However, experimental approaches are costly and time-consuming, while computational methods require extensive computational power, limiting efficient material discovery and analysis. Additionally, predicting material properties often relies on intuition and experience. Artificial intelligence […]

Since the theoretical discovery of Hawking radiation, the quantum nature of black holes has become a central topic in theoretical physics. This topic has motivated experimental searches for quantum black holes based on theories of quantum gravity. Realizing quantum black holes in the laboratory would open a path toward experimental studies of quantum gravity, key […]

The interplay between strong electronic correlations and spin–orbit coupling produces a variety of unconventional quantum phenomena and remains a central theme in condensed-matter physics. A key example can be observed in f-electron materials, where spin–orbit coupling combined with a highly symmetric crystalline electric field (CEF) can give rise to a degenerate ground state with multiple […]

In condensed matter physics, an emerging research area involves controlling material properties using light, offering new opportunities for high-speed, energy-efficient, and contactless manipulation. In spintronics, for example, the optical control of magnetization and spins in magnets has given rise to the field of photodriven quantum spin systems, which has witnessed rapid progress in recent years, […]

In 2016, David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, and J. Michael Kosterlitz received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their theoretical discovery of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. Their work established the foundation for a new class of matter: topological materials, which exhibit unique properties, stemming from the topological non-triviality of […]

he existence of an overwhelming amount of matter than antimatter in the universe is a fundamental question in physics. The violation of CP symmetry, the combination of charge-conjugation and parity symmetries, called CP violation, is one of the necessary conditions to explain this asymmetry. Fifty years ago, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa presented a groundbreaking […]

Spin current, or the flow of spin angular momentum, is a central concept in spintronics. With rapid progress in this field, only one side of angular momentum, or spin, has received a lot of attention. The other side, or orbital angular momentum, has long been overlooked, owing to the conventional belief that it is quenched […]

Electrons moving in a magnetic field experience the Lorentz force, causing them to move in circular paths. This creates a magnetic moment that opposes the field, representing the classical orbital magnetic susceptibility for free electrons. In solids, however, electrons are subject to the Coulomb force from periodically aligned atoms. As a result, they adopt Bloch […]

The proton distribution is well-studied via the nuclear charge density distribution derived from electron scattering experiments. Electron scattering is popularly used to estimate nuclear charge distributions, as the electromagnetic interactions are well understood theoretically. Since electron scattering primarily relies on electric charge, it is minimally sensitive to neutrons, which are electrically neutral, making it difficult […]

Multiferroics, materials that exhibit both ferroelectric and magnetic order, have emerged as key platforms for studying strong magnetoelectric interactions, where magnetic and electric properties influence each other. In type-II multiferroics, spontaneous electric polarization arises directly from specific magnetic spin arrangements. When exposed to external oscillating electric and magnetic fields, this spin-driven ferroelectricity generates unique terahertz-range […]