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An international research team has achieved a breakthrough in atomically thin antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions. This shows the great potential of antiferromagnetic materials for storage technology. Spintronics (spin electronics) deals with the use of electron spin in electronic devices. In contrast to conventional electronics, which only uses the charge of the electrons, spintronics also uses the spin of the electrons, i.e. a "direction of rotation" at the atomic level, to store and process information.

Integrating post-quantum security algorithms into hardware was previously considered a challenge. A research team at Graz University of Technology has developed standardized hardware with additional security measures. They are not yet a reality, but in the not too distant future, sophisticated, powerful quantum computers will be available.

Spin waves with short wavelengths make magnonic computer components possible A new study by the University of Vienna, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart and the Helmholtz Centres in Berlin and Dresden represents an important step towards further miniaturizing computer components and making them more energy-efficient.

Abstract algebra and algebraic geometry to connect quantum physics with number theory Several fields of mathematics have developed in total isolation, using their own 'undecipherable' coded languages. In a new study published in PNAS , Tamás Hausel, professor of mathematics at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), presents "big algebras," a two-way mathematical 'dictionary' between symmetry, algebra, and geometry, that could strengthen the connection between the distant worlds of quantum physics and number theory.

Atomic clocks have been used for decades - but now, even greater precision has become possible: TU Wien (Vienna) and JILA/NIST are presenting the world's first nuclear clock. For many years, scientists all'around the world have been working towards this goal, now suddenly things are happening very fast: it was only in April that a team led by Prof Thorsten Schumm (TU Wien, Vienna) announced a major success.

Batteries undercut their theoretical capacity in practice, sometimes significantly. In a lithium iron phosphate cathode, researchers at TU Graz have now been able to observe exactly where the capacity loss occurs. Lithium iron phosphate is one of the most important materials for batteries in electric cars, stationary energy storage systems and tools.

The nuclear pore basket is a filamentous structure attached to the nucleoplasmic side of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), crucial for regulating transport between the nucleus and cytoplasm. In a paper published in Nature Cell Biology, Edvinas Stankunas and Alwin Köhler revealed the structural basis of the basket filaments and their docking mechanism to the main body of the NPC.

ISTA researchers uncover how 'mortal filaments' self-assemble and maintain order A previously unknown mechanism of active matter self-organization essential for bacterial cell division follows the motto 'dying to align': Misaligned filaments 'die' spontaneously to form a ring structure at the center of the dividing cell.

A research team led by MedUni Vienna has shown in a study that purely optical measurements of the viscosity of blood plasma may provide information about the severity and progression of COVID-19. The employed technique, Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, can analyse the smallest amounts of plasma in less than a second, making it a promising method for monitoring severely ill patients.

How microplastic particles disperse in the ocean depends on microscopic details. Scientists at TU Wien have now succeeded in precisely characterising the motion of these particles. Microplastics are a global problem: they end up in rivers and oceans, they accumulate in living organisms and disrupt entire ecosystems.

Predator-prey analogy: Novel interaction between particles enabled Using two optically trapped glass nanoparticles, researchers observed a novel collective Non-Hermitian and nonlinear dynamic driven by nonreciprocal interactions. This contribution expands traditional optical levitation with tweezer arrays by incorporating the so called non-conservative interactions.

Together, the University of Innsbruck and the spin-off AQT have integrated a quantum computer into a high-performance computing (HPC) environment for the first time in Austria. This hybrid of supercomputer and quantum computer enables the solution of complex tasks in chemistry, materials science or optimization and is already being tested by users in research and industry .

TU Wien (Vienna) has patented a completely new method of dampening vibrations. This is an important step for precision devices such as high-performance astronomical telescopes. When everything shakes, precision is usually impossible - everybody who has ever tried to take a photo with shaky hands or make handwritten notes on a bumpy bus journey knows that.

Researchers from TU Wien (Vienna, Austria) and Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) have created an extremely exotic state of matter. Its atoms have a diameter a hundred times larger than usual. A crystal is an arrangement of atoms that repeats itself in space, in regular intervals: At every point, the crystal looks exactly the same.

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says - or are there simpler explanations? Neutron measurements at TU Wien prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory. Can a particle be in two different places at the same time? In quantum physics, it can: Quantum theory allows objects to be in different states at the same time - or more precisely: in a superposition state, combining different observable states.

Looking under the microscope, a group of cells slowly moves forward in a line, like a train on the tracks. The cells navigate through complex environments. A new approach by researchers involving the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) now shows how they do this and how they interact with each other.

A team of researchers led by Philip Walther at the University of Vienna carried out a pioneering experiment where they measured the effect of the rotation of Earth on quantum entangled photons. The work, just published in Science Advances , represents a significant achievement that pushes the boundaries of rotation sensitivity in entanglement-based sensors, potentially setting the stage for further exploration at the intersection between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Normally, thermal radiation is a product of randomness, described by the laws of statistical physics. TU Wien and the University of Manchester show that it can also be controlled. When a piece of metal is made to glow, its colour depends solely on its temperature. The material, the geometry, the structure of its surface - none of these details matters.

Waves carry information about their surroundings. An exact theory has now been developed at TU Wien - with astonishing results that can be used for technical purposes. No matter whether ultrasound is used to study the body, radar systems to study airspace or seismic waves to study the interior of our planet: You are always dealing with waves that are deflected, scattered or reflected by their surroundings.

Physicists at TU Graz have calculated how suitable molecules can be stimulated by infrared light pulses to form tiny magnetic fields. If this is also successful in experiments, the principle could be used in quantum computer circuits. When molecules are irradiated with infrared light, they begin to vibrate due to the energy supply.