Reviews of Modern Physics

NEW ARTICLE
Colloquium: Magnetotactic bacteria: From flagellar motor to collective effects
M. Marmol, E. Gachon, and D. Faivre
Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 021001 (2024)
Magnetotactic bacteria have a built-in compass, in the form of a magnetosome chain made up of magnetic biominerals, that allows them to passively align along terrestrial magnetic field lines. They also sense oxygen gradients and swim using at least one flagellum. Hence, these bacteria are self-propelled active matter capable of displaying flocking behavior. This Colloquium explains the physics behind these various capabilities, as well as their interactions and biological significance.
NEW ARTICLE
The standard model effective field theory at work
Gino Isidori, Felix Wilsch, and Daniel Wyler
Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 015006 (2024)
The standard model is successful at describing most of the data at the electroweak scale, but there are indications that new physics should exist at a higher energy scale. To identify, quantify, and elucidate the new physics, one can use the framework of the standard model effective field theory. This article reviews the construction and theoretical tools provided by the effective field theory for analyzing the present and future experimental data, as well as theoretical ideas for new physics.
NEW ARTICLE
Electrical control of magnetism by electric field and current-induced torques
Albert Fert et al.
Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 015005 (2024)
Electronic devices that incorporate magnetism, called spintronic devices, can increase the functionality of electronic circuits and lead to increases in efficiency. Such devices are useful if the magnetization can be manipulated electrically rather than by magnetic fields. This review covers the materials, underlying physics, and applications involved in such manipulation, focusing on two control mechanisms. The first is control by manipulating the magnetization through its coupling to ferroelectric order and the second is control by spin-polarized currents manipulating the magnetization through the angular momentum flowing into it.
NEW ARTICLE
Spontaneous scalarization
Daniela D. Doneva et al.
Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 015004 (2024)
Recent observations of compact astrophysical objects have opened the possibility to probe the nature of gravity in its strong-field regime. Such observations could reveal deviations from general relativity or the standard model. Spontaneous scalarization, which is controlled by scalar-field couplings to gravity, leads to a behavior that resembles a phase transition: the scalar induces measurable effects in the strong-field regime while remaining undetectable in weak-field gravitational experiments. This review presents the spontaneous scalarization mechanism, several scalarization models considered in the literature, and their astrophysical implications for neutron stars and black holes. It also discusses the generalization of such models to other types of fields and instabilities.

ON THE COVER

Electrical control of magnetism by electric field and current-induced torques

March 13, 2024

Electronic devices that incorporate magnetism, called spintronic devices, can increase the functionality of electronic circuits and lead to increases in efficiency. Such devices are useful if the magnetization can be manipulated electrically rather than by magnetic fields. This review covers the materials, underlying physics, and applications involved in such manipulation, focusing on two control mechanisms. The first is control by manipulating the magnetization through its coupling to ferroelectric order and the second is control by spin-polarized currents manipulating the magnetization through the angular momentum flowing into it.

Albert Fert et al.
Rev. Mod. Phys. 96, 015005 (2024)

ANNOUNCEMENT

Meet Our New RMP Associate Editor Vivien Zapf

October 13, 2023

Vivien Zapf is a condensed matter experimentalist at the National High Magnetic Field Lab at Los Alamos National Lab where she has worked since 2004. She studies magnetic materials, in particular quantum magnetism and magnetoelectric coupling and specializes in thermodynamic and magnetoelectric measurements at low and high magnetic fields.

APS Announces Outstanding Referees for 2024

APS has selected 156 Outstanding Referees for 2024 who have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts published in the Physical Review journals. A full list of the Outstanding Referees is available online.

NEWS AND COMMENTARY

Linking a Respiratory Drop’s Size to Its Origin

October 12, 2023

A parameterization scheme that links a drop’s size to its origin in the respiratory tract could help clinicians identify the most effective mitigation strategies for halting the spread of an infectious disease.

Feature on:
Mira L. Pöhlker et al.
Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 045001 (2023)

RMP Publishes 2021 Nobel Lectures

The 2021 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, and Giorgio Parisi. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.

Nobel Lecture: Multiple equilibria

Nobel Lecture: Physical modeling of Earth’s climate

ANNOUNCEMENT

Meet Our New RMP Associate Editor Philip W. Phillips

July 24, 2023

Philip W. Phillips is a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a condensed matter theorist whose work focuses on transport and magnetic phenomena stemming from the breakdown of the quasiparticle concept in strongly correlated and topology quantum matter.

IN THE PRESS

Thermodynamics of the climate system

While the first law of thermodynamics is a well-established principle underlying all models of Earth’s climate system, applications of the second law in climate science are active areas of research. This review summarizes how the relationships between Earth’s entropy export and internal entropy production provide insights into Earth’s climate. These applications include heat-engine analogs for atmospheric convection, tropical cyclones, and large-scale atmospheric heat transport. Open issues addressed include the ongoing debate on whether the climate system maximizes entropy production.

See more in the article featured in Physics Today