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Cold Atoms Reveal Their Crystalline Nature

23 September 2011
Experimentalists have mapped the quantum states (band structure) of cold atoms mimicking electrons in a crystal. The technique should allow researchers to study new aspects of electrons in crystals using the atoms as a model.
article link PRL (23 September 2011)
bands of potassium atoms in optical lattice

Tsunami Puzzle Explained

16 September 2011
Simulations explain why the first wave of a tsunami is sometimes less devastating than the subsequent waves. A resonance effect can boost the waves that come later.
article link PRL (16 September 2011)
2004 tsunami in Thailand

Rod-Shaped Nucleus

9 September 2011
Calculations suggest that a rapidly spinning oxygen nucleus can deform into a linear configuration of four small clusters in a row--the first clear evidence for such a "linear-chain" state in any nucleus.
article link PRL (9 September 2011)
2D nucleon density distribution
