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Bilayer lipid membranes [BLMs] are an essential component of all biological systems, forming a functional barrier for cells and organelles from the surrounding environment. The lipid molecules that form membranes contain both permanent and…
Recently, condensed matter and atomic experiments have reached a length-scale and temperature regime where new quantum collective phenomena emerge. Finding such physics in systems of photons, however, is problematic, as photons typically do…
The physical basis of the modern cosmological inflationary models with baryosynthesis and nonbaryonic dark matter and energy implies such predictions of particle theory, that, in turn, apply to cosmology for their test. It makes physics of…
Placing an atom and a molecule in a cavity opens the door to initialize molecular dynamics by exciting a level of the atom. This approach enlarges the range of choosing the light source to trigger molecular dynamics substantially. The…
Strong light-matter coupling gives rise to polaritons - hybrid excitations whose mixed photonic and matter character enables control over optical, electronic and chemical properties. This Feature Article surveys the main architectures…
Ultrasonic cavitation is being used in medical applications as a way to influence matter, such as tissue or drug vehicles, on a micro-scale. Oscillating or collapsing cavitation bubbles provide transient mechanical force fields, which can,…
Interstellar space is filled with a dilute mixture of charged particles, atoms, molecules and dust grains, called the interstellar medium (ISM). Understanding its physical properties and dynamical behavior is of pivotal importance to many…
Dense suspensions of particles are relevant to many applications and are a key platform for developing a fundamental physics of out-of-equilibrium systems. They present challenging flow properties, apparently turning from liquid to solid…
Liquid crystals have attracted enormous interest because of the variety of their phases and richness of their application. The interplay of general physical symmetries and specific molecular features generates a myriad of different…
Droplet formation has emerged as an essential concept for the spatiotemporal organisation of biomolecules in cells. However, classical descriptions of droplet dynamics based on passive liquid-liquid phase separation cannot capture the…
A novel mechanism, "catalyzed baryogenesis," is proposed to explain the observed baryon asymmetry in our universe. In this mechanism, the motion of a ball-like catalyst provides the necessary out-of-equilibrium condition, its outer wall has…
Active nematics are the nonequilibrium analog of passive liquid crystals in which anisotropic units consume free energy to drive emergent behavior. Similar to liquid crystal (LC) molecules in displays, ordering and dynamics in active…
Biological active matter like the cytoskeleton or tissues are characterized by their ability to transform chemical energy into mechanical stress. In addition, it often exhibits orientational order, which is essential for many cellular and…
Molecular polaritons are hybrid states of photonic and molecular character that form when molecules strongly interact with light. Strong coupling tunes energy levels and importantly, can modify molecular properties (e.g. photoreaction…
This article reviews recent theoretical and experimental advances in the fundamental understanding and active control of quantum fluids of light in nonlinear optical systems. In presence of effective photon-photon interactions induced by…
Growing experimental evidence indicates that topological defects could serve as organizing centers in the morphogenesis of tissues. Here, we provide a quantitative explanation for this phenomenon, rooted in the buckling theory of deformable…
Here we show that coupling to curvature has profound effects on collective motion in active systems, leading to patterns not observed in flat space. Biological examples of such active motion in curved environments are numerous: curvature…
We study nonlinear interactions in a strongly driven optomechanical cavity, in regimes where the interactions give rise to resonant scattering between optomechanical polaritons and are thus strongly enhanced. We use a Keldysh formulation…
Lipid membranes, the barrier defining living cells and many of their sub-compartments, bind to a wide variety of nano- and micro-meter sized objects. In the presence of strong adhesive forces, membranes can strongly deform and wrap the…
Active phenomena which involve force generation and motion play a key role in a number of phenomena in living cells such as cell motility, muscle contraction and the active transport of material and organelles. Here we discuss mechanical…