atomic physics

October 4 marks the birthday of Vitaly Ginzburg, the Russian physicist and Nobel Prize laureate. Commemorations note his major contributions to physics, including work on superconductivity and the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma, as well as his role in the Soviet atomic project. Ginzburg, who died in 2009, remains a prominent figure in Russian science.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Konstantin Novoselov, who shared the 2010 physics prize for isolating graphene, has given an exclusive interview. The conversation covers his views on the state of physics research and his pioneering work on graphene, the atom-thin material expected to shape future technology. Details of what was discussed have drawn interest from science followers.

Researchers have proposed a new statistical ensemble for describing how fermions thermalise, refining the theoretical framework used to explain how interacting quantum particle systems reach equilibrium. The work could matter for studies of quantum many-body dynamics, cold-atom experiments and thermalisation in systems where standard ensembles fall short. Details of the proposal and its reception among physicists remain limited.