https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/ We provide the latest news from the Department of Physics at Tokyo Institute of Technology School of Science. en © Dept. of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:09:57 +0900 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Raman optical activity, long thought to require chiral molecules or magnetic order, has been demonstrated in an achiral, nonmagnetic crystal by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_06/069672.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_06/069672.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:09:57 +0900 The Einstein–de Haas effect, which links the spin of electrons to macroscopic rotation, has now been demonstrated in a quantum fluid by researchers at Science Tokyo.The study, published in Volume 391, Issue 6783 of the journal Science on January 22, 2026, was led by Professor Mikio Kozuma, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Hiroki Matsui, and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Yuki Miyazawa of the Institute of Integrated Research, Science Tokyo, in collaboration with Professor Yuki Kawaguchi from the Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University, Japan, and Professor Masahito Ueda from the Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, Japan. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_01/068961.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_01/068961.html Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:11:25 +0900 Recently, AHE, originating from spin chirality, has become a popular method for detecting chiral magnetic structures, such as skyrmions, which are key to the development of next-generation spintronics and quantum technologies. However, in experiments, chirality-related AHE often exhibits complex behaviors, including unusual non-monotonic temperature dependence and even sign reversals, making clear detection of these structures difficult. A systematic understanding of such behaviors is currently lacking and, moreover, requires extensive numerical calculations.To address this challenge, a research team led by Associate Professor Hiroaki Ishizuka from the Department of Physics at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), Japan, in collaboration with Professor Masafumi Udagawa from the Department of Physics, Gakushuin University, Japan, has developed a novel theoretical framework. “Our theory focuses on quantum phase interference during electron scattering by chiral spin textures, clearly explaining the puzzling temperature- and magnetic-field dependence of the AHE in highly conductive metals,” explains Ishizuka. Their study was published in Volume 135, Issue 25 of the journal Physical Review Letters on December 16, 2025. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_01/068876.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2026_01/068876.html Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:14:55 +0900 A stable "exceptional fermionic superfluid," a new quantum phase that intrinsically hosts singularities known as exceptional points, has been discovered by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo. Their analysis of a non-Hermitian quantum model with spin depairing shows that dissipation can actively stabilize a superfluid with these singularities embedded within it. The work reveals how lattice geometry dictates the phase's stability and provides a path to realizing it in experiments with ultracold atoms.The study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters on December 23, 2025, advances the field by showing how EPs can emerge deep inside a strongly interacting phase rather than only near its boundary. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_12/068757.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_12/068757.html Fri, 26 Dec 2025 10:31:52 +0900 A fundamental link between two counterintuitive phenomena in spin glasses— reentrance and temperature chaos—has been mathematically proven for the first time. By extending the Edwards–Anderson model to include correlated disorder, researchers at Science Tokyo and Tohoku University provided the first rigorous proof that reentrance implies temperature chaos. The breakthrough enhances understanding of disordered systems and could advance applications in machine learning and quantum technologies, where controlling disorder and errors is crucial. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_10/068411.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_10/068411.html Mon, 27 Oct 2025 17:04:46 +0900 A new framework for generative diffusion models was developed by researchers at Science Tokyo, significantly improving generative AI models. The method reinterpreted Schrödinger bridge models as variational autoencoders with infinitely many latent variables, reducing computational costs and preventing overfitting. By appropriately interrupting the training of the encoder, this approach enabled development of more efficient generative AI, with broad applicability beyond standard diffusion models. The study was led by graduate student Mr. Kentaro Kaba and Professor Masayuki Ohzeki from the Department of Physics at Science Tokyo, in collaboration with Mr. Reo Shimizu (then a graduate student) and Associate Professor Yuki Sugiyama from the Graduate School of Information Sciences at Tohoku University, Japan. Their findings were published in Volume 7, Issue 3 of the Physical Review Research on September 3, 2025. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_10/068356.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_10/068356.html Thu, 09 Oct 2025 11:17:16 +0900 In a recent breakthrough, researchers from Japan discovered a unique Hall effect resulting from deflection of electrons due to “in-plane magnetization” of ferromagnetic oxide films (SrRuO3). Arising from the spontaneous coupling of spin-orbit magnetization within SrRuO3 films, the effect overturns the century-old assumption that only out-of-plane magnetization can trigger the Hall effect. The study offers a new way to manipulate electron transport with potential applications in advanced sensors, quantum materials, and spintronic technologies. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_09/068282.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2025_09/068282.html Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:08:40 +0900 A collaborating team of NTT Corporation and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Prof. Masaya Notomi in Physics Department) has succeeded in achieving photonic topological phase transition by material phase transition by employing novel hybrid nanostructures consisting of a phase-change material and a semiconductor nanostructure. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_09/066595.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_09/066595.html Thu, 12 Sep 2024 14:20:55 +0900 By constructing hexagonal metallic-mean approximants of the honeycomb lattice, scientists from Tokyo Tech, Nagoya University, Toyota RIKEN, and Kindai University have linked incommensurately modulated structures and quasicrystals, two classes of aperiodic crystals. They found that a quasicrystal converges to a modulated honeycomb crystal on arranging tiles based on metallic means. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_07/066381.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_07/066381.html Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:42:56 +0900 https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_06/066135.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_06/066135.html Thu, 06 Jun 2024 10:37:03 +0900 A novel technique for enhancing optical spring that utilizes the Kerr effect to improve the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors (GWDs) has recently been developed by scientists at Tokyo Tech. This innovative design uses optical non-linear effects from the Kerr effect in the Fabry-Perot cavity to achieve high signal amplification ratios and optical spring constant, with potential applications in not only GWDs but also in a range of optomechanical systems. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_04/065839.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_04/065839.html Fri, 12 Apr 2024 14:20:37 +0900 Thermoelectric Effect Reveals Full Picture of Fluctuations in Superconductivity https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_03/065737.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_03/065737.html Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:45:14 +0900 Electrons carry electrical energy, while vibrational energy is carried by phonons. Understanding how they interact with each other in certain materials, like in a sandwich of two graphene layers, will have implications for future optoelectronic devices. Recent work has revealed that graphene layers twisted relative to each other by a small 'magic angle' can act as perfect insulator or superconductor, but the physics of the electron-phonon interactions behind this are a mystery. As part of a worldwide international collaboration led by TU/e researcher Klaas-Jan Tielrooij, with theoretical contributions by Tokyo Tech's Hiroaki Ishizuka, the team has conducted an in-depth study on electron-phonon interactions in graphene layers, and they have made a startling discovery. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_02/065559.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_02/065559.html Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:55:09 +0900 https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_01/065341.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2024_01/065341.html Tue, 09 Jan 2024 14:14:42 +0900 The 22nd Tokyo Tech Challenging Research Awards went to ten researchers each of whom will receive a research grant. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_10/064908.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_10/064908.html Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:02:33 +0900 The neutron-rich oxygen isotopes oxygen-27 and oxygen-28 exist as very short-lived resonances, report scientists from Tokyo Tech based on the first observation of their decay into oxygen-24 and three and four neutrons, respectively. Notably, the oxygen-28 nucleus is found not to be "doubly magic" as expected in the standard shell-model picture. This study provides valuable insights into the nuclear structure. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_08/064812.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_08/064812.html Thu, 31 Aug 2023 13:32:30 +0900 Five researchers received the 2023 ASUNARO Grant, which is Tokyo Tech financial support for researchers under 45 years of age engaged in basic research. A ceremony to present the researchers with their award notices was held on June 23. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_07/064686.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_07/064686.html Mon, 24 Jul 2023 11:16:31 +0900 Two researchers received the 2022 Yoshinori Ohsumi Fund for Fundamental Research, financial support from Tokyo Tech for researchers under the age of 40 engaged in fundamental research. A ceremony for awarding the recipients with their letter of selection was held on January 26, 2023. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_03/063974.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2023_03/063974.html Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:03:38 +0900 The Kibble-Zurek (KZ) mechanism, confirmed experimentally only for equilibrium phase transitions, is also applicable for non-equilibrium phase transitions, as is now shown by Tokyo Tech researchers in a landmark study. The KZ mechanism is characterized by the formation of topological defects during continuous phase transition away from the adiabatic limit. This breakthrough finding could open the doors to investigation of the mechanism for other nonequilibrium phase transitions. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_12/063393.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_12/063393.html Thu, 01 Dec 2022 11:29:16 +0900 On October 24, 2022, Prof. Dr. Konstantin Novoselov (National University of Singapore/University of Manchester), 2010 Nobel Prize laureate in physics, visited Tokyo Tech and gave a special lecture on "Materials for the future". https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_11/063336.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_11/063336.html Mon, 14 Nov 2022 15:22:23 +0900 Chirality can be true or false, depending on the symmetry of dynamic propagation. Crystal lattice vibrations, called phonons, can also display chirality as has been shown in some two-dimensional structures. However, truly chiral phonons have never been observed in three-dimensional systems—that is, until now. Researchers from Tokyo Tech have identified these for the first time, in bulk cinnabar. Utilizing pseudo-angular momentum, their method can be used to identify the chirality in crystalline structures. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_11/063304.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_11/063304.html Fri, 11 Nov 2022 11:27:01 +0900 A general formula that can calculate the spin current induced by oscillating magnetic fields in magnetic materials and aid our understanding of novel spintronics functionality has been developed by researchers from Tokyo Tech and Chiba University. The formula predicts large spin currents arising from a hitherto unknown contribution in antiferromagnetic chromium trihalides, opening doors to material design for novel spintronics devices. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_09/063070.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2022_09/063070.html Thu, 08 Sep 2022 10:37:19 +0900 A large, unconventional anomalous Hall resistance in a new magnetic semiconductor in the absence of large-scale magnetic ordering has been demonstrated by Tokyo Tech materials scientists, validating a recent theoretical prediction. Their findings provide new insights into the anomalous Hall effect, a quantum phenomenon that has previously been associated with long-range magnetic order. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_12/061699.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_12/061699.html Fri, 24 Dec 2021 11:14:57 +0900 A research team, led by Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), developed a 50 kg class technology demonstration microsatellite called HIBARI that denotes "skylark" in English. HIBARI was selected as a demonstration theme for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration (ISTD)-2, and it will be launched on Epsilon-5 sometime after November 2021 from the Uchinoura Space Center. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_11/061488.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_11/061488.html Mon, 08 Nov 2021 12:07:13 +0900 Tokyo Institute of Technology, with a donation from Professor Emeritus Koichi Asano, established the ASUNARO Grant to support researchers under 45 years of age engaged in basic research. In the first call of the grant, five researchers including Assistant Professor Shigeru KAKU of Department of Physics, School of Science were selected, and a ceremony to present the researchers with their award notices was held online on July 6. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_07/061036.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_07/061036.html Fri, 09 Jul 2021 14:00:16 +0900 Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology experimentally verify the existence of exotic surface conduction states in topological semimetals (TSMs), materials that lie at the boundary between conductors and insulators, by performing voltage scans of these surface states on a thin film sample of a TSM. The findings can pave the way for future study and exploitation of such conduction states in realizing novel, quantum transport phenomena. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_05/060670.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_05/060670.html Mon, 10 May 2021 13:25:03 +0900 Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have experimentally demonstrated a novel cancer diagnosis technique based on the scattering of circularly polarized light. Computational studies revealed that this technique can detect the progression of precancerous lesions and early cancer. This method can be implemented using an endoscope equipped with spin-LEDs—devices that emit circularly polarized light. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_04/060614.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_04/060614.html Tue, 27 Apr 2021 13:35:43 +0900 Associate Professor Toru Hirahara of the Department of Physics, the School of Science has been selected for "Support for Tokyo-tech Advanced Researchers" (STAR) grants in FY 2020. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_03/060428.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_03/060428.html Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:17:33 +0900 Tokyo Tech's Data Science for Particle and Nuclear Physics 2020 (DSPN2020), a lecture and practical training series for high school students, was held on six Saturdays between October and December 2020. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_03/060377.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_03/060377.html Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:15:49 +0900 Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology approach the two decade-old mystery of why an anomalous metallic state appears in the superconductor-insulator transition in 2D superconductors. Through experimental measurements of a thermoelectric effect, they found that the "quantum liquid state" of quantum vortices causes the anomalous metallic state. The results clarify the nature of the transition and could help in the design of superconducting devices for quantum computers. https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_01/060105.html https://educ.titech.ac.jp/phys/eng/news/2021_01/060105.html Thu, 07 Jan 2021 13:10:28 +0900