In an international experiment, researchers observed Jahn–Teller polarons – quasiparticles that could play an important role in future ultrafast spintronic devices. These polarons emerged within the crystal lattice of cobalt oxide that had been activated by carefully tailored laser pulses.

Mechanoluminescence(ML) directly converts mechanical energy into light, offering a promising route for energy-free sensing. Here, we report a low cost, stable Al₂O₃:Cr³⁺ platform with self-recoverable near-infrared emission. A reversible stress induced ionization–recapture mechanism, together with defect engineering, annealing, and heterostructure optimization, delivers strong and recoverable luminescence. The material enables flexible ML paper and alloy-surface coatings for real time structural stress visualization.

Researchers demonstrate a giant insulator-to-metal transition and room-temperature superparamagnetism by controlling defect reconstruction and nickel nanoparticle formation in perovskite oxide thin films.

An international collaboration has discovered two of the lowest-density giant planets ever detected: rare ‘super-puff’ planets with densities lower than candy floss. The study -led by the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Université Côte d’Azur/Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur and the University of Birmingham - has been published today (26 June) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.