Tue May 20 00:00:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary of the text, followed by a rewritten version as a news article suitable for “The Hindu” newspaper:
**Summary:**
A new study published in *Physical Review Letters* has significantly expanded the applicability of the Ising model, a fundamental tool in physics, by incorporating non-reciprocal interactions. The Ising model, traditionally used to understand systems with interacting units (like magnetism), has been extended to model systems where the direction of influence matters, such as social networks, political hierarchies, and ecological systems. Researchers from the University of Chicago and ESPCI Paris developed this non-reciprocal Ising model using two types of “atoms,” P and Q, with specific alignment and anti-alignment rules. This new model exhibits different phases (disordered, ordered, swap phase). The new model offers insights into understanding rhythmic activities in biological systems and designing active materials. The non-reciprocal Ising model opens new possibilities for understanding dynamics in various fields.
**News Article:**
**The Hindu: Science For All**
**New Ising Model Cracks Open Complex Systems: Non-Reciprocal Interactions Offer Broader Applications**
*May 20, 2025, 05:30 AM IST*
**CHENNAI:** A team of researchers from the University of Chicago and ESPCI Paris has unveiled a significant advancement in the world of physics: a non-reciprocal Ising model. This novel model extends the capabilities of the classic Ising model, a cornerstone of condensed-matter physics, to encompass systems where the direction of influence is crucial.
The Ising model, conceived a century ago, provides a simplified framework for understanding interacting units, such as atoms in a magnetic field. The new model, detailed in a recent *Physical Review Letters* publication, incorporates *non-reciprocal* interactions, reflecting real-world scenarios where the influence between two entities is asymmetrical.
“Consider a political party,” explains Dr. Yael Avni of the University of Chicago, one of the study’s authors. “A leader’s decision greatly impacts party members, while the members’ influence on the leader may be minimal. Our non-reciprocal Ising model captures this dynamic.”
The new model introduces two types of ‘atoms’, P and Q. Researchers found that their alignment could take three phases: disordered, ordered, and a ‘swap’ phase. The findings revealed that they had the properties of a time crystal.
Scientists believe the extended Ising model has potential to model social networks, political strategies, and ecological interactions, where directional relationships are key drivers. It also promises to unlock new understandings of biological systems, such as understanding rhythmic activities, and active materials, materials that respond to energy by performing a function.
This work builds upon the legacy of Nobel Prize-winning research into the fundamental principles governing complex systems, offering a powerful new tool for understanding the world around us.
First Piper 