Nature News · Feb 11, 2026 · Collected from RSS
NEWS AND VIEWS 11 February 2026 Electrons can seem electrically neutral in some devices. Neutral states can be distinguished in real time by a measure of their electron pairing called odd or even parity. By Andrew P. Higginbotham Andrew P. Higginbotham is at the James Franck Institute and in the Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. In superconducting materials, pairs of electrons form a shared quantum-mechanical state. Control of this macroscopic quantum state is a key feature that is required for superconducting quantum computing. Some combinations of materials, however, turn usual electron pairing on its head. Superconductors and semiconductors, carefully controlled at the nanoscale, can coax electrons to spontaneously unpair. The unpaired electrons have fascinating properties. In contrast to ordinary electrons, the unpaired electrons can in some cases seem electrically neutral, so charge cannot be used to describe their quantum state. A different quantum number, called parity, is needed instead. Parity measures whether an electron is paired (even parity) or unpaired (odd parity). Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 € / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access 185,98 € per year only 3,65 € per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support Nature 650, 307-308 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00173-z Referencesvan Loo, N. et al. Nature 650, 334–339 (2026).Article Google Scholar Lutchyn, R. et al. Nature Rev. Mater. 3, 52–68 (2018).Article Google Scholar van Zanten, D. M. T. et al. Nature Phys. 16, 663–668 (2020).Article Google Scholar Microsoft Azure Quantum et al. Nature 638, 651–655 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Download references Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests. Related Articles Read the paper: Single-shot parity readout of a minimal Kitaev chain Cheat-proof random numbers generated from quantum entanglement Droplets of three electrons behave like a liquid See all News & Views Subjects Latest on: Quantum physics Condensed-matter physics Parity-doublet coherence times in optically trapped polyatomic molecules Article 11 FEB 26 Sub-part-per-trillion test of the Standard Model with atomic hydrogen Article 11 FEB 26 Large-scale quantum communication networks with integrated photonics Article 11 FEB 26 Giant magnetocaloric effect and spin supersolid in a metallic dipolar magnet Article 11 FEB 26 Signatures of fractional charges via anyon–trions in twisted MoTe2 Article 04 FEB 26 Spin-wave band-pass filters for 6G communication Article 04 FEB 26