Discovery of Low-lying Isomeric States in Cesium-136 Has Applications in Particle Astrophysics
Experiments searching for dark matter or astrophysical neutrinos require low background detectors.
Samples from a Wild comet reveal a surprising past
Eighteen years after NASA's Stardust mission returned to Earth with the first samples from a known comet, the true nature of that icy object is coming into focus. Stardust collected material from Wild 2, a comet that likely formed beyond Neptune and currently orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Painstaking analyses of the microscopic samples, recently described in the journal Geochemistry, have revealed a surprising truth about the comet's origins and history, said Ryan Ogliore, an associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.
Physicists identify overlooked uncertainty in real-world experiments
The equations that describe physical systems often assume that measurable features of the system -- temperature or chemical potential, for example -- can be known exactly.
Researchers demonstrate that quantum entanglement and topology are inextricably linked
This experimental milestone allows for the preservation of quantum information even when entanglement is fragile.
Merging computer science and robotic technology to modernize processing of radioisotopes
Argonne is leading a U.S. Department of Energy-funded project to safely speed up medical isotope production through a remotely-operated "hot box."
John E. Carlstrom Wins 2024 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics
The Heineman Foundation, AIP, and American AAS are pleased to announce John E. Carlstrom as the winner of the 2024 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics.
Quantum particles can't separate from their properties, after all
Recent research, published in the New Journal of Physics on November 17, 2023, shows that these experiments don't actually show particles splitting from their properties, but instead display another counterintuitive feature of quantum mechanics -- contextuality.
Rallying for a Better Badminton Birdie
Shuttlecocks, also known as birdies or birds, are traditionally made from duck feathers, but nylon shuttlecocks have become more widely used because of their superior durability. Their flight behavior, however, is far different from that of traditional feather birdies. In Physics of Fluids, scientists in India explored the aerodynamic performance of nylon shuttlecocks at various flight speeds. Through computational analyses based on two-way fluid-structure interactions, the team coupled equations governing air flow with equations determining skirt deformation of a shuttlecock in flight.
Quantum Mechanics Unveils Hidden Patterns in Stock Markets
A team of researchers from Korea, Canada, and the UK have proposed a new quantum model that explains the power law distribution and herding behavior in stock returns.
Brookhaven Lab Sets Sights on Particle Physics Goals
As the particle physics community releases its strategic plan for the next 10 years and overall vision for the next 20, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have started planning how the Lab is positioned to contribute to a range of the plan's science goals, new experiments, proposed research facilities, and ongoing projects.
Testing the Gallium Anomaly
Scientists have confirmed possible evidence of a new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino. The results from the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST) found that the germanium 71 yield was 20% to 24% lower than expected based on the intensity of the neutrino source and on scientists' knowledge of how neutrinos are absorbed. This is consistent with earlier results on the so-called gallium anomaly.
Dark Energy Survey Publishes Definitive Results from Largest, Deepest, Most Uniform Supernova Sample
Using the DOE-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the Dark Energy Survey has obtained the largest supernova sample ever using a single telescope.
Using berry phase monopole engineering for high-temperature spintronic devices
Spintronic devices are electronic devices that utilize the spin of electrons (an intrinsic form of angular momentum possessed by the electron) to achieve high-speed processing and low-cost data storage. In this regard, spin-transfer torque is a key phenomenon that enables ultrafast and low-power spintronic devices.
Mysterious missing component in the clouds of Venus revealed
What are the clouds of Venus made of? Scientists know it's mainly made of sulfuric acid droplets, with some water, chlorine, and iron. Their concentrations vary with height in the thick and hostile Venusian atmosphere. But until now they have been unable to identify the missing component that would explain the clouds' patches and streaks, only visible in the UV range.
A day in the life of a mountaintop telescope builder
Margaux Lopez is one of a team of engineers preparing the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile for the arrival of the largest digital camera ever built for astrophysics and cosmology.
Hunting for the elusive tetraneutrons with thermal fission
Tetraneutron is an elusive atomic nucleus consisting of four neutrons, whose existence has been highly debated by scientists. This stems primarily from our lack of knowledge about systems consisting of only neutrons, since most atomic nuclei are usually made of a combination of protons and neutrons.
Progress in the investigation of ultrafast electron dynamics using short light pulses
When electrons move within a molecule or semiconductor, this occurs on unimaginably short time scales. A Swedish-German including physicist Dr Jan Vogelsang from the University of Oldenburg has now made significant progress towards a better understanding of these ultrafast processes.
AURA Appoints Christoph Keller as next National Solar Observatory Director
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce that Dr. Christoph Keller has been appointed as the next Director of the National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory (NSO) succeeding Dr. Valentin Pillet, who will be retiring as Director in 2024.
Even far below freezing, ice's surface begins melting as temperatures rise
An imaging method for sensitive materials conducted at Argonne National Laboratory reveals previously unseen changes in ice even when the temperatures are well below zero degrees Celsius.
Pollution-Tracking Citizen Science Project Offers New York Students a Breath of Fresh Air
In The Physics Teacher, researchers from Fordham University partnered with middle and high schools in the Bronx and Manhattan in a citizen science project to collect real-time air quality data.
Opening the Magnetic Bottle of a Tokamak Causes Particles to Rush Inward
Plasma confinement in a tokamak can potentially cause pressure gradients that lead to instabilities in the plasma, disrupting tokamak performance.
Korean Artificial Sun, KSTAR, Installation of a tungsten divertor for long pulse operations
The Korean artificial sun, KSTAR, has completed divertor upgrades, allowing it to operate for extended periods sustaining high-temperature plasma over the 100 million degrees.
A Dense Quark Liquid Is Distinct from a Dense Nucleon Liquid
In this study, researchers addressed the question of whether the liquids of nucleons and quarks are fundamentally different. Both liquids produce vortices when they rotate, but in quark liquids, the vortices carry a "color-magnetic field." There is no such effect in nucleon liquids, so these vortices distinguish quark liquids from nuclear liquids.
HKIAS Distinguished Lecture: Making Mechanically Agile Electronics, Opto-Electronics, and Iontronics a Reality. Electroactive Polymers and Amorphous Oxides
Join us for the HKIAS Distinguished Lecture on "Making Mechanically Agile Electronics, Opto-Electronics, and Iontronics a Reality. Electroactive Polymers and Amorphous Oxides" by Professor Tobin Marks, a renowned expert in the field.
Scientists Probe the Emergent Structure of the Carbon Nucleus
The physics of carbon-12 are extremely complex. This research computed the nuclear states of carbon-12 from first principles using supercomputers and nuclear lattice simulations.