Physics

Apr 30th, 2024 - Researchers have successfully used 40-year-old mathematics to explain quantum tunneling, providing a unified approach to diverse quantum phenomena. Quantum mechanical effects such as radioactive decay, or more generally: 'tunneling', display intriguing mathematical patterns. Two researchers at the University of Amsterdam now show that a 40-year-old mathematical discovery can be used to fully encode and understand this structure. Quantum Physics – Easy and Hard In the quantum world, ... [Read More]

Apr 30th, 2024 - Two detector upgrades of ALICE, the dedicated heavy-ion physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), have recently been approved for installation during the next long shutdown of the LHC, which will take place from 2026 to 2028. The first one is an upgrade of the innermost three layers of the Inner Tracking System (ITS3), and the second is a new forward calorimeter (FoCal), optimized for photon detection in the forward direction of the ALICE detector. High-energy collisions of heavy ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Quantum computers that are more powerful than the fastest supercomputers could be closer than experts have predicted, researchers from startup Nord Quantique argue.  That's because the company has built an individual error-correcting physical qubit that could dramatically cut the number of qubits needed to achieve quantum advantage (which is where quantum computers are genuinely useful).  Eventually, this could lead to a machine that achieves quantum supremacy — where a quantum ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - A new study uncovers a switchable, atomically-thin metal-organic material that could be used in future low-energy electronic technologies. The study shows that electron interactions in this material create an unusual electrically-insulating phase in which electrons are 'frozen'. By reducing the population of electrons, the authors are able to unfreeze the remaining electrons, allowing for controlled transitions between insulating and electrically-conductive phases: the key to the on-off binary ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Finding new ways to slow fleeting waves of light or even stop them in their tracks could lead to more advanced photonic devices, such as lasers, LED displays, fiber-optics, and sensors. In a cunning trap made from a silicon crystal tweaked to behave as if it's deformed, scientists have found a flexible new way to make light waves stand absolutely still. Light can be brought to a halt in a few different ways, such as by cooling clouds of atoms or even braiding light waves together . This new ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists have managed to prove this. Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists from Leipzig University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have managed to prove ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Traditional semiconductors such as Si, GaAs, and HgCdTe seem unable to meet the development trend of electronic devices that feature ultra-small volume, lightweight, and low power consumption. These limitations of traditional semiconductors mainly stem from complex growth conditions and low-temperature working environments. In recent years, novel 2-dimensional (2D) materials have provided decent opportunities to develop room-temperature, high-speed, ultra-sensitive, and broadband photodetectors ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows the ascertainment of dynamics over extremely short time scales, making it a very useful tool in many scientific and industrial applications. A major disadvantage is the considerable measuring time this technique usually requires, which often leads to lengthy acquisition times spanning minutes to hours. Researchers have now developed a technique to speed up spectroscopic analysis. Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows the ascertainment of dynamics over extremely ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2024 - Beijing On the outskirts of Beijing sits a set of unassuming buildings marked 'X', for 'extreme'. Inside the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), researchers from all over the world are pushing matter to its limits with extreme magnetic fields, pressures and temperatures, and examining it in new ways with extremely precise resolution in time. One particularly tantalizing goal of many researchers using this $US220-million toolbox is to discover new superconductors , materials that ... [Read More]

Apr 27th, 2024 - Electrons within solid materials are restricted to specific energy levels, known as "bands." The space between these bands, the forbidden energies, are known as "band gaps." Both of them together constitute the "band structure" of the material, which is a unique characteristic of each specific material. When physicists plot the band structure, they usually see that the resulting curves resemble mountains and valleys. In fact, the technical term for a local energy maximum or minimum in the bands ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - Interface engineering has been proven to be effective in discovering new quantum states, such as topological states, superconductivity, charge density waves, magnetism, etc., which require atomic-scale heterostructure fabrication. Monolayer FeSe on SrTiO 3 substrates has attracted intense interest owing to its remarkable interface-enhanced superconductivity. Previous experimental investigations disclosed significant interfacial electron transfer to the FeSe monolayer , from the TiO 2-δ ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - TOPICS: Generally, it's advised not to compare apples to oranges. However, in the field of topology, a branch of mathematics, this comparison is necessary. Apples and oranges, it turns out, are said to be topologically the same since they both lack a hole – in contrast to doughnuts or coffee cups, for instance, which both have one (the handle in the case of the cup) and, hence, are topologically equal. In a more abstract way, quantum systems in physics can also have a specific apple or ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - Scientists have succeeded in simulating the magnetization reversal of Nd-Fe-B magnets using large-scale finite element models constructed based on tomographic data obtained by electron microscopy. Such simulations have shed light on microstructural features that hinder the coercivity, which quantifies a magnet's resistance to demagnetization in opposing magnetic fields. New tomography-based models are expected to guide toward the development of sustainable permanent magnets with ultimate ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - Light-driven molecular motors were first developed nearly 25 years ago at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. This resulted in a shared Nobel Prize for Chemistry for Professor Ben Feringa in 2016. However, making these motors do actual work proved to be a challenge. A new paper from the Feringa lab, published in Nature Chemistry on 26 April, describes a combination of improvements that brings real-life applications closer. First author Jinyu Sheng, now a postdoctoral researcher at the ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - A leap forward in optical quantum computing. An international collaboration of researchers, led by Philip Walther at University of Vienna, have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum technology, with the successful demonstration of quantum interference among several single photons using a novel resource-efficient platform. The work published in the prestigious journal Science Advances represents a notable advancement in optical quantum computing that paves the way for more scalable ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2024 - Theoretical physicists have proposed a new solution to the Schrödinger's cat paradox , which may allow the theories of quantum mechanics and Einstein's relativity to live in better harmony. The bizarre laws of quantum physics postulate that physical objects can exist in a combination of multiple states, like being in two places at once or possessing various velocities simultaneously. According to this theory, a system remains in such a "superposition" until it interacts with a measuring ... [Read More]