Finding offers new starting points for research into photonic quantum information systems. An international team of researchers from Leibniz University Hannover (Germany) and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow (United Kingdom) has disproved a previously held assumption about the impact of multiphoton components in interference effects of thermal fields (e.g. sunlight) and parametric single photons (generated in non-linear crystals). “We experimentally proved that the interference effect between thermal light and parametric single photons also leads to quantum interference with the…
In nature, most bacteria live on the bare minimum. If they experience nutrient deficiency or stress, they shut down their metabolism in a controlled manner and go into a resting state. In this stand-by mode, certain metabolic processes still take place that enable the microbes to perceive their environment and react to stimuli, but growth and division are suspended. This also protects bacteria from, say, antibiotics or from viruses that prey exclusively on bacteria. Such bacteria-infecting viruses, known as phages,…
Discovery of a material with a large nonreciprocal absorption of light that differs by a factor of two or more when the direction of light propagation is reversed. At the heart of global internet connectivity, optical communications form an indispensable foundation. Key to this foundation are optical isolators, created by combining multiple components. The result is a complex structure that transmits light in only one direction, to prevent damage to lasers and minimize noise by avoiding the reversal of light….
Fault roughness and stress heterogeneity control induced seismicity. This is important for hydraulic stimulation in reservoirs. Man-made earthquakes, so called induced seismicity, have become an increasing concern. These events can occur during fluid injection or extraction such as in oil or gas reservoirs, wastewater disposal, or geothermal reservoirs. In few cases larger co-called ‘runaway induced earthquakes’ were strong enough to cause public concern and stopping projects (e.g. 2006 Basel/Switzerland) or even substantial damage (2017 Pohang/South Korea). Intense research, however, has…
The shape, size and optical properties of 3-dimensional nanostructures can now be simulated in advance before they are produced directly with high precision on a wide variety of surfaces. For around 20 years, it has been possible to modify surfaces via nanoparticles so that they concentrate or manipulate light in the desired way or trigger other reactions. Such optically active nanostructures can be found in solar cells and biological or chemical sensors, for example. In order to expand their range…
…is slippery slope to energy-efficient technology. Scientists led by the University of Leicester have made an insight into superlubricity, where surfaces experience extremely low levels of friction. While many of us are treading carefully to avoid a slip in the frosty weather, scientists led by the University of Leicester have been investigating how to make surfaces even slippier! They have solved a conundrum in the principles of superlubricity – a state in which two surfaces experience little to almost vanishing…
Cold, flu and COVID-19 season brings that now-familiar ritual: swab, wait, look at the result. But what if, instead of taking 15 minutes or more, a test could quickly determine whether you have COVID-19 with a glowing chemical? Now, in ACS Central Science, researchers describe a potential COVID-19 test inspired by bioluminescence. Using a molecule found in crustaceans, they have developed a rapid approach that detects SARS-CoV-2 protein comparably to one used in vaccine research. From fireflies to lantern fish,…
Quantum magnetometers are able to detect and visualize the tiniest damage in ferromagnetic materials. In aerospace technology or the automotive industry, they can help to significantly increase the resilience and safety of systems and materials. This conclusion was reached by researchers from the recently completed Fraunhofer lighthouse project QMag. They also investigated the use of quantum magnetometers in biomedicine, flow measurement and chip production. Structural defects such as cracks, precipitations or other irregularities in metallic materials lead to local changes…
Security of 5G/6G backbone components and networks. The security of communication networks is becoming more and more important with increasing digitalization. The “RealSec5G” project aims at testing the requirements for data security in communication devices for 5G/6G infrastructures in a deterministic time-sensitive network (TSN). For this purpose, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is designing a TSN-MACsec function block that will be tested as part of a demonstrator. The final implementation and performance analysis will be done in cooperation…
Improved mapping gives decision makers a new tool for protecting infrastructure as Arctic warms. New insights from artificial intelligence about permafrost coverage in the Arctic may soon give policy makers and land managers the high-resolution view they need to predict climate-change-driven threats to infrastructure such as oil pipelines, roads and national security facilities. “The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe, and permafrost is a component of the Arctic that’s changing really rapidly,” said Evan…
In quantum computing, the question as to what physical system, and which degrees of freedom within that system, may be used to encode quantum bits of information – qubits, in short – is at the heart of many research projects carried out in physics and engineering laboratories. Superconducting qubits, spin qubits, and qubits encoded in the motion of trapped ions are already recognised widely as prime candidates for future practical applications of quantum computers; other systems need to be better…
When a high-energy photon strikes a proton, secondary particles diverge in a way that indicates that the inside of the proton is maximally entangled. An international team of physicists with the participation of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow has just demonstrated that maximum entanglement is present in the proton even in those cases where pomerons are involved in the collisions. Eighteen months ago, it was shown that different parts of the interior…
A research group led by Prof. WANG Hui and Prof. ZHANG Xin from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced a new strategy to prepare ultrahigh density copper single atom enzymes for tumor self-cascade catalytic therapy. “The powerful enzymes can help to fight tumors,” said Dr. LIU Hongji, member of the research team. The study was published in Chemical Engineering Journal. The low-valence Cu single atom enzymes (CuⅠ SAEs) contribute to alleviate inefficient generation of ·OH…
Scientists outline new processes for leveraging hafnia’s ferroelectric features with the aim of enhancing high-performance computing. Scientists and engineers have been pushing for the past decade to leverage an elusive ferroelectric material called hafnium oxide, or hafnia, to usher in the next generation of computing memory. A team of researchers including the University of Rochester’s Sobhit Singh published a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study outlining progress toward making bulk ferroelectric and antiferroelectric hafnia available for use in…
Super-resolution (SR) fluorescence microscopy, through the use of fluorescent probes and specific excitation and emission procedures, surpasses the diffraction limit of resolution (200~300 nm) that was once a barrier. Most SR techniques are heavily reliant on image calculations and processing to retrieve SR information. However, factors such as fluorophores photophysics, sample’s chemical environment, and optical setup situations can cause noise and distortions in raw images, potentially impacting the final SR images’ quality. This makes it crucial for SR microscopy developers…
Integral imaging (II) display is one of the most promising near-eye displays (NEDs) due to its compact volume, full parallax, convenient full-color display, and, more importantly, true-3D and more realistic depth perception from eliminating the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC). However, II displays based on the conventional optical architecture, such as microlens arrays, are limited in resolution, field of view, depth of field, etc. As micro-displays have increasingly higher pixel densities, conventional optical architecture is inadequate in pixel-level light manipulation. Meta-optics has…
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