An international team of researchers including The University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) has found evidence showing that old elliptical galaxies in the universe can form from intense star formation within early galaxy cores. This discovery will deepen our understanding of how galaxies evolved from the early Universe, reports a new study in Nature. Galaxies in today’s Universe are diverse in morphologies and can be roughly divided into two categories:…

Researchers propose a simple fix to an existing technique that could help artists, designers, and engineers create better 3D models. Creating realistic 3D models for applications like virtual reality, filmmaking, and engineering design can be a cumbersome process requiring lots of manual trial and error. While generative artificial intelligence models for images can streamline artistic processes by enabling creators to produce lifelike 2D images from text prompts, these models are not designed to generate 3D shapes. To bridge the gap,…

The STELLA observatory in Tenerife has studied a star’s surface for 16 years using robotic spectroscopy and Doppler imaging. Unlike the cyclic spots on our Sun, this star exhibited chaotic, non-periodic star spot behavior, revealing a fundamentally different dynamo mechanism. The groundbreaking study has now been published in Nature Communications and presents a unique movie of the evolution of the star’s surface, which is otherwise only an unresolvable dot of light in the sky. It is known that our sun…

…unleashes ultra-secure, high-capacity data transmission. Scientists have developed a breakthrough optical technology that could dramatically enhance the capacity and security of data transmission (Fig. 1). By utilizing a new type of spatial-frequency patching metasurface that manipulates light beams, researchers have introduced what they call “super-capacity perfect vector vortex beams” (SC-PVVBs). These light beams, which possess intricate spatial and polarization characteristics, can carry vast amounts of information, making them ideal for dense data communication systems. Conventional optical beams often have limitations…

… made from Perovskite and Organic Material. Trying to improve the efficiency of solar cells to become independent from fossil energy sources is a major goal of solar cell research. A team around the physicist Dr. Felix Lang from the University of Potsdam, Prof. Lei Meng and Prof. Yongfang Li from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, now combine perovskite with organic absorbers to form a record-level tandem solar cell as reported in the scientific journal “Nature”. Combining two materials…

…using James Webb Space Telescope. The unusual system of three “super puff” planets has at least one more planet, revealed by its gravitational tug on other planets. An unusual planetary system with three known ultra-low density “super-puff” planets has at least one more planet, according to new research led by researchers from Penn State and Osaka University. The research team set out to study Kepler-51d, the third planet in the system, with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) but almost…

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ is now a partner in the global consortium for the development of the ‘Pathogen Data Network’. The US National Institute of Health (NIH) has funded the development of a global ‘Pathogen Data Network’ coordinated by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB). The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH is one of twelve internationally renowned institutes and universities that join forces in the Pathogen Data Network. Under the leadership of the SIB and…

The most sensitive map of the gravitational wave sky to date was produced by an international collaboration of researchers including numerous scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. To achieve this goal, the scientists analysed 4.5 years of pulsar data taken with the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world. A Pulsar Timing Array uses the clock-like predictability of so-called pulsars (pulsating radio stars) to detect…

University of Bath breakthrough… Physicists are getting closer to controlling single-molecule chemical reactions – could this shape the future of pharmaceutical research? Controlling matter at the atomic level has taken a major step forward, thanks to groundbreaking nanotechnology research by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath. This advancement has profound implications for fundamental scientific understanding. It is also likely to have important practical applications, such as transforming the way researchers develop new medications….

New study reveals how to use single atoms to turn CO2 into valuable chemical resources. Nickel and nitrogen co-doped carbon (Ni-N-C) catalysts have shown exceptional performance in converting CO2 into CO, a valuable chemical feedstock. However, the exact working mechanism of these catalysts has remained elusive—until now. The study “Unveiling the Adsorbate Configurations in Ni Single Atom Catalysts during CO2 Electrocatalytic Reduction using Operando XAS, XES and Machine Learning” provides direct experimental insights into the nature of adsorbates (molecules that…

Scientists map out quantum entanglement in protons. Particles streaming from collisions offer insight into dynamic interactions and collective behavior of quarks and gluons. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have a new way to use data from high-energy particle smashups to peer inside protons. Their approach uses quantum information science to map out how particle tracks streaming from electron-proton collisions are influenced by quantum entanglement inside the proton. The results reveal that quarks and…

Where do you see patterns in chaos? It has been proven, in the incredibly tiny quantum realm, by an international team co-led by UC Santa Cruz physicist Jairo Velasco, Jr. In a new paper published on November 27 in Nature, the researchers detail an experiment that confirms a theory first put forth 40 years ago stating that electrons confined in quantum space would move along common paths rather than producing a chaotic jumble of trajectories. Electrons exhibit both particle and wave-like properties—they don’t simply…

Heart cockles have shells with built-in skylights to let in light for symbiotic algae. Since the first fiber optic cables rolled out in the 1970s, they’ve become a major part of everything from medical devices to high-speed internet and cable TV. But as it turns out, one group of marine mollusks was way ahead of us. A new study reveals that clams called heart cockles -– so-named because of their heart-shaped shells — have unique structures in their shells that…

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology joins IQST as a new partner. The mission of IQST is to further our understanding of nature and develop innovative technologies based on quantum science by leveraging synergies between the natural sciences, engineering, and life sciences. “Many KIT scientists already successfully support IQST with their expertise as Fellows. All the more I am pleased that the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is now joining our interdisciplinary centre as an institution,” says IQST Director Prof. Stefanie Barz. “This…

Working in a team is also relevant for drones. Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are omnipresent and have grown in popularity due to their wide potential use in many civilian sectors. Equipped with sophisticated sensors and communication devices, drones can potentially form a multi-UAV system, also called swarm. Scientists from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology and the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding, both HZDR institutions, conducted experimental tests to set up a conceptual framework for…

Unusual magnetically driven vortices may be generating Earth-size concentrations of hydrocarbon haze. While Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has been a constant feature of the planet for centuries, University of California, Berkeley, astronomers have discovered equally large spots at the planet’s north and south poles that appear and disappear seemingly at random. The Earth-size ovals, which are visible only at ultraviolet wavelengths, are embedded in layers of stratospheric haze that cap the planet’s poles. The dark ovals, when seen, are almost…